College basketball's best rivalry on display with more than just bragging rights on the line
South Carolina, the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in women's college basketball this season, will face Connecticut in the national championship game Sunday night in Minneapolis.
The Gamecocks (34-2) are looking for their second title under Dawn Staley, breaking through in 2017.
UConn, perhaps the most dominant program in the women's game, will play for its 12th national championship, but its first since 2016.
The Huskies (30-5) entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Bridgeport Regional, while South Carolina was the top-overall seed and won the Greensboro Regional.
FrontPageBets breaks down the women's national championship game. (All odds are according to DraftKings, and are subject to change):
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 South Carolina
Tipoff: 8 p.m., Sunday
TV: ESPN
Site: Target Center; Minneapolis.
Spread: South Carolina -4 (-110); UConn +4 (-110)
Money line: South Carolina -180; UConn +155
Over/Under: 126.5 (-110)
Road to the national championship game: South Carolina advanced to its fourth Final Four in the last seven years by dominating its NCAA Tournament opponents. The Gamecocks knocked off Howard (79-21), Miami (49-33), North Carolina (69-61) and Creighton (80-50) to make it to Minneapolis and the national semifinals. In that game Friday night, USC knocked off Louisville, 72-59, for a chance to play for its second championship in program history. Aliyah Boston leads the Gamecocks, and how. The 6-foot-5 junior forward from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, is the AP and Naismith National Player of the Year, and is averaging 23.5 points and 15.7 rebounds over her last three games. She had 27 consecutive double-doubles this season as well, a Southeastern Conference record. Boston also set a program single-season record for rebounds (446 and counting). UConn is led by sophomore Paige Bueckers, who is averaging 14.6 points a game. Bueckers, who was the Naismith, Wooden, USBWA and AP National Player of the year in 2021, missed about half the season for the Huskies with an injury, but is back in her hometown of Minneapolis to try and lead her team to its 12th national title. UConn knocked off defending champion Stanford in the national semifinal Friday night, 63-58. The Huskies beat Mercer (83-38), UCF (52-47), Indiana (75-58) and top-seeded N.C. State (91-87) to make it to the Final Four. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has never lost in the championship final, a perfect 11-0.
The pick: South Carolina, 71-66.
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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 22-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
