Women’s NCAA Tournament: #6 Oregon v. #2 Louisville

Who will WIN this matchup?

#6 Oregon Ducks (15-8)

#2 Louisville Cardinals (25-3)

Current odds:

Oregon Ducks: (-125)

Louisville Cardinals: (+105)

• The spread for the game is Oregon by 2 points.

• Oregon’s win over No. 3 seeded and 10th ranked Georgia was powered by the twin tower duo of Sedona Prince and Nyara Sabally, who combined to score 37 of UO’s 57 points. Prince was a dominant force from start to finish, matching her career-high with 22 points while blocking four shots, and Sabally took over late in the game to finish with 15 points and nine rebounds. The achievement is extra sweet for Prince and Sabally, who both missed each of the last two seasons while coming back from serious injuries and spent last year rehabbing together. “Nyara and I talked before the start of the fourth quarter and we were like, we’re going to the Sweet Sixteen in our first year,” Prince said. “We came out and she dominated, and also our teammates allowed us to get good post-ups and made good entry passes. It was just a collective effort.”

• With a 57-50 win over 3-seed Georgia on Wednesday, Oregon advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16. Sedona Prince and Nyara Sabally combined for 37 points as UO held Georgia to 35-percent shooting. The Ducks were 8-0 in 2020, but lost eight of 13 games in 2021 prior to winning two straight in the NCAA Tournament. They entered the Big Dance with losses in five of their last six games. The Ducks ranked second in the Pac-12 and 16th in the country with a 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio. They also ranked second in the Pac-12 with 72.1 points per game, 12.6 turnovers per game and 364 assists. They feature five players averaging more than 9.6 points per game with Sabally (12.9), Erin Boley (10.7), Prince (10.4), Te-Hina Paopao (10.2) and Taylor Mikesell (9.6). Boley, from Hodgenville, Ky., and Maddie Scherr, from Florence, Ky., were both named Miss Kentucky Basketball.

• Oregon and Louisville will meet for the second straight season, with the Cardinals getting the best of the Ducks last November at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Louisville has won each of the last three matchups to take a 3-2 lead in the all-time series. The 2021 Cardinals have gone 25-3 overall after going 14-2 in ACC play, falling to NC State in the ACC Tournament championship game before knocking off Marist and Northwestern to open the NCAA Tournament. Louisville is led by first-team all-American and ACC player of the year Dana Evans, who averages 19.6 points per game. Kianna Smith (11.5), Hailey Van Lith (11.4 PPG) and Oliva Cochran (10.4) give the Cardinals four total players averaging double-digit points. Louisville is making its fourth straight Sweet Sixteen appearance and 10th overall, and is seeking its third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight and sixth all-time.