Saturday’s Olympics Predictions
What are some of the plays to consider for the 2018 Winter Olympics on Saturday? Here’s our predictions for the day.
Women’s 500m Speed Skating
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Nao Kodaira is favored in this event with -250 odds while Lee Sang-hwa is listed at +350 to win. The next shortest odds are American Brittany Bowe, who has +1400 odds. Kodaira is the 2017 world champ in this event and she holds the Japanese record in this event with a time of 36.50. Sang-hwa is the two-time defending Olympic champion and she also has the current world record with a time of 36.36. Sang-hwa has a lot of reasons to pick her, but Kodaira already has a silver medal in the 1000m and I think she is going to carry that to a win in the 500m. SPEED SKATING PREDICTION: NAO KODAIRA -250
Men’s Giant Slalom
The oddsmakers are listing Marcel Hirscher as the favorite with -225 odds to win while Henrik Kristoffersen and Alexis Pinturault each have +800 odds. Ted Ligety of the United States has +900 odds. Hirscher has finished fourth in this event at the last two Olympics and has already claimed gold in the Combined at these Olympics. He has placed first or second at the last three World Championships in giant slalom. Ligety is the 2014 gold medal winner and a three-time world champ, but he hasn’t managed a major victory since 2015. Now seems like Hircher’s time to claim gold in this event. MEN’S GIANT SLALOM: MARCEL HIRSCHER -225
Men’s Curling: USA vs. Japan
Both teams are 2-2 coming into this match and could use a win to crack into the top half of the field. Oddsmakers have the Americans as a -140 favorite to win, while Japan is listed with +110 odds. The United States have managed to score 33 points to Japan’s 22 over four matches, but the US has also given up 32 while Japan has allowed just 21. Their last two meetings on the world stage have been decided by 1 point. This match should come down to the final end, but the United States seems to have turned a corner over the last year and I think they will find a way to edge Japan in this one. CURLING PREDICTION: UNITED STATES -140