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

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We head into the second half of the 2024-25 NCAA women’s basketball season and the memories of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are all but gone. New stars like USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo have emerged and their teams are firmly on the radar of our Scores & Stats basketball betting experts.

South Carolina, the defending national champion, entered the 2024-25 season as the odds-on favorite to repeat. As we near the end of February and get ready for March Madness, the Gamecocks’ odds to win another title have lengthened. That’s because their armor has been chinked. Head coach Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks have lost three games already this season after going unbeaten (38-0) a year ago.

Will a changing of the guard take place? We just experienced our fourth new No. 1 team in the nation in the most recent AP Top 25 poll. It’s been an interesting season so far and surely the drama will continue as the regular season ends and the conference tournaments begin. Just like NCAA men’s basketball, the race to the 2024-25 NCAA women’s basketball championship will prove to be intriguing.

Catch up on the season thus far as we provide this update, complete with new championship odds. You can check the latest NCAAW odds at these top sports betting sites. Who are the favorites to win this year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship? Is there a solid longshot bet? We’ll examine all of those questions and provide our experts’ opinion on which team will win this year’s title.

Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship Odds

Check out the latest NCAAW Basketball Championship odds:

Women’s College Basketball Championship Favorites

The following NCAAW Women’s teams are considered the odds-on favorites to win the 2024-25 NCAAW College Basketball Championship:

South Carolina Gamecocks+250

Despite losing three games and dropping in the national rankings to No.6, Staley still has the makings of another champion. While Staley doesn’t have 6-foot-7-inch Kamilla Cardoso anymore, she did get another gem in recruiting last year. Freshman Joyce Edwards (6-3) is the Gamecocks leading scorer averaging 13.0 points per game.

MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.5 ppg) and Te-Hina Paopao (10.4 ppg) returned from last year’s team and both provide solid scoring as well as a ton of championship experience. The Gamecocks have played a tough schedule, which will undoubtedly help them come NCAA tournament time.

South Carolina’s three losses are to UCLA, Texas, and UConn. All three teams were ranked in the top 10 when the Gamecocks played them. You’ll read about all three in this section about favorites to win this year’s women’s national championship. The Gamecocks have played 12 ranked so far this season. They will play at least one more (No. 14 Kentucky) before the regular season ends.

UConn Huskies +350

When Clark came out of high school in 2020 and went to Iowa, she was not the only generational high school talent that year. Paige Bueckers was another 6-foot guard from Minnesota who went to UConn. In July 2021, it was Bueckers who won the ESPY for the Best Female College Athlete.

After a couple of injury plagued seasons and a redshirt season, Bueckers is a senior for the Huskies this season. She is averaging a team-high 18.6 points, 4.6 assists (also a team-best), and 4.5 rebounds. Bueckers was one of the keys to the Huskies upset of South Carolina on Feb. 16. She has 12 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds.

Head coach Geno Auriemma is the sport’s winningest coach and he has guided UConn to an NCAA record 11 national championships. The last of those championships came in 2016, which capped off another record – four straight national titles. Don’t count the Huskies out. They have four wins over ranked teams and their only losses this season were to USC, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, all ranked teams.

USC Trojans +700

USC’s name has come up already. The Trojans beat perennial power UConn earlier this season and have a number of marquee wins this season. The Trojans are currently ranked No. 4 in the nation and are eagerly awaiting a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA women’s college basketball tournament.

The Trojans have wins over No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 8 Maryland, No. 23 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 22 Michigan State, and just last week, the upset of the year. USC knocked off No. 1 UCLA, which had not lost a game all season (23-0). The loss bumped the Bruins to No. 3 in the latest polls just ahead of the Trojans.

USC also has the newest rising star in women’s college basketball – JuJu Watkins. Watkins is a 6-2 do-it-all guard who is fourth in the country in scoring averaging 24.3 points per game. As Watkins goes, so does USC. The Trojans have made the tournament in each of the past two seasons after a decade hiatus. With Watkins a freshman last season, USC made it to the Elite Eight before bowing out. Can they get over the hump in 2025?

UCLA Bruins +425

After UCLA beat former No. 1 South Carolina back on Nov. 24, the Bruins jumped into the top spot in the national rankings. They held that spot all the way up until about a week ago until the 71-60 loss to USC. The Bruins got back on track with a win over No. 22 MIchigan State after the loss to the Trojans.

UCLA is a complete team. They’ve got plenty of size. They play solid defense. UCLA ranks 23rd in the nation in scoring defense allowing 55.9 points per game. They have eight players playing right around 20 minutes (or more) per game. Three of those regulars are 6-4 or taller. Lauren Betts is 6-7 and leads the Bruins in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg).

The Bruins have seven wins over ranked opponents and they will face two more before the door closes on the regular season. One of those will be a season-ending rematch with crosstown rival USC. Other than the loss to the Trojans, the Bruins have run roughshod through the Big Ten and will be a No. 1 seed come tournament time.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish+500

The Fighting Irish just fell victim to this season’s No. 1 curse. Notre Dame lost two games – TCU and USC – early in the season and then ripped off 19 straight wins before losing at No. 13 NC State on Sunday, Feb. 23. It was just the third loss of the season for Notre Dame.

The Irish are loaded with scoring talent led by sophomore sensation Hannah Hidalgo. The 5-6 guard is second in the country in scoring averaging 24.7 points per game. Notre Dame as a team ranks fourth nationally in scoring putting up 86.8 points per game.

The only issue for Notre Dame is they will finish the season with two games against ranked opponents – Florida State and then Louisville. Then, the Irish will have to fight through an ACC tournament that is loaded. North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Louisville, and Florida State join Notre Dame in the AP Top 25 and Cal and Georgia Tech are unranked teams that both have over 20 wins.

Best Women’s College Basketball Championship Betting Value

The following NCAAW teams offer betting value to win the Women’s College Basketball Championship:

South Carolina Gamecocks+250

Now, you can argue with our Scores & Stats experts and say that the Gamecocks aren’t as valuable as say as UCLA or Notre Dame, but how many national championships do those two programs have? In case you’re wondering, between the two programs they have a grand total of two. Both belong to Notre Dame with the most recent coming in 2018. The other was in 2001.

If you want value, you want teams that, realistically, can win a title. South Carolina has been to four straight Final Fours and they’ve done it with some changes in the roster each season. The glue that holds it all together is head coach Dawn Staley, one of the game’s greats.

They don’t have the big presence inside in Cardoso, but the three-headed monster of Edwards, Fuwiley, and Paopao can play with anybody. South Carolina plays solid defense and the experience and tradition in the program are often enough to intimidate opponents, especially early in the NCAA tournament.

UConn Huskies +350

Now, if you want a team that can go the distance and end up beating South Carolina in March Madness, that would be UConn. The Huskies are 26-3 overall and 16-0 in the Big East. Their three losses are all to ranked opponents – Tennessee, Notre Dame, and USC.

Since the 80-76 loss to Tennessee on Feb. 6, the Huskies have reeled off five straight victories. All five wins have been by at least 29 points. For fun, we’ll throw out the average margin of victory in those games – 39 points!

The biggest of those wins, of course, was the 87-58 drubbing of South Carolina on the road on the Gamecocks home floor. Azzi Fudd (13.0 ppg) led UConn with 28 points and the Huskies led essentially from start to finish. If someone can knock off the Gamecocks at a neutral location, it’s likely the team that gave them their first home loss since 2020.

Women’s College Basketball Championship Longshot

It’s pretty hard to think of them as a longshot, but Texas is your new No. 1 team in the country. The Longhorns have had a great season. They’re 26-2 overall. The losses are to Notre Dame (former No. 1) and South Carolina (last year’s national champion) on the road.

Texas is given +600 odds which puts them among the top six teams on the betting board. But, does anyone really see Texas winning a national championship? This is South Carolina’s baby until someone proves otherwise.

The Gamecocks have made each of the last four Final Fours and they’ve won two of the last three national titles. Texas? They actually do have a national title, but it was way back in 1986. They went to the 1987 Final Four and haven’t been back since making the Final Four in 2003.

This year’s Longhorns team has won 10 in a row since the loss to South Carolina. Among those 10 wins are 6 wins against ranked opponents. Even more impressive are the last three victories – No. 2 South Carolina, No. 8 Kentucky, and No. 5 LSU.

The odds may not say so, but the Longhorns sure feel like a longshot when mentioned among South Carolina, UConn, UCLA, USC, and Notre Dame. Plus, once you get past USC at +700 on the table above, it doesn’t feel like any of those remaining teams have what it takes to power through March Madness and win it all.

Women’s College Basketball Championship Predictions

Unlike last year, there is no clearly dominant team in women’s college basketball. Instead, we have been blessed with a field of contenders that is as good as we have ever seen. There are some outstanding young players. There is plenty of NCAA tournament experience. We have some of the best head coaches in the sport. So, who wins it all?

There are a lot of considerations to make, but when it comes down to it winning the NCAA tournament comes down to coaching. One coach has led his team to 25 straight trips to the Sweet Sixteen. This team has been to 15 of the last 16 Final Fours.

Over the course of his 31-year coaching career, Geno Auriemma has led UConn to 11 national championships. The Huskies have not won one since 2016, but with Bueckers and a talented cast around her, UConn has what it takes to get it done. Remember, UConn ended South Carolina’s five-year home winning streak by beating them by 29 points earlier in February.

They are the best defensive team in the country. Harvard allows 51.2 points per game, but they play the Ivy League. UConn ranks second allowing just 52 points per game. The Huskies have played a Big East schedule and gone up against seven ranked opponents. That has prepared them for what is to come.

Bet: UConn Huskies +350

Recent NCAAW Basketball Championship Winners

The following is a list of the most recent NCAAW Basketball Champions: