How to watch No. 1 South Carolina vs. Iowa in NCAA Tournament on TV, live stream
It’s almost time for what some pundits — including Hall of Fame broadcaster Debbie Antonelli — are already forecasting as the “highest-rated game in the history of women’s basketball.”
Transcendent stars Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark will meet head-to-head for the first and probably last time late Friday night in Dallas as No. 1 overall seed South Carolina plays No. 2 Iowa in one of the more TV-friendly matchups in recent memory.
USC has been the wire-to-wire No. 1-ranked team all season and is seeking a second consecutive national championship behind coach Dawn Staley and potential No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick Boston, while national player of the year Clark — a dynamic, triple-double-accumulating guard with limitless 3-point range — has helped Iowa break a 30-year Final Four drought.
Here’s what else you need to know about Friday’s game.
South Carolina vs. Iowa game info
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (36-0) vs. No. 2 Iowa (30-6)
Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas
When: Approximately 9 p.m. Friday (or 30 minutes after end of first semifinal)
Betting line: South Carolina by 11.5 points (Caesars Sportsbook)
TV: ESPN
Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app
Next up: The winner of South Carolina-Iowa will advance to the national championship game on Sunday, April 2 at American Airlines Center at 3:30 p.m. to face the winner of Friday’s Virginia Tech-LSU game.
Aliyah Boston’s last ride?
Coach Dawn Staley has emphasized it many times this season: Boston, the 2022 national player of the year, could have far better statistics. But that’s not her style: winning is.
Still, if anyone needed a reminder of what Boston at her best looks like, she delivered it in Monday’s win over Maryland. South Carolina’s record-setting senior forward was the most impactful player on the floor and finished with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Boston, who repeated as national defensive player of the year Wednesday, also had two blocks and finished with a +23 plus-minus rating in 33 minutes as she advanced to a third consecutive Final Four. This weekend could mark her final games in a USC uniform if she declares for the 2023 WNBA Draft afterward.
Caitlin Clark making history
On the other side of Friday’s matchup: the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft (if she chooses to declare). That’s how good Clark, a junior guard, has been.
The first 40-point triple-double in men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament history was the latest in a long reel of Clark’s 2022-23 highlights. She enters the Final Four averaging 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists — and she’s shooting a better percentage on long-distance 3-pointers of 25 to 30 feet (44.0%) than she is mid-range jumpers of 10 to 15 feet (34.8%), according to CBB Analytics.
Now she gets a chance for an encore against the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense (South Carolina allows 51.1 points per game) and one of its best perimeter defenders (forward Brea Beal, likely Clark’s primary defender). Buckle up.
South Carolina vs. Iowa game notes
This is South Carolina’s third consecutive Final Four appearance and fifth in the last eight NCAA Tournaments under coach Dawn Staley.
Entering the Iowa game, USC has won 42 consecutive games overall, 23 straight games against ranked teams and seven straight neutral-site games versus ranked teams.
South Carolina is 3-1 all-time against March Madness No. 2 seeds and has won three in a row, most recently beating No. 2 UConn in the 2022 national championship game.
The Gamecocks have outscored their first four NCAA Tournament opponents — Norfolk State, South Florida, UCLA and Maryland — by 22.5 points per game on average.
Iowa has a nation-best five wins against AP Top 10 opponents this year.
Among major crossover opponents, South Carolina and Iowa both played UConn and Maryland this season. USC was 3-0 in those games (all road/neutral); Iowa was 1-2 with a seven-point neutral-site loss to UConn and 28-point road loss to Maryland.
Gamecocks vs. Hawkeyes players to watch
Raven Johnson, G, South Carolina: In a preview of the starting role she’ll likely assume for 2023-24, Johnson, USC’s backup point guard, played an NCAA Tournament-high 25 minutes against Maryland — and ended up with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
Zia Cooke, G, South Carolina: South Carolina’s Elite Eight game against Maryland was also a critical bounce-back opportunity for leading scorer Cooke, who was limited to six points on 2-of-10 shooting against UCLA. Her Monday stats: 18 points, eight assists and two 3-pointers.
Monika Czinano, F/C, Iowa: Czinano, Iowa’s fifth-year anchor down low, is a unanimous All-Big Ten selection and one of the best finishers in the country. She averages 17.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 67.9% shooting from the field (No. 3 nationally).
Kate Martin, G, Iowa: You can truly pick your poison with Iowa’s shooters: The team shoots 37.9% from deep, No. 7 nationally, and guards Clark and McKenna Warnock are right over 39%. But Martin’s been even better: She’s 42 of 106 for a 39.6% clip, best among Iowa’s starters.
National championship game information
The winner of Friday’s South Carolina-Iowa games will play either Virginia Tech or LSU in the 2023 national championship game on Sunday. That game, also at American Airlines Center, is scheduled to tip off at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
No. 3 LSU is the lowest remaining seed in the Final Four but a slim 2-point betting favorite against ACC champion and No. 1 seed Virginia, per Caesars Sportsbook.
LSU-Virginia Tech is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
