2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Texas vs. South Carolina

The women's college basketball tournament's semifinals are here as four teams will compete for a chance at the Final on Sunday.

Semifinal action tips off Friday at 7pm ET when Texas takes on South Carolina.

A quick glance at the Texas-South Carolina odds on FanDuel show the Gamecocks favored by 4.5 points and the over/under set at 125.5.

Let's dive into FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds and pick out a few best bets for Texas vs. South Carolina.

Betting Picks for Texas vs. South Carolina

South Carolina -4.5 (-114)

South Carolina and Texas meet for the fourth time this season on Friday. The Gamecocks have already beaten the Longhorns twice; at home (by 17) and on a neutral floor in the SEC Championship (by 19). Texas got them by 4 in Austin, but that doesn't instill much confidence in their ability to keep things close in another neutral site game.

The Gamecocks have rated as one of the two best teams in the country for much of the season. They're 2nd at Bart Torvik, ranking in the top-three for adjusted offense and defense.

SC only has three losses all season, and they came to each of the three teams remaining in the tournament. Of their 34 wins, 32 have come by at least 5 points. Yes, UCLA and UConn crushed them. But against top 30 teams not named UConn or UCLA, South Carolina went 18-1 with a +15.2 average point differential. 14 of those games were decided by double-digits.

The Longhorns' only non-South Carolina loss was to Notre Dame by 10, albeit in overtime. Still, Texas failed to exceed 50 points in two of their three matchups with the Gamecocks. Those dry spells happened multiple times when Texas faced the best defenses in the country. They averaged just 66 points per game against top-20 defenses, and that doesn't even include the 58 they managed against TCU (26th in adjusted defense).

South Carolina averaged 72.1 points in that same split, though they failed to crack 70 in all three of those head-to-heads with Texas. Still, they scored at least 62 points in all three games -- something the Longhorns did just once.

With plenty of carry-over from last year's championship team, I'm not expecting South Carolina to be phased by a Texas team they've beaten by double-digits twice this season. The Gamecocks have routinely rolled in the semifinals of the tournament, and I like that to continue on Friday. I'm comfortable taking South Carolina -4.5 at -114 odds and do think there's value digging into some of the alternate spreads.

Under the "Margin" tab, South Carolina 11+ win margin is set at +210 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Chloe Kitts Over 11.5 Points (-120)

South Carolina can be a tricky team to target in the prop market -- a byproduct of the 10 McDonald's All-Americans they roster. When eight different players average between 18 and 26 minutes per game, the scoring tends to be pretty balanced.

But we have seen the Gamecocks rotation shorten in the tournament. Their two leading scorers for the year -- Joyce Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley -- are sixth and eighth on the team in minutes over their last three games. Junior Chloe Kitts leads the team in points (13.0), minutes (30.0), and usage rate (20%) over that stretch. She's been second on the team in shot attempts all three games and just attempted 10 free throws in their Round of 8 win over Duke. That could come in handy against a Texas side that's given up a 31.5% free throw rate to top-50 offenses, 10th-highest among the 79 power conference teams.

Kitts' points prop is down at 11.5, and I do see value in the over here.

Now, Kitts has only scored 12 points in 13 of 36 games this season. But that has less to do with her scoring upside and more to do with South Carolina blowing so many teams out and playing a deep rotation. Given an extended leash in the postseason, Kitts has played at least 25 minutes in three of their four tournament games, including 32 and 33 the last two times out. She played 30 minutes in the SEC Championship against Texas, so this uptick in playing time is something I want to buy into.

For the season, Kitts has played 25 or more minutes 12 times. She scored at least 12 points in 10 of those. All 12 of those instances came when South Carolina was matched up with a top-50 opponent.

Now, Texas isn't just some top-50 team. The Longhorns are up to 3rd at Bart Torvik, spearheaded by their No. 3 adjusted defense.

But Texas tends to give up more production inside as they're top-10 nationally in opponent 3-point attempt rate. They've let up 30.3 points in the paint against top-10 teams, with South Carolina, Notre Dame, and West Virginia all gauging them for 34+ inside.

That should benefit someone like Chloe Kitts -- just as it did in the SEC Championship. Across 30 minutes, Kitts scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

At -120 odds to go over 11.5 points, Chloe Kitts' points prop is worth a look given her uptick in playing time.

You can also click here to get our updated printable Women's College Basketball Tournament bracket for the Round of 4.

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Which bets stand out to you for the upcoming games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest women's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.