NCAA Women's Tournament 2022: Odds, Bracket Ahead of Final Four

Connecticut, South Carolina, Louisville and defending champion Stanford will vie for spots in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Game in the Final Four on Friday.

Defensive matchups dominate the discussion, while the question becomes whether anyone can stop the dominant Gamecocks, who have won multiple games in this year's tourney by double digits.

Star players abound, and veteran coaches will attempt to lead them to title glory. Oddsmakers, meanwhile, have selected their favorites for the two semifinals.

Final Four Schedule and Odds

Young Kwak/Associated Press

Friday, April 1

Louisville +300 (wager $100 to win $300) vs. South Carolina -400 (wager $400 to win $100), 7 p.m. ET.

UConn -110 vs. Stanford -110, 9:30 p.m. ET.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Louisville vs. South Carolina

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

There is a reason South Carolina has so many people picking them to win the NCAA women's basketball championship this year: its utter dominance in this tournament. Coach Dawn Staley's team has won three of its four games by double digits, including a 30-point win over Creighton in the Elite Eight.

The defense has been great throughout, ranking third while allowing just 50.5 PPG, but the team found its offensive rhythm against the Blue Jays, scoring 80 in what was the best offensive output of the tournament thus far.

A big team with experience and chemistry, they have been able to outmuscle opponents, imposing their will on anyone that attempts to halt their momentum.

Aliyah Boston will be the star to watch Friday.

The forward is averaging 12.2 rebounds per game and is a force on the boards. If she can replicate those numbers against the Cardinals and the offense can take advantage by putting up 50 percent from the field and 77.8 from the free-throw line, South Carolina will roll to the tournament final.

Louisville has a chance, but it will have to play near-flawless basketball against Staley and her team to do what only North Carolina has managed to do to this point: keep it close.

UConn vs. Stanford

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Stanford will look to make it back-to-back titles in 2022, but to accomplish that feat, it will have to find a way to defeat a Paige Bueckers-led UConn team that is looking for its first title in six years.

The Cardinal are coming off a game in which they had 20 turnovers against Texas, played the style the Longhorns wanted them to and still managed to emerge from the Elite Eight with a nine-point win. They cannot afford the same kind of performance against a UConn team that has not lost since early February and is coming off a double-overtime thriller against North Carolina State.

The Huskies have been dominant on the defensive side of the ball since their most recent loss. They have allowed 50 points or more in just two games during that stretch, a stat that plays into their favor against the 27th-ranked Cardinal.

Add to that what is sure to be an emotion-filled game for Bueckers, who returns to her hometown of Minneapolis for the game. The Huskies star is healthy after missing considerable time earlier in the season and would love to lead her team to the final and, potentially, deliver head coach Geno Auriemma his first title since 2016.

Stanford has the experience, having returned eight of its nine best players from last season's national championship triumph. Head coach Tara VanDerveer has led the Cardinal since 1985, save for the 1995-96 season when she coached the U.S. to Olympic gold, has three national titles to her name and knows what it takes to prepare her players to be their best in big-game situations.

The team will have to shoot better than the 37.3-percent it managed against Texas if it wants to advance to its second consecutive final.

All stats from NCAA.com.

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