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The Indiana Fever staved off elimination by defeating the Atlanta Dream 77-60 in Game 2 of their first-round series in the WNBA playoffs, setting up a winner-take-all Game 3 between the two sides on Thursday, Sept. 18. The Fever got 19 points from Kelsey Mitchell in the Game 2 victory while also shutting down Atlanta stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. Game 3 from the Gateway Center in College Park, Ga. will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET.

If you're interested in WNBA betting and wish to wager on Fever vs. Dream, you'll need to see what WNBA experts Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai have locked in as their best bets for this contest.

Barzilai is a Ph.D. from Stanford who served as Director of Basketball Analytics for the Philadelphia 76ers. Five years ago, he founded HerHoopStats.com -- a groundbreaking website that unlocks insights about the women's game. Wetzel, the site's lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women's hoops to turn the site's prediction model into picks. Wetzel and Barzilai went 202-111-2 (+57.9 units) during the 2024 WNBA season and posted a 147-88-1 (+47.1 units) during the 2024-25 NCAA season. In the 2023 WNBA season, they finished 238-185-1 (+29.5 units).

Here are Wetzel and Barzilai's best bets for Indiana vs. Atlanta:

Fever vs. Dream picks:

Fever vs. Dream Under 153.5 points

Since the 7.5-point spread in this game is pretty sharp, rather than play a side in Game 3, let's look toward a total. These two defenses, both of which focus on taking away the three, have matched up incredibly well with each other, and it's shown on the scoreboard.

The first two games both stayed under 150 – averaging 142.5 – and now we get a winner-take-all game, which should only add to the defensive intensity and slow pace. Take the Under, even at a lower line than we saw in the first two games.

Kelsey Mitchell Under 2.5 3-pointers

This was one of my plays on CBS HQ for Game 2, and it didn't work out as Mitchell nailed four triples on her home floor. But I'm running it back, as Mitchell has still gone Under in four of six games against Karl Smesko's suffocating Atlanta defense. When she's played on the road in Atlanta, she's Under in all three games.

She's made a grand total of two threes in those three games, including a 1-for-4 showing in game one of this series. In what should be a slower defensive battle, don't expect Mitchell to reach 3+ threes for a second consecutive game.