James, Cardoso Top Player Prop Picks in NC State-South Carolina Clash
South Carolina is two wins away from becoming the 10th NCAA Division I women’s basketball team to finish the season undefeated. The Gamecocks are favored by the women’s college basketball betting lines to top NC State and advance to Sunday’s national title game.
The teams last met in the 2021-22 season opener with South Carolina winning 66-57 on the road. Kamilla Cardoso, Bree Hall, and Raven Johnson are the only active South Carolina players to appear in that game while Jakia Brown-Turner had 18 points for North Carolina State.
When looking at NCAAW futures odds, South Carolina is first at -200 with NC State fourth at +1400 in the odds of winning the NCAAW title.
The game is set to start sometime around 7:15 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, and will air on ESPN.
North Carolina State’s Aziaha James to have 19+ Points (-114)
James provided a glimpse of what was to come when she dropped 18 points in a win over UConn in the second game of the season. She also had a 28-point effort against a ranked Louisville team.
However, her best work has come in the NCAA tournament.
Aziaha James in the first half 🔥
21 PTS
7/10 FG
5-5 3-PT FG pic.twitter.com/0ZVEpMIHn3— ESPN (@espn) March 31, 2024
The junior guard averaged 24.3 points in the first four tournament games. She could have much less room to operate against top-ranked South Carolina but when looking at NCAAW player prop bets today, it is worth a shot to go with James at -114 to have at least 19 points.
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso to have 15+ Points (-114)
It has been an interesting journey for Cardoso. After a big freshman season at Syracuse, Cardoso had to wait her turn with Aliyah Boston leading the Gamecocks. With Boston off to play professionally, Cardoso has stepped into a key role.
The 6-foot-7 native of Brazil has gone from averaging 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 18.9 minutes as a junior. Those numbers have jumped to 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game. It won’t be surprising to see Cardoso top her season averages in the semifinal matchup with NC State.
North Carolina State’s River Baldwin to have 11+ Points (-130)
WNBA scouts might want to pick Baldwin’s brain before the draft rolls around. It is a foregone conclusion that Iowa’s Caitlin Clark will be the first player chosen in the draft. Stanford’s Cameron Brink, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and Cardoso all figure to be gone by the midway point of the first round. Baldwin will have faced each of them.
She had 11 points and seven rebounds against Jackson and Tennessee, finished with nine points and four rebounds versus Stanford, and now gets to square off with Cardoso.
Baldwin has played with four fouls in each of the last two games but take a look at the -130 number according to the Vegas NCAA basketball odds for Baldwin to have at least 11 points.
South Carolina’s Raven Johnson to have 6+ Assists (+131)
Johnson is the only South Carolina player who started games for the Gamecocks a season ago as she did so in three.
Like so many of the returning players, Johnson’s minutes have increased following the departure of the entire South Carolina starting lineup.
She runs things on offense for the top-ranked Gamecocks and it is hard to find fault with her decision making with 171 assists and just 57 turnovers.
Johnson has back-to-back games with six assists and she could approach that number once again.
“I want to do something big for her. I do want to win the national championship for her.”#Gamecock guard Raven Johnson told me she wants to send Kamilla Cardoso off to the #WNBA on a high note with a natty. @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/wzdqxvqs2w
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) April 4, 2024
South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao to have 3+ 3-pointers (+127)
More than a few folks took notice when Paopao was 5 for 7 from 3-point range in a win over UConn during the regular season.
She also had three 3-pointers in wins over North Carolina and Utah. The Oregon transfer has been pretty quiet in the last three games as she is 5-of-15 from 3-point range.
Paopao joins BYU’s Kailey Woolston as the only women’s player from the Power 5 conferences to shoot better than 45% on 3-pointers while attempting at least 150 treys so she could get free for some open looks against the Wolfpack.
Questions Of The Day
Which player delivered on prop bets in the regional finals?
South Carolina freshman Tessa Johnson came off the bench to score 15 points in a win over Oregon State in the Albany 1 Regional final.
What are the game odds for the semifinal matchup between North Carolina State and South Carolina?
South Carolina is listed by our sportsbook as the 11½-point favorite with -900 odds to win the game outright. The Moneyline is at +450 for North Carolina State with the total set at 139½.
