NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2022: Saturday Sweet 16 Bracket Odds, Picks

Both No. 1 seeds competing on Friday, South Carolina and Stanford, won their respective games to start the Sweet 16 round of the 2022 NCAA women's basketball tournament, which means there are two No. 1 seeds left on the board trying to avoid a major upset on Saturday.

First up is NC State, who will have to face the offensive firepower of Notre Dame.

The Wolfpack lost 69-66 to the Fighting Irish back in February, so they'll have to have a much better game this time around to avoid being the first No. 1 to fall.

Then there's the Louisville matchup with No. 4 Tennessee, who have overachieved without their best player Jordan Horston since she went down with a fractured left elbow five weeks ago.

South Dakota (No. 10) is playing the role of Cinderella at this point, looking to continue their unexpected run with a win over Michigan (No. 3).

Here's a quick look at Saturday's Sweet 16 schedule with odds and picks.

Sweet 16 Schedule, Odds

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Saturday, March 26

No. 1 NC State (-8) vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN

No. 2 UConn (-9) vs. No. 3 Indiana, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

No. 1 Louisville (-7) vs. No. 4 Tennessee, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2

No. 3 Michigan (-4) vs. No. 10 South Dakota, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Picks in bold against the spread.

Will Cinderella Keep Dancing?

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The ladies of South Dakota have been playing otherworldly to this point.

No one expected them to still be playing this deep into the tournament, but after beating Ole Miss and Baylor, they're more than ready for the challenge of taking on Michigan.

What's gotten the Coyotes this far is their defense and deadly three-ball. They held both Shakira Austin and NaLyssa Smith in check and will be looking to limit Naz Hillmon on Saturday.

South Dakota is led by their three seniors Chloe Lamb, Hannah Sjerven and Liv Korngable.

"Just doing everything at a very high, 100% level, not doing anything half-heartedly," Korngable told ESPN's Alexa Philippou of their effort against Baylor. "Pulling from coaches and players and each other, that's a big, big part of our fearlessness and confidence."

If South Dakota can stick to their gameplan and play the way they've been playing thus far in March, the Wolverines will have their hands full and they Coyotes will continue their historic run.

Can Notre Dame Topple No. 1?

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For Notre Dame and their top-ranked opponent NC State, Saturday will feel a bit like déjà vu.

The two teams met early last month with the Fighting Irish emerging victorious 69-66.

"I felt like that was the first game we came out with an aggressive mentality from the beginning," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey told The Goshen News of what worked the first time against the Wolfpack. "I felt like we set the tone. We were confident, and when you play against a top-three team in the country — that was our first time, and it was like we raised our level knowing what that game was going to require. And so, I was really pleased by that."

What it's going to come down to in this game is scoring.

When the Wolfpack scores more than 63.2 points, they are 23-2.

They'll lean on a balanced attack lead by Elissa Cunane, who averages a team-high 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

When Notre Dame holds a team below 77.3 points, they are 20-6, so they will try to slow the game down, build on what worked the last time these two faced off and play at their own pace.

If they can do that, NC State could be the first No. 1 team to lose and the Fighting Irish will be headed to the Elite Eight.