With three No. 1 seeds advancing to the Fourth Final of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, there will be plenty of firepower as the two will advance to play against each other on Friday night, while Stanford Cardinal faces off against South Carolina Gamecocks the first game of the 2021 Women’s Final Four.
This game will take place on Friday, April 2 at 6 pm on ESPN, and as soon as the odds are available on the DraftKings Sportsbook, we will be sure to post them here.
No. 1 South Carolina 26-4 (14-2 SEC)
First round: Defeated No. 16 Mercer 79-53
Second round: Defeated No. 8 Oregon State 59-42
Third Round: Defeated # 5 Georgia Tech 76-65
Fourth Round: Defeated nº 6 Texas 62-34
Top scorer: Zia Cooke (15.6 ppg)
Key tournament statistics: South Carolina prevented Texas from scoring goals throughout the fourth period of their last game.
Gamecocks do this with defense, averaging 51.4 rebounds per game, good for fourth place in the country. They also keep their opponents at just 36.2% of the field and at microscopic 26.9% of the three-point range. The only major conference teams ahead of them in that category? Ohio State … and Stanford.
The key to this may not be Cooke’s offense, but how Gamecocks can score in painting. Victaria Saxton’s game on the post will be a key clash in defense of the Stanford greats.
No. 1 Stanford 29-2 (19-2 Pac-12)
First round: Defeated nº 16 Utah Valley 86-44
Second round: Defeated # 8 Oklahoma State 73-62
Third Round: Defeated No. 5 Missouri State 89-62
Fourth Round: Defeated nº 2 Louisville 78-63
Top scorer: Kiana Williams (14.5 ppg)
Key statistic: The cardinal has not lost since the consecutive defeats of the Pac-12 on 22 January.
Kiana Williams and Haley Jones are one of the lethal combinations of 1-2 guards in women’s basketball. Williams is a less efficient offensive senior, but he brings senior leadership and stability to a talented team. Jones is one of the up-and-coming young women in the game, who can be a playmaker on her own.
The advantage that Stanford can have here is in-depth and post-game. Cameron Brink and Francesca Belibi will need to recover well to give the cardinal a chance, but they should also get some points.
Spread of points: Stanford -5.5
Total of points: 134.0
Money line: Stanford -230, South Carolina +185
The Pick
Against the spread Choose: South Carolina +5.5
Total points chosen: Less than 134
Choose to win: Stanford
Anticipate that it will be tightly defensive with both teams trying to hold each ball. Because of that, both a cover from South Carolina and under will be at stake here, but Stanford’s depth will be what will put them on top.
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