France vs. Czech Republic – Olympic Basketball, July 28, 2021

France strolls into game two of group play with all sorts of momentum on their side. After thoroughly outplaying the Americans down the stretch, Les Bleus is one victory away from stamping their ticket to the knockout stage.

On the other hand, Czech Republic limps into this matchup after playing sluggishly in their opener. Let’s check in on the odds before I deliver my France vs. Czech Republic prediction.

France opens as a 9.5-point favorite against Czechia, although don’t expect this line to remain single-digits for long. Lots of casual fans are betting the Olympics online, and that means recency bias surges to the forefront.

Those same fans either saw or read about France stifling the United States. Chances are they’re going to bet on France taking care of business against a sketchy Czech Republic squad.

Shifting gears to the total, here’s some food for thought. France’s 83 points versus USA marked their first time scoring 80 or more points in their last six games.

Despite closing as a 12.5-point underdog, France outclassed the United States on all fronts. Notably, Vincent Collet outcoached Gregg Popovich and had his team’s suffocating pressure on full display.

This spells a whole lot of trouble for Czech Republic.

Just as they did in their victory over USA, the Frenchmen can roll out a pair of seven-footers (Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier) who protect the rim and finish around the basket. Evan Fournier’s 28 points were just a preview of what’s to come, and he’s not the only perimeter player who can be relied on to stuff the stat sheet.

Assessing the matchup ahead, here’s a relentless group of defenders getting set to square off against a team that just shot 20% from downtown versus a suspect bunch from Iran.

It’s clear that Czechia took their foot off the gas pedal in their opener. CR led by 21 after three quarters and was likely trying to conserve energy for the tasks that lie ahead. Ronen Ginzburg received solid contributions from Jan Vesely (11/7/3) and Blake Schlib (14/5/4), and Patrik Auda was tremendous (16/6/4).

Keep in mind, France lost to Japan by six on July 18^th and had lost four straight friendlies leading into group play. The Frenchmen are far from invincible, and it’s highly unlikely we see Czech Republic shoot 6/30 from beyond the arc again.

France should win this game. However, fending off CR by at least 10 points isn’t something I’m convinced will happen. Hence, I’m heading to XBet to lock this France vs. Czech Republic pick in.

Les Bleus expended a lot of energy defeating the United States; Czechia should be rested after 10 players logged at least 10 minutes of action. Another reason I’m siding with the underdogs is due to all the public chatter.

Everyone and their grandmother seem to be backing France to cover the 9.5-point spread. When the general public zigs, I typically prefer to zag.