European Basketball World Championship Qualifiers 2019 France vs Bulgaria Preview and Prediction

Date/Time:  09-13-2018, 11:00 EDT

Spread: Bulgaria +15.5

Total: +156.5

In the 7^th round of action of the European 2019 Basketball World Championship Qualifiers, the best team of the group and undefeated so far France, who are looking to remain perfect, are visiting the fifth Bulgaria, who have won only once in their last four games and are looking to bounce back at home today.

France are 6-0 so far in the competition and are sitting on top of Group K. They have won their last 6 games and in their latest matchup they were victorious against Russia on the road, 78-84. Bulgaria are 2-4 so far in the competition and are tied with Bosnia and Herzegovina on the bottom of Group K, but ended up 5^th by winning the tie-breaker. They are 1-3 in their last 4 games and in their latest matchup they got defeated by the Czech Republic on the road, 81-75.

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The French are led in scoring by Nando De Colo with 15 ppg. Louis Labeyrie follows with 12.5 ppg, adding 6 rebounds per game, while Nicolas Batum adds 11 ppg and leads the team in assists made with 5 per game. The Bulgarians are led in scoring by Aleksandar Vezenkov with 16.8 ppg. He also leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 per game, while Pavel Boykov Marinov follows with 14 ppg, adding 3.5 assists per game. Hristo Zahariev adds 13 ppg and 6 rebounds per game.  

This will be the first meeting between those two teams in any competition ever. The French have both a better offense with 79.8 ppg to Bulgaria’s 77.7 and a better defense, allowing 62.8 ppg to Bulgaria’s 79.3. France have a better accuracy from inside the arc (57.3% to 49.7%), while Bulgaria have a better accuracy from behind the arc (33.3% to 31.4%). France are better both in dimes made (21 to 18) and in boards grabbed (36 to 32), while both squads are equal in turnovers committed, with 12 each. The French squad are simply superior to the Bulgarian one, who they don’t pose a threat even at their home court. Pick France for an easy road win by 16 points today.

France vs Bulgaria Prediction: France -15.5 (-114)