TCU vs. Notre Dame Women: Picks, Predictions and Odds

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the No. 2 seed in Regional 3, take on the third-seeded TCU Horned Frogs in the round of 16 on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM ET in Birmingham, Alabama.

Notre Dame is trying to get over the hump, having lost in the region semifinals in each of the last three years. TCU is navigating the unknown, as the school has never reached the round of 16 before.

Coach Niele Ivey, now in her fifth year, has firmly placed her stamp on the Irish program. She’s led her alma mater to a 28-5 record and a share of the ACC regular season title. 

The team won 19 straight and were the No. 1 ranked team in the country, but lost three of five heading into the tournament, including a semifinal loss to Duke in the ACC Conference tournament.

Three straight Fighting Irish teams have reached this point, and three straight have gone home. 

Although TCU has never reached the round of 16, this year’s roster is full of players with postseason appearances and success. Hailey Van Lith, the Big 12 Player of the Year, has reached four region finals, three with Louisville and one with LSU. The team has 11 transfers, many of whom have seen postseason action.

This is the second time the schools have met this season. TCU knocked Notre Dame from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 76-68 victory at the Cayman Islands Classic at the end of November. The Fighting Irish had control of the game before the Horned Frogs outscored them 31-12 in the fourth quarter.

Sedona Prince had a monster game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. Madison Conner had 18 points and six rebounds and Van Lith added 21 points and seven assists. Hannah Hidalgo went for 27 points and nine rebounds to lead Notre Dame, followed by Olivia Miles with 16 points and Sonia Citron with 14 points.

Who will come out on top in the rematch and head to the regional final? See below for our experts’ predictions.

TCU vs. Notre Dame Women betting picks and predictions

TCU +7.5 (-110)

This spread feels like a bit of a stretch, and not just because of the Horned Frogs’ head-to-head win in November. 

TCU is 8-2 against ranked teams this season, and 3-0 against the ACC. They will not be bowed by Hidalgo, Miles, and Citron. Horned Frogs guard Donovyn Hunter actually played on the Oregon State team that knocked Notre Dame out of last year’s tournament. 

Van Lith and Miles should have a war on the perimeter, while the Fighting Irish are going to have to find an answer in the post for Prince, who is fourth in the nation in blocks per game (3.0). 

Notre Dame has looked good through the first two rounds this year. The team defeated No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin 106-54 in the first round. Citron had 24 points and seven rebounds, while All-American and ACC Player of the Year Hidalgo added 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists. 

Notre Dame then handled No. 6 seed Michigan in the second round, 76-55. Hidalgo scored 21 points, Liatu King added 18 points and 15 rebounds, Citron had 16 points, and Miles came back from an ankle injury suffered in the first round to contribute eight points and five rebounds. 

Hidalgo, third in the nation in scoring (24.1 ppg) and fourth in steals (3.7 spg), is a complete player. That is why she was both the ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. She’ll need to do a little bit of everything to get the Fighting Irish over the line and into the regional final.

Meanwhile, this Horned Frogs squad is having the best season in program history. Coach Mark Campbell, in his second season, has completely turned TCU around, leading them to a 33-3 record and both the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles, as well as their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 15 years. 

TCU, who have won 12 in a row, defeated No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson 73-51 in the first round. Conner, who came from Arizona two years ago, had 23 points and six rebounds. Prince, who previously reached the tournament with Oregon, added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Van Lith had 13 points and seven assists and Agnes Emma-Nnopu chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

It was TCU’s first NCAA tournament victory since 2006. But the team wasn’t finished. They dispatched Van Lith’s former team, Louisville, 85-70 in the second round. 

Emma-Nnopu, who won a National Championship with Stanford, had 23 points to lead the team. Prince scored 19 points and blocked three more shots while Donovyn Hunter had 18 points and six rebounds. Van Lith recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and dishing out 10 assists.

Notre Dame can certainly win this game and avenge the November loss, but it won’t be easy and it won’t be by more than seven points. Look for TCU to cover the 7.5-point spread as underdogs.

Over 144.0 Total Points (-110)

Notre Dame is sixth in the nation in scoring, averaging 85.1 points, while TCU is 22nd with 77.7 points per game.

Although it was a comparatively tame result when the two teams met in November, there are different stakes here.

Look for an up-tempo approach by both TCU and the Fighting Irish. This tight matchup also has the possibility of going to overtime as well. Even if it doesn’t, expect these two teams to combine for Over 144.0 points. 

Read more betting picks and predictions for College Basketball on site.

TCU vs. Notre Dame Women odds

TCU	+265 ML
Notre Dame	-330 ML
Spread	Notre Dame -7.5
Total Points	O/U 144.0

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.