Iowa might have the reigning national player of the year, but the Hawkeyes are an underdog in the eyes of oddsmakers for the national championship game of the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament.

South Carolina is a 6.5-point favorite and a -270 favorite on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Gamecocks are coming off a 78-59 win over NC State in the Final Four, a score that's both somewhat deceiving and emblematic of the inevitability surrounding Dawn Staley's squad right now.

The Wolfpack only trailed by one point going into halftime and then got outscored 29-6 in the third quarter. What had been a close contest became a blowout in the space of 10 minutes.

In the other semifinal, Iowa went down to the wire against a short-handed UConn. The Huskies had an opportunity for the go-ahead basket in the waning seconds before an illegal screen on forward Aaliyah Edwards effectively sealed the result.

The game was a possible warning sign for the Hawkeyes because they fell behind early thanks in part to Caitlin Clark's struggles. Through the first half, Clark had just six points on 3-of-11 shooting, including 0-of-6 from deep.

While the senior guard turned it on in the second half, South Carolina presents a much stiffer test.

The Gamecocks rank first in field-goal percentage allowed (32.1) and 17th in scoring defense (56.0). Despite losing four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year Aliyah Boston and All-Defensive honoree Brea Beal, they haven't missed a beat on that end of the floor.

As much as Clark has done to get Iowa this far, it's not hard to see why South Carolina's collective strength is favored to win out in the end.

For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.

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