Iowa vs. South Carolina Prediction, Odds and Key Players for NCAA Tournament Final
If you're a fan of storylines, there is none better than the one happening in women's college basketball right now.
Caitlin Clark, who has stolen the hearts of the country throughout her college career, especially this season, is going through a gauntlet in the women's NCAA Tournament. She and the Iowa Hawkeyes had to face an LSU team in the Elite 8 that they lost to in the National Final last year. Then they had to take on UConn, which has the most national titles in women's college basketball with 11, along with an extremely competitive team this season that featured Paige Bueckers.
Now, they have to face the "final boss" in the last chapter of their story in South Carolina, who has lost just one game the past two seasons combined That loss came to this Iowa team in last year's Final Four. Now, after another undefeated regular season, the Gamecocks will look to get their revenge against the Hawkeyes and win their second National Championship in three years.
The drama couldn't be higher for this national final on Sunday afternoon. Can Iowa upset South Carolina for the second straight year? Let's find out what the oddsmakers think.
If you want to bet on the game, be sure to click the link below to sign up for an account at FanDuel Sportsbook. For a limited time, new users will receive $200 in bonus bets if they win their first $5 wager!
Iowa vs. South Carolina odds, spread, and total for the national championship
Iowa vs. South Carolina how to watch
- Date: Sunday, April 7
- Game Time: 3:00 PM EST
- Venue: Rocket Morgage Fieldhouse
- How To Watch (TV, Streaming): ABC/ESPN/ESPN+
- Iowa Record: 34-4
- South Carolina Record: 37-0
Iowa vs. South Carolina key players to watch
Iowa
Caitlin Clark: It's obvious who the key player to watch for Iowa is in this game. Caitlin Clark leads the team in points (31.7), rebounds, (7.3), assists, (9.0), and steals (1.8) per game. She had a down game, by her standards, in the Final Four against UConn, only scoring 21 points while shooting 38.9% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. While it was still enough to get the win, she needs to play like she did against LSU when she scored 41 points and shot 44.8% from the field if Iowa has any hope of beating this South Carolina team.
South Carolina
Kamilia Cardoso: South Carolina's strength is its depth. Opposing teams can't just focus on one player but if there is one that we can point to as the most important, it's their center, Kamilla Cardoso, who's averaging 14.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Iowa won't have an answer for her down low.
Iowa vs. South Carolina prediction and pick
South Carolina is too much for Iowa in this game. The Gamecocks are too deep with everyone on the team contributing in most games. The biggest difference that we see with a team this deep is their defense because they have no player that opposing teams can pick on.
That's why South Carolina has the best opponent field goal percentage in the country. Teams are shooting just 32.2% from the field against them. Iowa, on the other hand, is horrific defensively and the Hawkeyes are lucky it hasn't cost them yet in this tournament. They rank 145th in the country in opponent field goal percentage allowing teams to shoot 39.8% from the field.
That's a 7.6% difference between these two defenses.
Is Iowa the better shooting team? Sure, but the difference in their offensive field goal percentage is just 0.57%.
South Carolina is also the better rebounding team and the last good rebounding team they faced, LSU, managed to grab 23 offensive rebounds against them. I guarantee you that if they allow South Carolina to grab 23 offensive rebounds, this game is going to be a blowout.
Caitlin Clark is phenomenal, but South Carolina's depth is going to drown this Iowa team from start to finish. I'll lay the points with the Gamecocks.
Pick: South Carolina -6.5
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!