The women's tournament is set to wrap up its second round of group play on Thursday, Aug. 1, with four games on tap — including the U.S. women putting their 57-game Olympic winning streak on the line against a dangerous Belgium team. Here's everything to watch for from Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
What to watch for in Olympic basketball: Aug. 1
U.S. women look to stay perfect
After the U.S. men moved to 2-0 at the Paris Games on Wednesday, now it's the U.S. women's turn on Thursday.
Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson and Co. took a little while to get going in their opener against Japan, but once they did, they quickly turned it into a laugher. Team USA will be heavy favorites once again on Thursday afternoon against Belgium, but it could be a different kind of test.
The Belgians got surprisingly steamrolled by Germany in their opener, but they won EuroBasket just last year, and they have one of the very best players in the world — at least according to U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve — in the highly-skilled Emma Meesseman.
Belgium is a closer match physically for the U.S. than Japan was, and this is a game it's had circled since before the Games began. As Meesseeman told media earlier this week: "It's not a gift having the USA, but there's a saying that says, 'To be the best, you have to beat the best'." If the U.S. gets as sloppy as it looked in the first half against Japan, this could get interesting.
France-Nigeria showdown
If the opening round is any indication, this could be one of the most entertaining games of the women's tournament.
France entered these Games as medal hopefuls, not just because it's on home soil but because it boasts possibly the best non-U.S. player in the competition in former WNBA star Gabby Williams, and a big opening win over Canada did nothing to dispute that notion. Nigeria had no such hype — D'Tigress had just one Olympics win in program history, in Athens in 2004 — but that changed in a hurry thanks to a convincing victory over Australia.
Nigeria plays a fast, frenetic, extremely fun style, and it's not afraid to get in the face of anyone and everyone. This will be both a fascinating test for France and also a potential coming-out party for a program on the rise.
Two more games on tap
Germany raised a lot of eyebrows by blasting Belgium in its opener, and now it will look to keep pace with the U.S. atop Group C — and set up a banger of a final group-stage game this weekend — with a matchup against reigning silver medalists Japan. The final game of the day, meanwhile, features two talented teams looking to rebound from tough losses, as Lauren Jackson leads Australia against Canada.