By Ryan Bologna
The NCAA Women’s Final Four is tonight and we have what should be two great games. Here is what to expect and the spread for each game.
1 Seed Louisville Cardinals vs 1 Seed South Carolina Gamecocks (South Carolina -8.5)
The number one overall seed South Carolina’s matchup against Louisville is an interesting one. South Carolina is headlined by National Player of the Year forward Aliyah Boston, while guard Hailey Van Lith has done the heavy lifting for Louisville.
Both teams are on the slower side for pace and are elite defensively, so it should be a low-scoring game.
Although South Carolina has as much depth as anybody in the country, it should be no surprise that the most important factor in this game will be Boston’s ability to succeed inside. If she is able to produce offensively against the elite Cardinals defense then expect to see the Gamecocks playing in the championship game on Sunday.
If Louisville is able to limit Boston and Van Lith performs to her norm then expect a tight game and for the Cardinals to at the very least cover the spread, but the fact that South Carolina could still edge them out in this scenario makes them deserving favorites.
2 Seed Connecticut Huskies vs 1 Seed Stanford Cardinal (Stanford -1.5)
The defending champion Cardinal are slight favorites against UConn in the second game of the night. The Cardinal are a well-rounded team, as Cameron Brink, Lexi Hull and Haley Jones all heavily contribute.
Jones is regarded as the best player for Stanford, while Brink’s performance against the UConn frontcourt could be the biggest key to the game for the Cardinal.
UConn will be without forward Dorka Juhász, so foul trouble for Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards is something to keep an eye on.
Although the Huskies have had to learn to incorporate more players due to the injuries they have gone through this year, they are very dependent on their star Paige Bueckers. UConn advanced to this point because of her clutch shooting in a double overtime win against North Carolina State. When she is on fire she is near unstoppable.
The Huskies do have a supporting cast outside of Bueckers that is capable of stepping up to winning this game though. Freshman Azzi Fudd is the x-factor for UConn. If the Huskies win this game it will likely include a stretch of the game where Fudd catches fire and is making plays with Bueckers. Senior Christyn Williams is one to look for to make some key shots as well.
This is an even game and the spread shows that. While Stanford is understandably a slight favorite, Bueckers is capable of having a game where she just will not allow the Huskies to lose on any given night. This one should come down to the wire.
Picture Credit: Gamecock Central
