USA vs Nigeria Olympic women’s basketball betting picks

The United States Women’s Basketball Team kicks off group play in the 2020 Olympics this Tuesday with a matchup against Nigeria. The USA women have won every gold medal since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and will be seeking to make it seven titles in a row in the coming weeks.

USA vs Nigeria women’s basketball preview

Team USA didn’t get off to a great start in the pre-Olympic exhibition games in Las Vegas, losing 93-85 to the WNBA All-Stars and then losing 70-67 to Australia. But the team did look much better in its 93-62 win over Nigeria on Sunday. Brittney Griner dominated down low in her 15 minutes of play with 12 points and six rebounds, and A’ja Wilson recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray each recorded six assists in the blowout win.

Nigeria is one of the biggest long shots on the board to win the gold medal in Tokyo, going off at +10000 to do so. It will be tough for the Nigerian women to even win a single game in Group B, which includes a solid France team and host nation Japan. This will be just the second time that Nigeria has competed in the Olympic Games in the women’s basketball, qualifying once before back in 2004 and going 1-5 during the group stage in that event. Antonye Nyingifa led Nigeria with nine points in just under 13 minutes of play in last Sunday’s game.

USA vs Nigeria Olympic basketball predictions

There is little doubt that the United States is going to win this game. The question is whether or not the Americans will cover the large 31-point spread set in this Olympics opener. We are leaning towards no. It makes sense that the line is set here after the USA beat Nigeria by 31 on Sunday, but that was a game in which Nigeria had cut the lead down to 17 in the fourth quarter before Team USA went on a run. Also, these two teams played to a far more competitive score of 76-71 in the USA’s favor when they last met in February.

Look for the United States to take a comfortable early lead before pulling its starters out of the game to rest and stay healthy for more competitive games ahead. This should give Nigeria the chance to keep the score from getting too far out of hand as big underdogs in this one.