The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is set to tip off on Wednesday, March 16 with the First Four games. The tournament officially gets going March 18.
South Carolina is the clear favorite to win the national championship this season, as it has spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll.
Circa posted a line for South Carolina vs. the field, with the Gamecocks at +170 to win the title and the field at -215 odds.
There are some intriguing teams in the field. Star sophomore UConn guard Paige Bueckers recently returned from an injury that had sidelined her for much of the season. The Huskies have the third-highest odds at 9/2 at PointsBet.
Check out below more about the top 10 teams on the odds board (odds and records entering Saturday).
South Carolina (2/1)
The far-and-away best team in the country is led by All-American Aliyah Boston. She’s averaging 16.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. The Gamecocks are 28-1 with the lone loss coming against Missouri on the road in overtime.
Stanford (+425)
The Cardinal lost three games early in the season in non-conference play, all against ranked teams, including South Carolina. However, Stanford has been perfect through Pac-12 play with a 27-3 overall record.
Connecticut (9/2)
As mentioned earlier, UConn got a massive boost with the return of Bueckers. She was one of the best players in college basketball last season. The Huskies have been solid, with a 22-5 record, but Bueckers makes them a contender.
North Carolina State (15/2)
The Wolfpack are 27-3 and find themselves atop the ACC with a 17-1 conference record. If they can get through the gauntlet of the ACC tournament, that will be enough for them to secure a No. 1 seed.
Louisville (14/1)
This is N.C. State’s biggest ACC competition. The Cardinals are 25-4 and 16-2 in the conference. All three of their losses came against ranked opponents.
Michigan (14/1)
The Wolverines are not atop the Big Ten standing, but have the highest odds to win it all from the conference. Naz Hillmon is the star of the show, currently averaging 21.1 ppg.
Baylor (22/1)
Baylor has been a women’s basketball power for almost a decade, but had to replace coach Kim Mulkey and a lot of production from last season’s Elite Eight team. The Bears sit atop the Big 12 standings with a 14-3 record. That’s nothing new, as this would be their 13th consecutive Big 12 regular-season title.
Maryland (30/1)
Maryland has taken some setbacks throughout the season, as it currently has a 21-8 record. However, seven of those eight losses were against ranked schools — including South Carolina, Baylor, Michigan and Stanford.
Tennessee (30/1)
Tennessee is almost always in the mix when it comes to women’s basketball, though the program hasn’t been able to reach the heights it was at under head coach Pat Summit. The Lady Vols are 23-7 overall and 11-5 in the SEC.
Arizona (33/1)
While the men’s team is undergoing a resurgence, the women have been one of the best teams in the Pac-12 this season. The Wildcats were undefeated through non-conference play with a win over Louisville, but have struggled a bit as of late, which included an early Pac-12 tournament loss to Colorado.
