The 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament will continue on Monday with an Elite Eight matchup in Albany Region 2 between the No. 1 seed Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 3 seed LSU Tigers. This is a rematch of last year's national championship game and this time there will be a trip to the Final Four on the line as two of the sport's biggest stars go head-to-head. Iowa's Caitlin Clark broke both the men's and women's Division I scoring records this year, but it was LSU's Angel Reese who led the Tigers past the Hawkeyes for the championship a year ago.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET at the Times Union Center in Albany. The Hawkeyes are 2-point favorites, while the over/under is 167.5 points in the latest Iowa vs. LSU odds. Before you lock in any LSU vs. Iowa picks or predictions, you have to see what women's basketball expert Calvin Wetzel has to say.
Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women's hoops to turn the site's prediction model into picks. Now Wetzel has turned his attention to women's college basketball after teaming up with Aaron Barzilai, a Ph.D. from Stanford. Since the start of the 2021-22 women's college basketball campaign, he is 1384-988 (+371.33 units). Anybody following has seen huge results.
Now, he has set his sights on Iowa vs. LSU and made his picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for LSU vs. Iowa:
- Iowa vs. LSU spread: Iowa -2
- Iowa vs. LSU over/under: 167.5 points
- Iowa vs. LSU money line: Iowa -130, LSU +120
- IOWA: Caitlin Clark leads the nation in scoring (31.7 points per game)
- LSU: Angel Reese has a double-double in 15 consecutive games
- Iowa vs. LSU: See picks at SportsLine
Why Iowa can cover
In Clark's final collegiate season, she passed Kelsey Plum and "Pistol" Pete Maravich to cement her status as the most prolific scorer in the history of Division I basketball. Clark enters the regional final averaging 31.7 points, 8.9 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game and she'll be the focal point of the LSU defensive gameplan after hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 30 points in last year's title game loss.
However, Clark isn't the only option for Lisa Bluder's top-ranked offense. The Hawkeyes lead college basketball in scoring (91.9 ppg) and ranked ninth in the nation in 3-point shooting (37.7%). Kate Martin, Sydney Affolter, Gabby Marshall, Molly Davis and Taylor McCabe all shoot 36% from beyond the arc or better and help space the floor around Clark. See which team to pick here.
Why LSU can cover
LSU will look to enact a similar gameplan as last year's championship game, where the Tigers turned the Hawkeyes into a one-dimensional perimeter team by closing down driving lanes with their size and athleticism. Reese posted a double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Tigers had five different players reach double-figures in that contest.
Reese has had a double-double in all three of her tournament games and brings a streak of 15 consecutive double-doubles into Monday's contest. Flau'jae Johnson is also playing some of her best basketball of the season, averaging 19.7 points per game during the 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament and coming off a 24-point, 12-rebound performance against UCLA on Saturday. See which team to pick here.
How to make Iowa vs. LSU picks
Wetzel has analyzed this matchup, leaning Over on the point total while discovering a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
Who wins LSU vs. Iowa and makes the Final Four, and what critical x-factor makes one side hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Iowa vs. LSU spread hits, all from the expert who's up 371 units since the start of the 2021-22 season, and find out.