Oklahoma vs. South Carolina Prediction, Odds, Key Player for Women's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Another year, another Sweet 16 for Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks, who are heavily favored against another SEC team – the Oklahoma Sooners – on Saturday.

South Carolina has dominated in the NCAA Tournament so far, winning by 69 points against Southern before blowing out the JuJu Watkins-less USC Trojans by 40 in the Round of 32.

Oklahoma has made a nice run in this year’s tournament as a No. 4 seed, beating Idaho by 30 in the first round before knocking off No. 5 Michigan State by six in the second round.

During the regular season, the Sooners pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season, knocking off South Carolina in overtime, 94-82. The Sooners are the only team other than Texas to beat South Carolina this season.

So, will Joyce Edwards, Ta’Niya Latson and the Gamecocks get revenge in the NCAA Tournament?

Let’s take a look at the odds, a player to watch and my prediction for this Sweet 16 showdown.

Oklahoma vs. South Carolina Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

Oklahoma +16.5 (-110)
South Carolina -16.5 (-110)

Moneyline

Oklahoma: +1120
South Carolina: -3000

Total

153.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Oklahoma vs. South Carolina How to Watch

Date: Saturday, March 28
Time: 5:00 p.m. EST
Venue: Golden 1 Center
How to Watch (TV): ESPN
Oklahoma record: 26-7
South Carolina record: 33-3

Oklahoma vs. South Carolina Key Player to Watch

Joyce Edwards, Forward, South Carolina

Sophomore Joyce Edwards does it all for South Carolina, averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 59.5 percent from the field.

Edwards isn’t a great 3-point shooter (20.0 percent from deep), but she does everything else for the Gamecocks, scoring 27 and 23 points in the first two games of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Against Oklahoma, Edwards struggled, scoring 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. Can she bounce back against one of the best defenses in the country?

Oklahoma vs. South Carolina Prediction and Pick

Oklahoma has some nice wins this season, but it has also been blown out by some contenders like UCLA (14-point loss), LSU (19 and 34-point losses) and Vanderbilt (16-point loss) this season.

The Gamecocks are favored by 15 points in Bart Torvik’s model for this game, and the advanced analytics site has Dawn Staley’s club in the top five in the country in both adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency.

I want to give the Sooners a lot of credit for their win over South Carolina earlier this season, but it took South Carolina shooting 37 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3 for the Sooners to win in overtime. Edwards and Latson combined to shoot 4-for-22 in that game, and it would be absolutely shocking if that happened again.

Oklahoma does not shoot the 3-ball well (248th in the country in 3-point percentage), yet it was 39 percent from 3 in the win over South Carolina this season. On top of that, this Gamecocks defense is No. 2 in the country in opponent 2-point percentage.

I’m not going to bet against Dawn Staley in the NCAA Tournament unless UConn is on the other side in the game. Give me the Gamecocks to cover on Saturday.

Pick: South Carolina -16.5 (-110 at FanDuel)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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