2024 Summer Olympics: Friday’s best bets, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s Summer Olympics odds and lines, with expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, run through Aug. 11 in Paris, France. We’ll review the best bets for Friday. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines for the best bets and prop plays for Friday’s Olympic action, and make our expert Summer Olympic picks and predictions.

Each day we’ll check out the best bets, as well as the top prop plays when applicable.

For Friday, Aug. 2, the schedule is once against chock full of Olympic action.

We have Round 2 of the men’s golf tournament, as well as men’s and women’s badminton, men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s and women’s shooting, men’s volleyball, mixed team archery, men’s and women’s rowing, men’s and women’s field hockey, judo, men’s and women’s table tennis, men’s decathlon, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s basketball, men’s diving, men’s handball, men’s and women’s swimming, tennis, men’s and women’s trampoline gymnastics, men’s and women’s sailing (weather permitting), men’s fencing, equestrian, men’s and women’s canoe slalom, men’s soccer, men’s boxing, men’s and women’s cycling BMX racing and much, much more.

Medals will be awarded in women’s shooting, men’s synchronized diving, men’s and women’s pairs rowing, tennis, men’s and women’s double sculls rowing, men’s sailing, women’s trampoline gymnastics, equestrian jumping team final, men’s and women’s windsurfing, mixed team archery, judo, men’s fencing, men’s and women’s swimming (various events), men’s 10,000m final and men’s and women’s cycling BMX racing.

Friday’s 2024 Olympics best bets

Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:37 a.m. ET.

Equestrian team jumping — Gold medal winner: GREAT BRITAIN (+490)

No matter which nation you decide, there is money to be made in team jumping. Sweden (+350) is the chalk where you can multiply up by 3½ times your initial wager if Sweden wins.

However, we’re backing GREAT BRITAIN (+490) at the Grand Canal at Versailles. Great Britain’s Ros Canter, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen picked up that nation’s 1st gold in eventing team jumping Monday. Collett also collected a bronze in the individual eventing competition.

Great Britain’s trio of Scott Brash, Harry Charles and Ben Maher finished 3rd out of 10 qualifiers for Friday’s final. Maher won the individual gold medal in Tokyo, and he is competing in his 4th Olympics.

This is an experienced team which could help you nearly multiply up by 5 times.

The competition starts at 8 a.m. ET.

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Men’s field hockey: DRAW (+340) Ireland vs. New Zealand

Ireland and New Zealand square off in a Pool B match, and each team is looking to get into the win column. So far, both teams are 0-0-4 (win-draw-losses).

Ireland opened with a 2-0 loss to Belgium (4-0-0) Saturday, and it was tripped up 2-1 against Australia (3-0-1) Monday. On Tuesday, Ireland lost 2-0 to India (2-1-1), and it was nipped 2-1 by Argentina (2-1-1) Wednesday.

New Zealand was topped 3-2 by India Saturday, lost to Belgium 2-1 Sunday, was blanked 2-0 by Argentina Tuesday and was stomped 5-0 by Australia Wednesday.

Both Ireland and New Zealand have had difficulty scoring. A DRAW (+340), for a chance to more than triple up, is worth a look in this matchup.

The match starts at 11 a.m. ET.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

Men’s handball: SLOVENIA — WINNING MARGIN 1-5 (+178) vs. Japan

Japan (0 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses) limps into this match with a minus-16 goal differential, worst in Group A preliminary round play.

Slovenia (2-0-1) suffered a 25-22 loss to Spain (2-0-1) in the opening match Saturday. It then edged Croatia (2-0-1) by a 31-29 count, before stopping Sweden (1-0-2). However, Slovenia has a plus-4 goal differential, and winning by 6 or more is a rather tall order.

Last time out, Japan showed vast improvement, falling 37-33 in a high-scoring battle against Spain. Naoki Fujisaka and Kosuke Yasuhira each managed 7 goals in the narrow loss. Japan was an impressive 11-of-15 on 6 meter shots, too, while connecting for 6 successful goals from 9m.

It’s unlikely Japan knocks off Slovenia, it should be able to hang around in another potentially high-scoring battle. BACKING SLOVENIA on the WINNING MARGIN PROP of 1-5 GOALS pays a solid +178.

The competition starts at 1 p.m. ET.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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More USA TODAY Summer Olympics coverage:
News | Medal count | Meet Team USA

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