Powered by:
Staley, South Carolina favoured to win fourth national championship
Published
The first round of the Women’s NCAA basketball Tournament tips off Friday on TSN, with several familiar teams expected to compete for the national championship.
With so much star power in the women’s game, we have a ton of compelling storylines entering the best few weeks of the college basketball season.
Here are some notable names and schools to watch as the tournament gets underway.
Staley looks to join elite company
Dawn Staley South Carolina
After winning the national championship in 2024, Dawn Staley leads her South Carolina Gamecocks into action this March looking to make history.
The two-time national coach of the year could become the fourth women’s coach in NCAA history to win four or more titles, following Kim Mulkey’s addition to that group in 2023.
Staley’s tenure at South Carolina has been remarkable. Since taking over in 2008, she guided the Gamecocks to their first Final Four in 2015, falling to Notre Dame. Two years later, she returned to the Final Four and won the program’s first women’s basketball national title.
Since then, Staley won another national title in 2022, and last year coached her team to just the 10th undefeated season in women’s college basketball history.
This year, South Carolina sits as a +230 betting favourite and is -260 to reach the Final Four, something the school has done in four straight years and six times in the past decade.
UConn, USC on path for epic Elite Eight clash
Paige Bueckers
Based on the odds, the biggest threat to South Carolina this year is Geno Auriemma and his Connecticut Huskies.
Coached by Auriemma since 1985, the Huskies have won 11 national championships during his tenure. With the soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers, leading the team this year, the Huskies could be poised to win a national championship for the first time since 2016.
Standing in the way of UConn is a possible Elite 8 matchup against JuJu Watkins and her USC squad.
Watkins projects to be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft and last year, as a freshman, she led the team to the program’s first Elite Eight since 1994.
At +800 the Trojans have the fifth shortest odds of any team to win the national championship and are the only team on UConn’s region shorter than 15-1 to advance to the Final Four.
UCLA seeks first national title
Lauren Betts UCLA
At the top of the betting odds, South Carolina and UConn offer familiarity and a history of winning. Coming in at third is UCLA (+650) as they look to spoil the party.
The Bruins women’s basketball team hasn’t been to an Elite Eight since 2018, and no team in program history has reached the Final Four. This year, they are -160 to do just that.
This UCLA squad is already rewriting the school’s history books after receiving the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament for the first time in program history. Led by center Lauren Betts, UCLA won the Big Ten championship, the program’s first conference title since winning the 2006 Pac-12.
UCLA could see Mulkey’s LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight as they have the second shortest odds at +550 to reach the Final Four, narrowly edging out No. 2 seed NC State at +600.
Region 3 up for grabs
Hailey Van Lith
Looking at the four regional markets on FanDuel and it stands out that Texas has the worst odds of any No. 1 seed to advance to the Final Four at -105.
The Longhorns are looking to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003, despite four trips to the Elite Eight since 2016.
Notre Dame (+250) and TCU (+470), are the only two other schools priced at shorter than 16-1 to advance out of this region.
If two schools reach the Sweet 16 they will meet for what we can assume will be an opportunity to play Texas in the Elite Eight.
The Fighting Irish, led by another expected top pick in the 2027 draft, Hannah Hidalgo, are looking to advance past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs of TCU haven’t won a game in the tournament since 2006, and are appearing the tournament for the first time since 2010.
They are led by Hailey Van Lith who has been a part of leading Louisville in 2022 and LSU in 2024 to Elite Eight appearances.
If she can lead TCU to the Final Four she will be the first women in NCAA history to lead three different schools to that stage of the tournament.