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

One spot remains in the gold medal game of the women's basketball tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. France takes on Japan, with both teams playing at a high level. There is also an intriguing contrast in styles, making for what should be an interesting matchup.

Tip-off is set for Friday at 7 a.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook has France listed as a 3-point favorite. France is also listed at -150 on the money line (risk $150 to win $100), while the Over-Under is set at 149. 

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 Friday's Japan-France women's basketball matchup to help bettors find the best betting options. Tierney is leaning on the over 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 Friday's Japan vs. France 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 Japan vs. France game you should back against the spread, all from the expert who has crushed his Olympic picks!

Tierney's pick: 

France -3

Japan already has clinched the top prize for overachievement. Never an Olympic semifinalist before now, the Japanese entered at odds of +9000 to win gold, tired for ninth-highest. Along the way, they ambushed France 74-70. A closer look at the game reveals that France was called for nearly twice as many fouls as the winner and took only six freebies, 17 fewer than Japan. The French were unaccustomed to Japan's fluid offense that emphasizes basket cuts and three-point shots, and they should be better prepared for the rematch. In group play, results against common opponents favor the French. They beat Nigeria by 25 and fell to Team USA by 11; Japan took down Nigeria by 19 and lost to the Americans by 17. Form should rule here with a win by France, which began the tourney at a much lower +2200 to win gold.