UCLA vs. UConn Women: Picks, Predictions and Odds

UConn, which is 35-3 overall and won 14 straight games, meets up with UCLA, winners of seven straight with a 34-2 record, in a national semifinal game on Friday.

The Huskies, the No. 2 seed in Regional 4, knocked off the JuJu Watkins-less USC Trojans in the regional final on Monday, 78-64. All-American Paige Bueckers topped 30 points for the third straight game, scoring a game-high 31 to go with six assists. Sarah Strong had a monster game, scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, and Kaitlyn Chen added 15 points.

Coach Geno Auriemma’s squad, making its 16th last four appearance in the past 17 seasons, has gone 9-3 against ranked teams this season. The Huskies have won a record 11 national titles, but none since 2016. 

They’ll take on a UCLA squad making its first appearance at this stage. The Bruins, the top seed in Regional 1, defeated LSU 72-65 on Sunday, getting revenge against the team that knocked them out in the round of 16 a year ago.

All-American Lauren Betts had 17 points and seven rebounds for UCLA in somewhat of an off night. Gabriela Jaquez added 18 points and eight rebounds, followed by Timea Gardiner with 15 points. Kiki Rice chipped in with eight assists. 

Will the Huskies get one step closer to Bueckers’ first national title in her final season, or will UCLA edge towards its first national title?

UCLA vs. UConn Women betting picks and predictions

UCLA +8.5 (-110)

Bueckers didn’t get to match up against USC’s Watkins in the last round, but she does draw Betts this time around in a marquee matchup between two All-Americans. They won’t face each other much on the court, however, as Betts is dominating inside while Bueckers is getting the job done primarily on the perimeter.

The 6-foot-7 Betts, who leads the Bruins with 20 points, 9.6 rebounds, and three blocks per game, has upped her game in the tournament to average 23 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks as an immovable force in the interior.

UCLA is one of the nation’s leading rebounding teams but facess a tough assignment with Strong, who has three double-doubles in the tournament and is averaging 17 points and nearly 12 boards in those four contests. 

Bueckers, the presumptive first pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, is averaging 35 points over the Huskies’ last three games. She shot 82 percent (9/11) from the field and went 4/8 from beyond the arc against the Trojans. On the defensive end, can she keep Rice, who is averaging more than seven assists per game in the tournament, from opening lanes up for her teammates?

For UCLA, can Jaquez and Gardiner step up the way they did against LSU? Coming into the regional final against the Tigers, Jaquez was averaging just seven points and four rebounds in the tournament. Gardiner was averaging less than seven points and went scoreless in the Bruins regional semifinal matchup against Ole Miss. 

But the two juniors responded. Jaquez’ 18-point, 8-rebound performance and Gardiner’s five three-pointers were crucial to the Bruins’ advancement, especially with Betts on the bench for most of the first half after picking up her second foul midway through the first quarter.

This is everything you want in a national semifinal matchup. All-Americans. Emerging supporting casts. History on the line for both teams.

With the way the Bruins have played up to this point, back them to cover the +8.5 spread.

Over 135.0 Total Points (-110)

Both teams have totaled over 135 points in each of their last three tournament games. These are two of the country’s top-scoring offenses. UConn is ninth at 81.6 points per game and UCLA is 17th at 78.7 points. 

The Huskies are also the nation’s stingiest defense, allowing just 52 points, while the Bruins are surrendering less than 58 points a game.

Despite the strength of both defenses, expect the offenses to rule the battles and total Over 135.0 points.

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

UCLA vs. UConn Women odds

UCLA	+325 ML
UConn	-425 ML
Spread	UConn -8.5
Total Points	O/U 135.0

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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.