The Sweet 16 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament matchups are finally here.
Friday's slate of games are headlined by the juggernaut South Carolina, along with some of the brightest NCAA Women's stars in Hannah Hidalgo and Cameron Brink in action.
With a chance to go to the Elite 8 here are some predictions for Friday's NCAA Women's Tournament Sweet 16 slate.
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(2) Notre Dame vs. (3) Oregon State
(Regional 1, Albany)
Time: 2:30 PM
Channel: ESPN
The first game of Friday's NCAA Women's Tournament Sweet 16 slate will pit the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the No.3 Oregon State Beavers. Notre Dame took care of business so far by winning against Mississippi in the second round of the tournament.
While the Beavers came out victorious in their last game over Nebraska.
Notre Dame is riding high on a ten-game winning streak, fuelled by their elite shooting that carried over from the ACC Tournament.
Fighting Irish freshman star Hannah Hidalgo is also playing some of her best basketball, averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 assists.
Despite how great Beavers forward Raegan Beers has been during the NCAA Tournament and conference play, the Beavers have yet to win against Notre Dame during the Scott Rueck Era; going 0-4 in all contests.
Notre Dame Over Oregon 77-61
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(1) South Carolina vs. (4) Indiana
(Regional 1 Albany)
Time: 5:00 PM
Network: ESPN
The undefeated No.1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks will have their win streak on the line against No.4 Indiana Hoosiers.
Hoosiers basketball survived a huge second-round comeback against Oklahoma to eke out a 75-69 win.
While the Gamecocks have continued to look dominant, picking up wins against UNC and Presbyterian.
It's complicated to bet against South Carolina right now; Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks have dominated opposing foes, scoring an average of 50 points.
Indiana must play perfect basketball to keep the game close with the Gamecocks. The Hoosiers have shown so far that they can shoot the light outs, shooting 39.6% from downtown.
Indiana senior MacKenzie Holmes has proved to be a big-time star, dropping 17 points while shooting 7-for-17 from the field against the Sooners.
Still, South Carolina might be too much for the Hoosiers to handle.
South Carolina Over Indiana 88-52
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(2) Stanford vs. (3) NC State
(Regional Four Portland)
Time: 7:30 PM
Channel: ESPN
The No.2 Stanford Cardinal is set to take on the No.3 seed NC State Wolfpack on the other side of the bracket.
Stanford remained strong, defeating Iowa State in the second round, while NC State knocked off an excellent Tennessee team to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Cameron Brink is currently playing spectacular basketball by posting six straight double-doubles, reminding the world why she was voted as Pac 12 Player of the Year.
While NC State is also on fire with six players averaging double figures. The Wolfpack is led by Aziah James, who dropped 22 points in the win over Tennessee.
This one can go either way. NC State has proven that it can compete with the best in the nation, while Stanford has the star power in Cameron Brink.
NC State could pull out the victory barely beating Stanford.
NC State over Stanford 68-66
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(1) Texas vs. (4) Gonzaga
(Regional 4 Portland)
Time: 10:00 PM
Channel: ESPN
No.1 Texas LongHorns would take on the No.4 Gonzaga seed in the final game of Friday's NCAA Women's Tournament slate.
The Longhorns have cruised to the Sweet 16, defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Drexel Dragons.
While the Bulldogs have claimed wins over No.5 Utah and UC Irvine.
The Longhorns have proven to be a force up front, outrebounding its first NCAA Tournament opponents 89-42.
Texas freshman Madison Booker and senior Taylor Jones have shown to be a dangerous tandem for anyone defending them in the front court.
Gonzaga has an elite scorer of its own in Yvonne Ejim, who is averaging 21 points in the first two games of the NCAA Women's Tournament.
This should be an exciting clash of styles as Gonzaga will have to lean on its elite 3-point shooting, where the Bulldogs shoot an impressive 40.1%; having four players shooting 40% or better.
The Texas Longhorns will likely depend on their size upfront for this matchup.
Texas over Gonzaga 86-71
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