Creighton vs. South Carolina Prediction and Odds for Elite Eight (Back the OVER in Greensboro)

The top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks finally got tested on Friday.

After bulldozing their way in 79-21 and 49-33 wins vs. Howard and Miami in the first two rounds, they got a battle from the 5-seeded Tar Heels in the Sweet 16, as UNC shot 46% from the floor against the top-ranked defense in women's college basketball.

Ultimately, South Carolina destroyed them on the boards 48-33, hanging on to win 69-61 as they now face the No. 10 Creighton Bluejays as double-digit favorites with the Final Four on the line. After knocking off Colorado, Iowa and Iowa State as substantial underdogs, can the Jays fly all the way to the Final Four?

Here are the consensus odds for today's first Elite Eight matchup in the Greensboro Region of the women's tournament.

Creighton vs. South Carolina Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

• Creighton +13.5 (-110)
• South Carolina -13.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Creighton +800
• South Carolina -1450

Total:

• 124.5 (OVER -110 | UNDER -110)

Creighton vs. South Carolina Prediction and Pick

At some point, when do we as bettors really start to treat the Bluejays as legitimate contenders?

Creighton has done it on both sides of the floor so far in this tournament. They dropped 84 and 76 against Colorado and Iowa State, while slowing down the top offense in women's college basketball in the Iowa Hawkeyes to just 62 points.

Is it sustainable? Unfortunately, against a team like South Carolina, I just don't think they have enough to contain them.

Creighton found a way to hold Caitlin Clark to just 15 points, but Monika Czinano really hurt them inside with 27 points on 60% shooting. Even if the Jays try to double Aliyah Boston inside, I don't know if it will be enough to slow her down. Boston comes off a 28-20 game vs. UNC, with 12 of those 20 rebounds being offensive boards.

For as dominant as Creighton has been offensively (94th percentile in offensive rating over their last five via CBB Analytics, 98th during the season), they rank in the 5th percentile in defensive rating over their last five games. While that would help the argument to back the Gamecocks on the spread, I think the easiest path in this game is on the over.

LEAN: OVER 124.5 (-110)

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