Will Van Lith and Louisville Make Back-to-Back Final Four Trips?
It hasn’t been easy in the last two games, but the Iowa Hawkeyes are a win away from the program’s first Final Four appearance since 1993. Iowa trailed in the second half against both Georgia and Colorado.
Louisville needed junior guard Hailey Van Lith to score five points in the final 19 minutes to escape a fierce challenge from Drake in the first round. After having no problem with Texas, the Cardinals had a hard-earned 72-62 win over Ole Miss to reach the Elite Eight. Now the Cardinals are a win away from the program’s fifth Final Four appearance.
Iowa has won seven games in a row since a 28-point loss to Maryland on Feb. 21. Louisville followed a run to the ACC final with the three March Madness wins.
Iowa is 8-4 against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll this season with Louisville is 4-6 and Ole Miss 2-4 with one of those losses coming in overtime against top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina.
The women’s college basketball odds lists Iowa as the favorite even though Louisville has more experience in these types of games.
When looking at the women’s basketball news, freshman guard Taylor McCabe missed 16 games for Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes’ top seven players have combined to miss a total of three games.
Louisville has been without sophomore guard Peyton Verhulst since a late November loss to Ohio State. Freshman guard Zyanna hasn’t played since late December.
Iowa is third in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls. Louisville is among other teams receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.
According to the women’s college basketball lines, Iowa (+1000) is fourth in the odds to win Women’s College Basketball the national title. Louisville comes in at +5000.
Also check on these NCAAB betting lines.
Loyalty Rewarded
In the era of the transfer portal, Louisville has been led during this tournament run by three-year starters Hailey Van Lith and Olivia Cochran.
Van Lith has been over 20 points in each of the three March Madness games as she is averaging 22.7 points per game.
Van Lith joins Shoni Schimmel, Angel McCoughtry and Asia Durr as the only players in program history with at least 200 points during the NCAA tournament.
Cochran is putting up eight points and four rebounds per game. Fifth-year senior Mykasa Robinson had is averaging 11.3 points per game during the tournament.
History on the Line for Clark
Caitlin Clark burst onto the national scene as she was the leading scorer in the national as both a freshman and sophomore.
She can join Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles, LSU’s Seimone Augustus and Kelsey Plum of Washington as the only NCAA Division I scoring champions to play in the Final Four.
Clark is averaging 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 10.7 assists in wins over Southeast Louisiana, Georgia and Colorado.
This is not a one-player team. Monika Czinano is putting up 19 points and eight rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament, McKenna Warnock’s numbers are 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds while Katie Martin had 16 points and six rebounds in the Sweet 16 win.
It’s the smile at the end for us 😁@CaitlinClark22 ➡️ @MckennaWarnock #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/LreaUuRiD3
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 25, 2023
Louisville vs Iowa Head-to-Head
Louisville has won both meetings with Iowa with an 83-53 win in the 2014 NCAA tournament in 2013-14 and an 86-52 victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 4, 2014.
Louisville lost to Ohio State in the only matchup against a team from the Big Ten this season.
Iowa’s only game against a team from the ACC was a loss to North Carolina State. Iowa went 3-1 against Drake, Belmont, North Carolina State and Ohio State with Louisville 2-2 in those games.
Louisville vs Iowa Game Information
- Game: Louisville (26-11) vs Iowa (29-6)
- Location:Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
- Day/Time: Sunday, March 26, 9:00 p.m. ET
- Louisville vs Iowa Live Stream: TBS.com
Louisville vs Iowa Betting Lines
Louisville vs Iowa Picks & Prediction
This would be quite the return to her native Washington for Louisville’s Van Lith if she can lead her team to the Final Four for the second season in a row.
Iowa leads the nation in scoring average, putting up 87.5 points per game while shooting 51% from the field. Clark is third nationally averaging 26.9 points per game and is also among the national leaders in assists so this will be a tough test for the Louisville defense. The Cardinals are eighth among ACC teams in scoring defense and 11th in field goal percentage defense so this is not the best of Walz’s defensive teams during his time at Louisville.
Clark can be unstoppable is one of the reasons why Iowa is favored according to the women’s college basketball picks. Iowa could very well win this game. However, the 5½-point line against a tough Louisville team seems a bit high for those who bet online.
Louisville is listed at +170 on college basketball betting lines, while Iowa is -240.
The implied probability attached to the Las Vegas college women’s basketball lines gives Iowa a 70.59% chance to win, with Louisville at 37.04%.
