Nigeria vs Team USA Preview and Prediction for 2024 Paris Olympics Women's Basketball | August 7

Team USA will face off against Nigeria in the first round of the 2024 Paris Olympics knockout stage of the women's basketball tournament. Team USA will look for its 59th straight Olympic win en route to an eighth consecutive gold medal.

The American team cruised through the group play, with their closest contest being an 87-74 win over Belgium.

They've also had a different top scorer each game, but their two top players overall have been Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart. Both WNBA stars are averaging 20.3 points per game, with Wilson pulling down 9.6 rebounds and Steward collecting 6.0 rebounds each contest.

They've shared the floor well among all their star WNBA players, utilizing a veteran backcourt led by Chelsea Gray and Diana Taurasi. Gray dropped 13 assists in their first win against Japan on July 29.

Nigeria, the top-ranked African squad and No. 12 overall ranked team via FIBA, wowed the world with their 75-62 victory over the No. 3 ranked Australia team on July 29.

However, they were dominated in their next game against France 75-54 before bouncing back for a 79-70 win against Canada, the No. 5 ranked team. The inconsistent play has landed them against the No. 1 ranked Team USA on Wednesday, but they'll aim to cause yet another upset in the tournament.

They're led by guard Ezinne Kalu, who's averaging 19.3 ppg so far this Olympics. She had 21 in their game against Canada and was supported by fellow guard Promise Amukamara's 12 points and six assists in the win.

Nigeria vs Team USA Olympics women's basketball prediction

As with every game they play in this tournament, Team USA is the big favorite going into the matchup. A Nigeria win would be nothing short of a historic upset, especially considering their last matchup — a 100-46 loss in February. Overall, Team USA is 5-0 against Nigeria, but only won by nine points in their last Olympic matchup in Tokyo in 2020.

Kalu will need to lead Nigeria to a solid start, hoping to get a jump on the older Team USA guards, but they will have a difficult time containing Wilson and Stewart in the paint. They were outrebounded 45-29 in their last win against Canada, who also boast a strong interior presence.

Expect the USA women's team to keep a strong lead throughout the game and hang on to a win by at least 15 points in the quarterfinal game.