Belgium attempts to overcome France's home-court advantage and assure itself of a medal when the teams meet at Accor Arena on Friday in the women's basketball semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Belgium is making just its second appearance in the Summer Games after losing to Japan in the 2020 quarterfinals in Tokyo in its debut. The Belgians went 1-2 during group play in this tournament but posted a 79-66 victory against Spain in the quarters. France, which won the silver medal in the 2012 London Games and bronze in Tokyo, advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight time by defeating Germany 84-71.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The French are 4.5-point favorites in the latest France vs. Belgium odds, while the over/under for total points is 143.5. Before making any Belgium vs. France picks or 2024 Paris Olympics women's basketball predictions, you need to see what SportsLine's Calvin Wetzel has to say.
Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com's lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women's hoops to turn the site's prediction model into picks. After teaming up with Aaron Barzilai, a Ph.D. from Stanford, Wetzel is an incredible 1,385-988 (+372.33 units) on women's college basketball picks since the start of the 2021-22 season. He's also coming off a great 2023 season with a 238-185-1 overall record that featured a return on investment of nearly 7%. Anyone following him has seen huge returns.
Now, Wetzel has broken down France vs. Belgium from every angle and just revealed his picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the lines and trends for Belgium vs. France:
- France vs. Belgium spread: France -4.5
- France vs. Belgium over/under: 143.5 points
- France vs. Belgium money line: France -190, Belgium +150
- FRA: The French defeated Serbia for the bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games
- BEL: The Belgians have beaten their last two opponents by an average of 20 points
- France vs. Belgium picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why France can cover
After beginning the Paris Olympics with 75-54 victories against Canada and Nigeria, the French dropped a 79-72 decision to Australia in their group-stage finale. They made an impressive recovery against Germany in the quarterfinals, however, ending the first quarter with a 7-2 run and never looking back. Guard Marine Johannes led France with 24 points, Gabby Williams recorded 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, and fellow forward Alexie Chery scored 10 points.
The 29-year-old Johannes, who made five 3-pointers while the entire German squad had four, is averaging 13.8 points in the Paris Games while Williams is producing 14 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 steals per contest. The 27-year-old Williams has scored 15 points in back-to-back games and is the only member of the team that has reached double figures in each of France's matches. Along with Johannes, Williams and Chery, center Marieme Badaine has registered a double-digit performance for the French as she led the club with 13 points in the group-stage opener against Canada. Badaine also has pulled down six rebounds in three of her four outings. See the picks at SportsLine.
Why Belgium can cover
The Belgians will be relying on Emma Meesseman, who is averaging 24.5 points in Paris. The 31-year-old forward scored at least 24 points in each of Belgium's three group-stage games and led the team again in the quarterfinals, where she recorded 19 along with nine rebounds and six assists. It was nearly the second straight double-double for Meesseman, as she registered 30 points and 11 boards in an 85-58 triumph over Japan in the group-stage finale.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2019 WNBA Finals who helped the Washington Mystics to the championship, Meesseman has offensive support in the likes of guard Julie Vanloo and forward Antonia Delaere, who both have reached double figures in points three times thus far. Vanloo, who is averaging eight points as a rookie with the Mystics this season, has scored 11.8 per game in the Paris Olympics while finishing with at least five assists in every game. Meanwhile, Delaere has an average of 11 points and 5.3 assists. Center Kyara Linskens recorded her second double-digit scoring performance in the quarterfinals as she tied Meesseman for the team lead with 19 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. See the picks at SportsLine.
How to make France vs. Belgium picks
Wetzel has analyzed Belgium vs. France from every angle, and he's leaning Over on the point total. He has also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
So who wins France vs. Belgium in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Belgium vs. France spread to jump on, all from the expert with a history of crushing his women's basketball picks, and find out.
