France vs. Serbia Women's Basketball 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Odds and expert picks vs. spread, total for bronze medal matchup

Though the gold medal will not be decided until Saturday evening, a medal is on the line in women's basketball several hours before the main event. France takes on Serbia in the bronze medal game of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Both teams are facing a quick turnaround after semifinal losses. Japan defeated France, while Serbia was knocked off by the United States.

Tip-off is set for Saturday at 3 a.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook has France listed as a two-point favorite. France is also listed at -130 on the money line (risk $130 to win $100), while the Over-Under is set at 142.5. 

Before making any 2020 Olympics bets, be sure to see what SportsLine's Olympics expert, Mike Tierney, has to say.

A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered nine Olympic Games in person. For Rio in 2016, Tierney profited big-time. He told readers to bet Over on Team USA's gold medal count (41.5) and Over on Team USA's overall medal count (102.5). The result? 46 golds, 121 medals and two easy cashes.

And for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Tierney hit two of his three predictions: Germany (+200) to win the most gold medals and the United States winning Under 10.5 gold medals (+110).

Now, with the Tokyo Summer Olympics underway, Tierney has analyzed every angle of Saturday's France-Serbia women's basketball matchup to help bettors find the best betting options. He also knows that both teams are resilient and the stakes are high with a medal in the balance. Tierney is leaning on the under for the point total.

He's also identified an x-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he has to say before locking in your picks. 

Who wins Saturday's France vs. Serbia matchup? And what X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK? Join SportsLine right now to find out which team in the France vs. Serbia game you should back against the spread, all from the expert who has crushed his Olympic picks!

Tierney's pick: 

France -1.5

Both teams were blown out in the semifinals and, with a mere 17-hour turnaround for the bronze medal game, motivation and preparation time are the outsized factors. Each is difficult to gauge, so let's go with what we know. France is ranked fifth in the FIBA World rankings, Serbia eighth. There was one coming Olympics opponent. France downed Spain by three points and Serbia fell to the Spanish by 15. While the French jumped out to a sizable early lead in its semis against Japan before losing by 16, Serbia drifted way behind from the start in a 20-point setback versus the U.S., and the outcome was clear by halftime. France is the superior squad, however slightly.