The stage is set for the women’s basketball NCAA Championship final, as a heavyweight clash on Easter Sunday will decide whether UCLA will make history with its first NCAA title, or powerhouse South Carolina will take home its fourth championship of the decade.
The Gamecocks shocked the world on Friday when they snapped UConn’s 54-game win streak, shattering the Huskies’ hopes of back-to-back national titles en route to punching their ticket to a third consecutive national title game.
With a low-scoring 51-44 victory over Texas in the Final Four, the Bruins have made their way to their first national title game in the NCAA era, as they look to cap off what has been a magical season.
Meanwhile in the NBA, Sunday marks the return of Stephen Curry, who has missed the last 27 games with a knee injury, as the Golden State Warriors look to rev up their superstar guard ahead of the start of the play-in tournament.
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First Pick: South Carolina vs. UCLA – Under 127.5
Rundown: The biggest reason Dawn Staley has her Gamecocks in a third consecutive national title game is the lockdown defense of her backcourt duo, senior Raven Johnson and freshman Agot Makeer.
Facing an elite Husky offense led by AP National Player of the Year Sarah Strong and star guard Azzi Fudd, Johnson and Makeer held the two to a combined 7-for-31 from the field, powering the Gamecocks to an upset.
South Carolina’s defense has been in top shape through the entire tournament, allowing just 52.6 points per game through the tournament, which does not bode well for a UCLA offense that just turned the ball over a whopping 23 times against Texas.
But despite those offensive woes, the Bruins made it Sunday through an incredible defensive effort, holding Texas to shooting just 31% from the field.
The game before, UCLA held Duke to just 39% shooting and 8% from the three-point line to make it out of the Elite Eight.
With both defenses playing at such a high level heading into the national championship game, expect a low-scoring slugfest and roll with the under.
Second Pick: Golden State Warriors +3.5 over Houston Rockets
Michael Lasquero - The Sporting Tribune
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry gets up a shot during the Clippers-Warriors game in Honolulu on October 5, 2024.
Rundown: While the Warriors are essentially locked into the 10th seed and will need to win two games on the road to just emerge from the play-in tournament, the return of Steph Curry should still spark fear in the Western Conference.
Golden State was 27-23 before Curry sustained his injury on Jan. 30, and have since added center Kristaps Porzingis, who’s 17.5 points per game have led the Warriors in Curry’s absence.
The pair will share the floor for the first time this season on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how Curry’s off-ball movement coupled with having a stretch big to play off of can take advantage of a Rockets defense that struggles when you force All-Star center Alperen Sengun to guard multiple actions.
Additionally, the Rockets have one of the larger home-and-away record discrepancies in the league this season, going 28-10 at home and 20-19 on the road.
While the Warriors will need to develop chemistry with Curry and their new trade deadline acquisitions over the last five games of the season, the Rockets may be on cruise control heading into the playoffs.
With the news of the 3rd seed Los Angeles Lakers losing both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injury, the 5th seed Rockets would not mind dropping to the 6th seed and getting a much easier first opponent than the Denver Nuggets, who they are currently matched up with.
With the stakes being much different for both teams, expect Golden State to come out on top in Curry’s return.