Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview (April 1): LSU vs. Iowa Predictions

The 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament ended in dramatic fashion, with Angel Reese and LSU defeating Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the national championship game. In her typical defiant style, Reese punctuated the Tigers’ 102-85 win by pointing at her ring finger and making John Cena’s “you can’t see me” hand gesture while staring down Clark.

Caitlin Clark and Iowa will seek revenge against Angel Reese and LSU in one of the most-anticipated March Madness matchups ever on Monday in the Elite 8 round of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. Want to get in on the action by betting on the Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese rematch? Let’s look at some of the betting trends for it.

Bet on LSU vs. Iowa

LSU +2
IOWA -2

LSU vs. Iowa best odds

LSU Moneyline Odds+110 at bet365
Iowa Moneyline Odds-130 at NorthStar Bets
Over/Underover 168.5 points at Sports Interaction (-110)
under 168.5 points at Sports Interaction (-110)
SpreadLSU +2.5 at Sports Interaction (-120)
Iowa -1.5 at NorthStar Bets (-114)
Time/DateApril 1, 7:00 p.m. ET
TVBroadcast: TSN1/4/5

Betting LSU

Much like Caitlin Clark and Iowa, Angel Reese and LSU weren’t able to finish at the top of the SEC standings at the end of the regular season this year. They finished in second with a 13-3 record, three games back behind the 16-0 South Carolina team that hasn’t lost a single game yet this season. But that doesn’t mean Reese and LSU weren’t able to enjoy their fair share of success this year.

LSU only lost three times during SEC play, with one loss coming to South Carolina and the other two coming during upsets against Auburn and Mississippi State. The Tigers also won several big-time matchups against the likes of nationally ranked teams like Virginia Tech. They even made it all the way to the 2024 SEC Tournament title game before losing to South Carolina by just seven points in the championship.

Because of all this, most women’s college basketball experts predicted LSU would be rewarded with a No. 2 seed in the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. But the selection committee chose to make them a No. 3 seed instead and put Angel Reese and the Tigers into the same bracket as Caitlin Clark and Iowa. LSU responded by winning its first three games of the tournament decidedly by beating No. 14-seeded Rice, No. 11-seeded Middle Tennessee, and No. 2-seeded UCLA to set the stage for a Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese rematch in the Elite 8.

It’s never easy for teams that win the NCAA Tournament to bounce back and repeat the following season. But Angel Reese and LSU have their sights set on doing it, and if they’re going to accomplish this goal, they’ll need to find a way to slow down Caitlin Clark and Iowa. That will mean containing one of the best scorers the college basketball world has ever seen while also putting a clamp on her teammates who looked strong in Iowa’s last win against Colorado.

Betting Iowa

Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates weren’t able to finish at the top of the Big Ten standings at the end of the regular season this year. The Hawkeyes put together a 15-3 conference record to finish one game behind Ohio State in the regular-season standings. But that’s pretty much the only thing that didn’t go right for Clark and Iowa this season.

Caitlin Clark and Iowa were able to work their way through the 2024 Big Ten Tournament and beat Nebraska in the championship game to take home the Big Ten title. They were also able to head into the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament on a six-game winning streak with a No. 2 ranking in the country. And they were able to do all this despite the constant media hype that surrounded Iowa this season as Clark set out to become the NCAA’s (both men’s and women’s) all-time scoring leader, eventually passing the 3,667 points that “Pistol” Pete Maravich scored during his illustrious career at LSU from 1967 through 1970 in early March.

The only thing left for Caitlin Clark and Iowa to do now is avenge their 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game loss to Angel Reese and LSU. The Hawkeyes enter the game having won nine games in a row after beating No. 16-seeded Holy Cross, No. 8-seeded West Virginia, and No. 5-seeded Colorado through the first three rounds of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. They’ve also assembled a 32-4 record thus far this season with impressive wins over nationally ranked teams like Indiana, Kansas State, and Ohio State.

It remains to be seen whether or not Caitlin Clark and Iowa will be able to get over the hump and get the revenge they desire after failing at the hands of Angel Reese and her LSU teammates to end last season’s Women’s NCAA Tournament. But if nothing else, Iowa has lived up to its lofty expectations this year and put itself in a position to make up for its shortcomings last year in a game that would help them earn another berth in the Final Four.

Caitlin Clark over 5.5 threes made

+105

LSU vs. Iowa injury concerns

The good news for college basketball fans looking forward to seeing Caitlin Clark and Iowa take on Angel Reese and LSU in their Elite 8 game on Monday night is that they won’t have to worry about injuries playing too much of a part in it. Iowa and LSU are both relatively healthy heading into this game.

The only player you might want to keep an eye on is Iowa guard Molly Davis. She sustained a right knee injury during one of Iowa’s final regular-season games against Ohio State and hasn’t played since. There was some speculation she might be able to return for Iowa’s game against LSU, but Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder revealed that she doesn’t anticipate Davis being able to go against the Tigers. This means Clark will need to keep on filling up the bucket for Iowa while Iowa as a team will need to step up to shut down Reese and her LSU teammates on defence.

  • Caitlin Clark and Iowa have won more than 85% of games this season (23-4) when the Hawkeyes have been favoured on the moneyline by at least -134.
  • Angel Reese and LSU have been betting underdogs of +107 or worse on the moneyline twice this season, and the Tigers lost both of these games.
  • Caitlin Clark and Iowa finished with the top-scoring offence in the country this season, averaging 91.9 points per game, while Angel Reese and LSU finished with the second-highest-scoring offence in the country, averaging 85.9 points per game, which suggests this rematch of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament title game could be a high-scoring affair.

LSU vs. Iowa bets to consider

  • Caitlin Clark and Iowa may have lost to LSU in the 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament title game, but she still managed to hit eight three-pointers during the contest so think about betting on her to hit over 5.5 threes against LSU on Monday (+105 on bet365).
  • Angel Reese averaged 13.2 rebounds per game this season (second-highest in the nation) and has averaged 13.6 rebounds per game through LSU’s first three 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament games, so give thought to betting on her to grab over 12.5 rebounds against Iowa (-115 on bet365).
  • With all eyes on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, it would be wise to consider betting on other players to put up points in their shadows, so betting on LSU’s Hailey Van Lith to put up 10+ points (-115 on bet365) or Iowa’s Kate Martin to drop 15+ points (+115 on bet365) might be the right moves to make.