The No. 3 NC State Wolfpack will take on the the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament on Friday. This national semifinal matchup will take place Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The winner will advance to Sunday’s national championship game to face either No. 1 Iowa or No. 3 UConn.
Game date: Friday, April 5
Game time: 7 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN
Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: South Carolina -11.5
Total: 139.5
Moneyline: SCar -900, NC State +600
No. 3 NC State (31-6)
First Round: Defeated No. 14 Chattanooga 64-44
Second Round: Defeated No. 6 Tennessee 79-72
Sweet 16: Defeated No. 2 Stanford 77-67
Elite Eight: Defeated No. 1 Texas 76-66
Her Hoops Stats ratings: 14th
Leading scorer: Aziaha James (16.7 ppg)
Key stat of tournament: +37 in free throw attempts vs. tournament opponents.
NC State is in the Final Four for the first time since 1998 and was able to topple No. 1 Texas to get to this point. The Wolfpack have been able to jump out to leads in each of their four tournament games and have successfully staved off late surges from the likes of Stanford, Tennessee, and Texas to advance to the next round. Aziaha James may be the most underrated star still standing in the Big Dance as she has averaged 24.3 points throughout the tourney.
No. 1 South Carolina (36-0)
First Round: Defeated No. 16 Presbyterian 91-39
Second Round: Defeated No. 8 North Carolina 88-41
Sweet 16: Defeated No. 4 Indiana 79-75
Elite Eight: Defeated No. 3 Oregon State 70-58
Her Hoops Stats ratings: 1st
Leading scorer: Kamilla Cardoso (14.1 ppg)
Key stat of tournament: +76 in points in the paint vs. tournament opponents.
South Carolina has carried its year-long dominance into the NCAA Tournament and has trailed for approximately 1:12 through all four of its tournament games combined. The Gamecocks have wasted no time putting their foot on the necks of their first three opponents, but did get tested through the first two-and-a-half quarters of Sunday’s Elite Eight showdown against Oregon State. Starters like Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall have been holding it down for Dawn Staley’s squad, but they’ve notably gotten significant production out of their bench. That’s something that the Wollfpack will have to account for deep into the game.
Pick: Over 139.5
Both teams are capable of completely shutting their opponents down from the field, but I can say both offenses trading blows late into the ballgame. This is where a player like Aziaha James can really set the tone and force Kamilla Cardoso and company to keep pace. I’ll take the over.