After having 68 teams begin the tournament nine days ago, we are down to just four to play for the national championship. And the late game on Semifinal Friday will be between the No. 3 seeded UConn Huskies and the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes. Tip-off is scheduled for either 7:00 or 9:30 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ESPN.
Iowa (33-4, 15-3 Big Ten) brings in one of the biggest female stars in sports in Caitlin Clark, but it’s the play of her teammates that have gotten the Big Ten Champions back to the Final Four. Clark (32.0 points, 9.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds per game) is a transcendent shooter and is changing how the sport is defended. But Kate Martin (14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds in 2024 NCAA Tournament) and Sydney Affolter (13.3 points on 64.3% shooting in NCAA’s) have been the difference.
UConn (32-5, 18-0 Big East) somehow survived a comical amount of season-ending injuries to still win the Big East and almost sneak unnoticed into the March Madness field. All-American point guard Paige Bueckers came back from her own ACL tear that cost her the 2022-23 season to lead the Huskies back to the Final Four after missing two straight appearances. Before that the Huskies had been to 14-straight national semifinals or finals.
Bueckers was brilliant in the 80-73 defeat of No. 2 USC and JuJu Watkins in the Elite Eight, posting 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while playing all 40 minutes for the undermanned Huskies.
Here are odds for No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 3 UConn in the 2024 Women’s Final Four from DraftKings Sportsbook.
No. 3 UConn vs. No. 1 Iowa
Point spread: Iowa -2.5
Total: 163
Moneyline: Iowa -142, UConn +120