USA vs. France Basketball: How To Watch Live On TV, Time, Odds, Prediction For 2021 Gold-Medal Game

The road to the gold-medal game hasn’t been easy, but the United States men’s basketball team is one victory away from being the last team standing at the Tokyo Olympics. In order to win its fourth straight gold, the U.S. will have to beat the only team that it was defeated by at this year’s Summer Games.

Team USA and France will meet in the gold-medal game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. local time in Tokyo. That means the contest is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. EDT Friday.

Unlike Team USA’s previous games, NBC will provide live TV coverage. A live stream will also be available with Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

Viewers can watch a full replay of the gold-medal game at NBCOlympics.com when the contest is over.

It was less than two weeks ago that France upset Team USA in their first game of the group stage in Tokyo. The Americans were unable to hold onto a seven-point lead in the final four minutes as France won 83-76. France’s Evan Fournier led all scorers with 28 points.

The odds suggest a similar outcome in the rematch is unlikely. Team USA is a 12.5-point favorite in the gold-medal game, according to the betting line at FanDuel Sportsbook. Team USA has -1100 odds to win outright, and France is a +600 underdog.

Kevin Durant spent much of the first meeting with France in foul trouble, limited to 10 points in 21 minutes. Team USA’s best player has been virtually unstoppable since that defeat.

Durant is averaging 25 points on 59.6% shooting over the last three games. The two-time NBA Finals MVP was terrific on both ends of the floor in Team USA’s 97-78 semifinal win over Australia with nine rebounds, two steals and a block. Durant led the charge as Team USA turned a 15-point deficit into a 29-point rout.

Australia beat Team USA 91-83 last month in an exhibition game.

Devin Booker scored 20 points on 10 shots in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Durant, Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Zach LaVine all finished in double figures..

France hasn’t lost on its way to the gold-medal game. The team survived an 18-assist triple-double from Luka Doncic in Thursday’s semifinal matchup, outlasting Slovenia 90-89. Rudy Gobert had 16 rebounds, while Fournier and Nando de Colo combined to score 48 points.

Gobert’s size could give the much smaller Team USA trouble. The U.S. has gone through cold shooting stretches in Japan, and it won’t be easy to overcome another large deficit.

As long as Durant can stay on the court, Team USA should keep its gold medal streak alive.

Prediction: Team USA over France, 90-82