The Oregon State Beavers take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Check out our Women's March Madness odds series for our Oregon State Notre Dame prediction and pick. Find how to watch Oregon State Notre Dame.
There were not many upsets in the first two rounds of the 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament. That might seem boring to some, but it means the Sweet 16 will be jam-packed with great matchups. The first of the eight regional semifinals — the first of four on Friday — is one such matchup. It's No. 3 seed Oregon State against No. 2 seed Notre Dame in a game between high-level teams from high-level conferences. The Pac-12 has five teams in the Sweet 16 of the women's tournament, and the ACC has three. This is actually the first of two games on Friday between Pac-12 and ACC teams, the other one being Stanford versus North Carolina State.
Oregon State was picked 10th in the Pac-12 before the season began. The Beavers wildly exceeded expectations under head coach Scott Rueck, who has built an enduringly strong program in Corvallis. Raegan Beers is Oregon State's elite low-post player. Notre Dame will have its hands full with Beers on Friday in Albany, New York.
Notre Dame was one of the better teams in the ACC all season long. If JuJu Watkins of USC did not exist, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo would have been the consensus NCAA Freshman of the Year. Hidalgo has great court vision and a natural feel for the game, married with elite competitive qualities and tenacious defense, giving Notre Dame a leader and a well-rounded player who contributes at both ends of the court. Oregon State will need to find a way to limit Hidalgo's overall influence on this game.
Here are the Oregon State-Notre Dame Women's March Madness odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Women's March Madness Odds: Oregon State-Notre Dame Odds
Oregon State Beavers: +3.5 (-114)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: -3.5 (-106)
Over: 132.5 (-110)
Under: 132.5 (-110)
How To Watch Oregon State vs Notre Dame
Time: 2:30 pm ET / 11:30 am PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Oregon State Could Cover the Spread
The Beavers are playing with house money in this game. They were supposed to win their first two games of this NCAA Tournament at home in Corvallis against lower seeds. Now they are expected to lose this game and bow out of the tournament against a high-profile Notre Dame program with a freshman star, Hidalgo, whom everyone is talking about. Oregon State can play loosely and freely without pressure. Notre Dame is shorthanded, too, having suffered a few key injuries. Kylee Watson got injured a few weeks ago. This is on top of the injury to star Olivia Miles, who has missed the whole season. The Irish did well to compensate without Miles. Now, however, they are without Watson, and Oregon State is good enough to pounce on the opportunity with Notre Dame being shorthanded.
Why Notre Dame Could Cover the Spread
This game involves a long cross-country commute for Oregon State from the Pacific Northwest. The Beavers will not have home-court advantage for this game and will be taking a step up in weight class, meeting a No. 2 seed after facing Eastern Washington and Nebraska last weekend. Notre Dame will challenge OSU in ways previous opponents did not. That will be the difference.
Final Oregon State-Notre Dame Prediction & Pick
The Oregon State Beavers looked less convincing than Notre Dame did in the first week of the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame is playing at a higher level. Take the Irish.
Final Oregon State-Notre Dame Prediction & Pick: Notre Dame -3.5
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