2024-25 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Odds and Predictions

The Caitlin Clark era in Iowa is over. Angel Reese leaves LSU looking to pick up the pieces. Tara VanDerveer’s retirement has Stanford unsure of what’s next.

The one thing we do know when it comes to women’s college basketball? The South Carolina Gamecocks are still going to be a major problem.

Dawn Staley’s crew cruised to a perfect season and their second title in three years, and they’re now poised to add to their trophy case. The early 2024-25 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship odds favor them greatly, but are they really a lock?

If you compare their odds to the men’s 2024-25 college basketball favorite, it’d be safe to assume yes. Still, these things are always worth a further look. Let’s check out the latest pricing and see how you should bet this year.

Latest 2024-25 NCAAW Basketball Title Odds

BetUS and other college basketball betting sites have odds out for both the men’s and women’s tournaments already. South Carolina leads the way for the women, and it’s no surprise after they literally didn’t lose a single game a season ago.

They come into the 2024-25 campaign with +150 odds, which tells us all we need to know in regard to how they’re being viewed. Defending a title is never easy, though, so it may pay to closely inspect the other NCAAW basketball championship odds.

You can check out all of the women’s college basketball odds, but I’ll focus on the top 20 teams here.

Why is South Carolina Favored to Win Again?

Winning every game seems to gain people’s respect. There’s also simply very little reason to start doubting Dawn Staley’s group now.

Truth be told, the loss of Kamilla Cardoso is massive. The 6’7” monster was a terror inside, cruising to 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game a year ago. That was in just 25.3 minutes per game, and she was adding 2.5 blocks per contest to her stat line, too.

Seriously, she simply wasn’t always needed. If you stretched her production out across 40 minutes, she would have been putting up an obscene 22.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks.

We saw the damage inflicted upon the opposition throughout last year’s tourney.

The point? Cardoso ate people alive inside at both ends of the floor. A shot eraser, glass-cleaner, and put-back monster isn’t so easily replaced.

Luckily, that’s the only downer for South Carolina as a new season approaches. They still have the gutsy and fiery Staley leading the charge, while they may have more talent and depth than anyone in the nation.

Besides, whatever experience any of their young blood lacked, they gained it during a title run last season. Now the likes of MiLaysia Fulwiley, Ashlyn Watkins, Tessa Johnson, and Raven Johnson know what it takes to win – and that’s a very bad thing for the rest of women’s college basketball.

Top NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Odds

You probably don’t really have to bother with any other college basketball picks for this future. South Carolina has the best team, and they apparently refuse to lose at this point.

Even the biggest and baddest topple over, though. Losing Cardoso is no small problem, either. I obviously agree that the Gamecocks are the team to beat, but as a sports bettor, you have to look for the best value.

That easily could be just eating that +150 price and moving along, but we have to work to see if we can do better than that. With that, here are the top contenders to stave off South Carolina in 2024-25.

UConn +400

South Carolina is mighty, but the will of Geno Auriemma is, um, mightier? Impossibly only 70 years old, the longtime Connecticut head coach has been here since 1985 and has 11 championships to his name.

Of course, his last win came nearly a decade ago (2016), so some are starting to wonder if he can deliver UConn to the promised land one last time before he retires.

It’s not like he hasn’t come close. UConn has enjoyed 30+ wins in each of the last three seasons, and they reached the Final Four last year for the second time in the last four years. He’s still bringing in elite talent and churning out productive seasons, and here UConn are, holding the second best NCAAW Basketball Championship odds for 2024-25.

We shouldn’t be shocked, seeing as they were one controversial play from reaching the title game last year.

Coaching isn’t the issue, and neither is the talent. Paige Bueckers leads a ferocious and star-studded group that simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Bueckers alone (22 points per game in 2023) can get UConn far, but if they can actually stay on the floor, this is a title threat.

USC +400

Ditto for USC, which was already off to a strong start by landing JuJu Watkins. Everyone loved talking about Caitlin Clark the past two years, but Watkins was a legit sensation as a first-year player last season.

She dropped big game after big game, lighting up the Pac-12 to the tune of 27.1 points per game, and even had the time to snag 7.2 rebounds and block 1.6 shots per game. There may not have been a better showcase of her explosive scoring than her showdown with Colorado back in February.

Watkins is honestly just the tip of the iceberg for a suddenly stacked Trojans crew. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb somehow lured impact transfers Kiki Iriafen (19.4 points and 11 rebounds at Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (career 12.3-4.8-4.2 stat line at Oregon State) to town, too.

USC is positively loaded and joins UConn as perhaps the two most realistic threats to South Carolina in 2024-25.

2024 NCAAW Basketball Title Sleepers

There are certainly other contenders to win the NCAAW Basketball Championship. However, right now I’d be eyeing South Carolina, UConn, and USC and the three most stacked teams worth betting on.

If you want more value, though, I can’t blame you. You’re still getting decent value when you consider how top-heavy women’s college basketball tends to be. The odds are pretty good that someone from that trio is cutting down the nets during March Madness, after all.

Still, it’s fun to aim a little high sometimes. And to be fair, there are three value bets I am interested in going into 2024-25.

UCLA +1200

The Bruins are finding strength in numbers this off-season, as they added some star power by bringing in the likes of Charlisse Leger-Walker and Timea Gardiner.

Leger-Walker’s playing time and production dipped in her final year at Washington State, but she’s a lifetime 16.6 points per game scorer who is active defensively (1.7 steals per game) and can help space the floor with her shooting.

Gardiner could end up being the more impactful addition, as she progressed to 11.6 points and 7 rebounds per game at Oregon State last season. She offers immense size down low, while also offering knockdown ability from deep (39% from three last year).

UCLA has been knocking on the door of a great tourney run for the past two years. They’ve posted back-to-back 27-win seasons and reached the Sweet Sixteen both times. With some solid additions, they could finally be ready for a huge leap.

LSU +2000

The Tigers said goodbye to Angel Reese and saw Hailey Van Lith exit via transfer, but they still have the trappings of a title contender.

This is still the same squad that won a national title two years ago, and still nearly got back to the Final Four again last year.

Hitting a mild reset may end up benefiting this squad, as LSU already had plenty of talent, but ended up using the portal to acquire even more. With major additions in Shayean Day-Wilson and Kailyin Gilbert, this team is poised to make everyone forget about Reese and Van Lith.

The biggest addition might end up being one that has yet to make a huge impact in college basketball. LSU also inherits Jersey Wolfenbarger, who offers massive size (6’5”) and had solid per 40 minute production (13.5 and 7.8 with 1.6 blocks) two years ago at Arkansas.

Of course, the issue won’t be how much talent LSU has. It will be if it can come together and find a groove in time to unseat the top NCAAW favorites.

North Carolina State +3000

One more NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship sleeper pick I like is NC State. It’s always good to look at teams that made deep runs the year prior, as it can often help us project them going forward.

It also guarantees nothing, but NC State has been undergoing a natural maturation process. Wes Moore has had them competitive for years, but they cracked the Elite Eight in 2021-22 and last year finally reached the Final Four.

That was the university’s first tourney run that deep since 1998, and they have the talent and coaching to repeat that success. The team returns most of their Final Four core, including Aziaha James, who saw a 10-point spike in scoring from 2022 to 2023.

NC State ultimately got crushed by the eventual champion Gamecocks, but they adjusted by beefing up their size with transfer Caitlin Weimar. If she’s as good as she was at Boston University (18.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game), the Wolfpack may be a force to be reckoned with.

Longshot Bets to Win the 2024-25 Women’s National Title

That wasn’t enough betting value for you? You need longshot bets to win the NCAAW tournament, too? I hear you, seeing as there are teams every year to rise up and surprise some people.

It’s unlikely any of these NCAAW basketball sleepers actually win the whole thing, but they’ll be fun teams to track, and you just never know what will happen if they can work their way to a high seed.

Oklahoma +10000

The Sooners are actually very interesting because they have gobs of experience on their roster.

Head coach Jennie Baranczyk has had them extremely competitive, winning 23+ games and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament each of the last three years.

True, that’s not enough to move the needle, but a big spike is just around the corner. This team has been getting by without a monster down low, but they should be getting just that in transfer Raegan Beers.

The former Oregon State product averaged a double-double (17.5 and 10.3) with 1.3 blocked shots per game last year, and her presence could end up elevating the Sooners.

Tried and true guard Skyler Vann (15.1 points per game last year) could be even better in her final season, while the 24th best scoring offense in all of women’s college basketball may be ready for another big step up.

Kansas State +10000

This is another true longshot, but it’s one that found solid success a year ago, and could be loaded for a big leap.

Kansas State gets the hulking Ayoka Lee back for one last ride, and that alone has me excited about the Wildcats. She put up a 22 point and 10.3 double-double two years ago, putting on full display precisely what she’s capable of.

A shot-blocking menace at a towering 6’6”, it’s not unreasonable to think she can help elevate this roster to new heights. It doesn’t hurt that the calvary is arriving in the form of Temira Poindexter, who popped off for 21 points per game last year with Tulsa.

That should boost the Wildcats offense, while the defense (13th in blocks per game and 40th in scoring allowed) could again be the anchor for an underrated tourney flier.

Who Will Win the 2024-24 NCAAW Basketball Title?

All the logic points to South Carolina being the team to beat this year. The latest 2024-25 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship odds have them favored, they only lost one key player, and they have zero losses in the last year.

That’s certainly enough to get me to bet on them a bit. However, the +150 odds don’t bring a ton back. I personally would like a little more value than that, and I also realize a few things others may not be willing to admit.

First, the departure of Cardoso is actually massive and I think it’s going to be overlooked. Secondly, and just as important, repeating simply isn’t an easy thing to do. Historically it’s been slightly less difficult to do it in women’s college basketball, but still, the sport has witnessed it once since 2015.

South Carolina has won three titles since 2017 and they’ve been in others. They’re a great bet, but my favorite bet this year is UConn.

The coaching, talent, and drive is all there. This same team narrowly lost to Iowa, and it’s highly arguable they shouldn’t have. Could they have taken out South Carolinas if they got to the NCAAW title game a season ago? We’ll never know.

My prediction is we get that chance this season. At +400, the Huskies feel like the best bet on the table. This roster can erase the gruesome history of injuries and failures, potentially allowing their iconic leader to end his career on the ultimate high note.

Bet: UConn +400

Past NCAAW Basketball Championship Winners