NCAA Women's Championship Game 2018: Latest Odds and Predictions

After surviving a pair of thrilling Final Four contests, No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 1 Notre Dame are set to square off in the 2018 women's National Championship Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs dispensed of fellow top seed Louisville by 10 points, while Notre Dame conquered No. 1 UConn in overtime on a game-winning shot from Arike Ogunbowale.

Since winning the national title in 2001, the Fighting Irish placed second on four occasions, with the most recent occurrence coming in 2015.

Mississippi State, who skyrocketed into the elite programs of women's basketball a year ago, is looking to finish on the right side of the National Championship after losing to South Carolina 12 months ago.

Latest Odds (via OddsShark)

No. 1 Mississippi State (-1.5) vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 

Predictions

Teaira McCowan Continues Incredible Season

Mississippi State forward Teaira McCowan has been an unstoppable force throughout the women's basketball season, and she presents Notre Dame with a matchup problem in the paint Sunday.

During Friday's win over Louisville, McCowan shattered the record for most rebounds in a single women's tournament, per ESPN's official Twitter account:

"

Teaira McCowan out here shattering records. pic.twitter.com/ZMUzyvjm87

— ESPN (@espn) March 31, 2018"

McCowan averages 18.1 points and 13.4 rebounds per game in a season in which she's recorded 28 double-doubles.

In her five NCAA tournament contests, the junior forward has 23.4 points and 18.4 rebounds per contest, with 21 points and 25 rebounds coming in the overtime triumph over Louisville.

McCowan follows a simple philosophy instilled in her from Schaefer, per Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.com.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

"As for rebounds, Coach always says, 'Go get them all'," McCowan said. "So that's what I try to do."

Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw, who has been in charge of the Fighting Irish since 1987, gave high praise to McCowan, per USA Today's Nina Mandell.

"She is a force inside, tremendous player," McGraw said. "Works the boards like nobody I've ever seen. I mean, she is a tremendous rebounder. Just a phenomenal player inside. She's so dominant, both ends of the floor. She's a tough matchup. We haven't faced anybody like that."

While she isn't the only star on the Bulldogs roster, McCowan is the most important player entering Sunday, and she is expected to produce yet another memorable showing on the boards.

As she attempts to clean up down low, McCowan is going to draw multiple defenders, which means any one of Roshunda Johnson, Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William could be open to knock down a key shot.

With Notre Dame trying to contain a plethora of offensive weapons, McCowan will find a way to exploit mismatches and continue to dominate in the frontcourt.

Notre Dame Finds a Way to Win Once Again

Although containing McCowan is a near impossible task, the Fighting Irish are no stranger to accomplishing what many believe are unthinkable jobs.

Notre Dame slayed UConn in the Final Four and is carrying all sorts of momentum into the National Championship, a game McGraw has plenty of experience dealing with.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

With McCowan thriving down low, the Fighting Irish should set up camp around the three-point line, where Ogunbowale and Jackie Young are able to achieve a good amount of success.

Ogunbowale, who leads Notre Dame in scoring at 20.9 points per game, had a surreal Twitter exchange with NBA legend Kobe Bryant after her game-winning shot Friday that ended with the Mamba telling the Notre Dame junior her life would be complete with a win Sunday:

In addition to Ogunbowale and Young, who is a 52.4 percent shooter from the field, the Irish have Marina Mabrey in their offensive arsenal.

Mabrey is Notre Dame's top three-point shooter, as she hits 39.3 percent of her shots from downtown, and she is a reliable force at the free-throw line with a 85.2 percent clip at the charity stripe.

Although the Fighting Irish aren't as deep as they would like, they have all the pieces in place to challenge the Bulldogs and return to the top of the women's basketball game for the first time in 17 years.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics occurred from the official team websites.