NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2023: Saturday Sweet 16 Bracket Odds, Picks
The reigning champion and runner-up of the NCAA women's basketball tournament are three wins away from setting up a rematch in Dallas.
The South Carolina Gamecocks and UConn Huskies both cruised through the first two rounds of the bracket with double-digit victories.
Both teams start their regional weekends as double-digit favorites. South Carolina is favored by a whopping 17.5 points over the UCLA Bruins, while UConn is a 10-point favorite against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Getting to the Final Four, or even the Elite Eight, will be more difficult on paper for the Gamecocks and Huskies in their respective brackets since all of the top four seeds are still alive.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Maryland Terrapins start Saturday's four-game slate in a battle in which the winner likely faces South Carolina in the Greenville 1 region.
The top-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies take on the Tennessee Volunteers in the Seattle 3 region, in which UConn is the favorite to win.
The presence of the top four seeds in each bracket could mean we see four high-quality contests, even if the point spreads suggest otherwise.
Saturday Sweet 16 Schedule
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Greenville 1: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Maryland (-5) (11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Greenville 1: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 1 South Carolina (-17.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Seattle 3: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 UConn (-10) (4 p.m. ET, ABC)
Seattle 3: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Virginia Tech (-1) (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 1 South Carolina (-17.5)
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The 34-0 Gamecocks produced two similar wins to kick off the NCAA tournament.
Dawn Staley's side had a pair of 30-point victories in which it held opponents under 50 points.
If South Carolina shows that type of dominance on Saturday, it will cruise into the Elite Eight.
The Gamecocks not only have the edge of being the best team in college basketball, but they also get to play the next two rounds at home in Greenville, South Carolina.
That is bad news for UCLA, who made the cross-country trip for the second weekend of the Big Dance.
UCLA enters Saturday with the benefit of playing South Carolina once already this season. The Bruins lost by nine points on November 29. Since that game, South Carolina won 23 of 26 by double figures.
South Carolina's dominance has been on display all season, and UCLA may run into a buzzsaw in Greenville.
The Gamecocks allowed over 65 points in one of their last 11 games. They scored 72 or more points in 10 of those contests.
South Carolina needs to open up a larger gap to cover the point spread, but it feels hard to bet against the SEC champion given how controlling it was in the first two rounds.
UCLA knows what it takes to stay within single digits of the Gamecocks, but it could be outmatched by the postseason version of the reigning champion. South Carolina has one single-digit win in its last eight NCAA tournament contests.
South Carolina can break a game open at any stage, and expect that to happen in what is essentially a home game for the Gamecocks.
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 UConn (-10)
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UConn opened its NCAA tournament with 95-52 and 77-58 victories.
The Huskies could produce another big margin of victory against an Ohio State team that has had its troubles containing some of the best teams in the country.
The Buckeyes conceded over 75 points in their last six losses to Top 25 programs. They allowed 105 points to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten tournament final.
Ohio State fell twice to Iowa, Maryland and the Indiana Hoosiers in their recent ranked defeats. Iowa advanced to the Elite Eight on Friday, Maryland plays in Saturday's first game and Indiana was a No. 1 seed.
The Buckeyes did beat the Michigan Wolverines on February 20 and March 3, but they are on a lower tier than Iowa, Maryland, Indiana and UConn. Michigan won a single NCAA tournament game as a No. 6 seed.
UConn can take advantage of Ohio State's defensive struggles against the top teams in the country. It has five players who average over 10 points per game, led by Aaliyah Edwards' 17 points per contest.
The Huskies offense can overwhelm the Ohio State defense and break open a large advantage at any time.
Geno Auriemma's side is on a seven-game winning streak, and it won the last six contests by holding opponents under 60 points.
UConn's recent defensive form, and Ohio State's lack of defense against the elite teams, bodes well for another large Huskies victory in the NCAA tournament.
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