2 Best Bets and Player Props for UConn vs. Notre Dame Women's Basketball

We're treated to one of the premier women's college basketball games of the young season when No. 2 UConn takes on No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend.

Ahead of tonight's 7pm ET tip, UConn (+360) and Notre Dame (+390) have the second- and third-shortest odds to win the National Championship. This matchup has all the makings of a Final Four preview, and that's reflected in the odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

As of Thursday afternoon, UConn is favored by 2.5 and the over/under is set at 140.5 total points.

Let's check out UConn-Notre Dame odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds to sift through the best UConn-Notre Dame bets and player props.

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

UConn vs. Notre Dame Betting Picks

Notre Dame +2.5 (-105)

UConn (second on Bart Torvik) has been largely unchallenged to this point in the season. All eight of their wins have come by double-digits, even against top competition. They took down North Carolina (15th) by 11 and Mississippi (23rd) by 13, so they've certainly earned their status as 2.5-point favorite tonight.

But the Huskies haven't faced a team of Notre Dame's caliber, and the Irish have been a thorn in UConn head coach Geno Auriemma's side his entire career. Notre Dame has defeated Geno 15 times -- the most by any single team. Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey is responsible for two of those, besting the Huskies by a combined 29 points over the last two seasons.

Now, this UConn team is a different beast than the one that suffered a 82-67 home loss to the Irish last season, but ND is much improved, too. With Olivia Miles back after missing all of 2023-24, the Irish have one of the top backcourts in the country in Miles and Hannah Hidalgo.

Those two have led Notre Dame (fourth on Torvik) to top-10 marks nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. And while the Irish have two losses already, we've seen them at their best against top competition. Notre Dame has already taken down USC (seventh) and Texas (third) by double-digits.

It's hard to argue against Notre Dame being the more battle-tested team here; the Irish have played the 7th-most difficult schedule by Sports Reference's numbers, while UConn is down at No. 45. The Huskies have only faced four top-100 Torvik teams -- and none in the top 10. ND has faced seven top-100 teams, with two in the top 10.

On top of that, tonight will be UConn's first true road game of the season. Given Notre Dame's strong showing against top teams, this is a nice spot to jump on them as home 'dogs. Torvik projects Notre Dame to win 71-70 here, so getting 2.5 points with the home Irish is just icing on the cake.

Paige Bueckers to Score 25+ Points (+108)

The big news ahead of tonight's game is that UConn guard Azzi Fudd will likely not be available due to a knee sprain. Fudd ranks third on the team in usage rate (21%) and points per game (10), so her absence is a real loss for the road favorites.

Fudd's injury opens up nearly eight extra shot attempts, and I'd expect UConn star Paige Bueckers to soak up the majority of those looks. With that, we can look for Bueckers to score 25+ points at +108 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

The former Wooden Award winner already leads the Huskies with a 25.8% usage rate and 18.9 points per game -- numbers which are especially impressive considering she's cleared 30 minutes in just two of eight games this season.

But UConn isn't shy about giving Bueckers extended run when needed. In their two closest games of the season, Paige played 37 and 38 minutes, totaling 29 points in both games. She notched 26.1% and 32.5% usage rates in those outings despite being matched up opposite Torvik's No. 7 and No. 17 defenses. That should alleviate any potential concern with ND's second-ranked D, and it makes sense that UConn would want to run more through her against top opponents.

That was the case last year, too. In six games against top-10 Torvik teams, Bueckers averaged 22.7 points with a 29% usage rate while playing 89% of UConn's minutes -- up from the 21.9 points and 27.4% usage rate she averaged for the entire 2024 season.

As such, tonight has all the makings of a vintage, high-usage Paige Bueckers performance. That puts her in position to score 25+ points -- a mark she surpassed in the only two games she cleared 30 minutes this season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.