Belgium at Poland women’s basketball preview: The Cats look to cruise into EuroBasket Women 2017

The Belgium women’s national basketball team plays Poland on Wednesday on the road. Here’s the scoop on what to look for.

Game Info

Who’s playing: Belgium vs. Belarus

Where: Aqua Zdroj Arena in Wałbrzych, Poland

Date and Time: Wednesday, November 23, 2016, 2 p.m. ET

Streaming: If there is streaming, it will be on FIBA’s YouTube channel.

Group G Standings Update

Here’s a review of the standings. Belgium is technically second place in the group because they haven’t played a full slate of games left.

We know Belgium beat Poland last time. Is it possible that the Polish beat them?

Of course. They are led by Ewelina Kobryn, a center who has spent time with the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury during her long professional career. She currently plays in the Polish league, but has also spent time with European powers like UMMC in Russia and Fenerbahçe in Turkey.

I’m a Wizards fan. Marcin Gortat is from Poland though...

Unless you’re Polish, you should root for Belgium. Explained why before the Belarus game.

Can Belgium still win Group G with a loss?

Yes. If Poland beats Belgium, we’ll see all three teams end up in a 2-2 tie. From there, tiebreakers are determined based on the total points scored.

Belgium scored 238 points in three contests so far, while first place Belarus has 272 points with a 2-2 record. If Belgium loses but scores at least 45 points, then they will still win Group G as long as Poland doesn’t score 83 or more points.

As for Poland, it is going to be an uphill battle for them to even be second place. They have to win and score at least 83 points to surpass Belarus. If they want to be in EuroBasket Women 2017, they must win this game or they’ll have to wait until 2019.

Injury Report

According to the Belgian Cats’ Twitter account, Ann Wauters was receiving treatment for an undisclosed injury and did not make the initial trip to Poland. However, she is expected to play.

Prediction?

Belgium wins comfortably, but it won’t be a 35 point beatdown.