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The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament is on to the Final Four, starting Friday from Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Only 88 entries in USA TODAY’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool contest remain out of the 3,754 who signed up.
The semifinals are Friday on ESPN with the winners facing off in Sunday’s championship at 3 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN).
NC State (31-6) meets tournament favorite South Carolina (36-0) in the early-window game at 7 p.m. ET. The nightcap will feature UConn (33-5) and G Paige Bueckers against Iowa (33-4) and G Caitlin Clark at an approximate tip time of 9 p.m. ET.
Monday night was one for the ages, as all eyes were on women’s basketball, especially for the battle between LSU and Iowa. Clark was on another plane, draining 9 3-pointers in an amazing shooting performance, as she continues to re-write the record books. Clark ended up with 41 points in 40 minutes, while also doling out 12 assists with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot as the Hawkeyes eliminated the defending champion Tigers 94-87.
Clark and the Hawkeyes will have their hands full with Bueckers and the Huskies, who showed freshman phenom G Juju Watkins and USC, the No. 1 seed in their region, the door in an exciting Elite 8 matchup.
As for the USA TODAY’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool contest, I made 3 correct picks in the 1st round for 12 points but stumbled in the 2nd round and was eliminated. No. 4 seed Indiana won for me, but my other pick of 4th-seeded Kansas State lost to 5th-seeded Colorado.
Despite the loss, I still offered picks for the Sweet 16, hoping to assist you on your chase for the $2.5K 1st-place prize. Only having to make 1 pick this round, I rebounded with LSU (3 points) upsetting UCLA Saturday in a 78-69 thriller. For what it’s worth, I won with UConn (3 points) in the Elite 8 against USC.
As an employee, I wasn’t eligible to win this contest, but there’s no rule against me helping you.
A rules reminder: Remaining entries are required to pick 1 team in the Final Four and then the National Championship Game winner — if you still have an eligible team to select.
Points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds.
Here is my strategy of which team to pick for the Final Four.
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Final Four pick
PICK 1: IOWA HAWKEYES (33-4)
Who they play: UConn Huskies (33-5)
When: Friday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
I’ve already picked NC State and UConn in this Tournament, so I am left with just 2 top seeds. There just aren’t a lot of points available in the Final Four. If you need points, you might want to roll the dice on a No. 3 seed if you haven’t picked that team yet.
Iowa-UConn is going to be a fun game. Clark vs. Bueckers will get all of the headlines, but here’s UConn coach Geno Auriemma leading another team to the precipice of a national title, while the Hawkeyes are trying to get back to the championship game — they lost to LSU in the title game a year ago.
UConn was impressive against USC, shooting 48.3% (28-of-58) from the field, including 46.7% (7-of-15) from behind the 3-point line in an 80-73 victory.
If there is an Achilles’ heel, the Huskies managed to go just 63.0% (17-of-27) from the free-throw line, and that simply won’t do in a close game. Plus, UConn was minus-2 in the turnover department, but made up for it by outrebounding USC 42-41, while dishing out 7 more assists to improve to assist-to-turnover ratio.
Along with Clark scoring 41 against LSU, the Hawkeyes were 46.4% (32-of-69) from the field, hitting 41.9% (13-of-31) from behind the 3-point line. G Sydney Affolter hit a pair of triples, and ended up with 16 points and 5 rebounds, while G Kate Martin was good for 21 points and 6 rebounds with 2 steals and a perfect 4-of-4 night from the free-throw line.
Friday against UConn won’t be easy for Iowa, but the Hawkeyes should get back to the title game, setting up a potential classic against South Carolina — as long as the Gamecocks remain undefeated and push past upstart NC State.
Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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