3 Best Bets and Player Props for Friday's Women's College Basketball Tournament Games

We're down to four teams in the women's bracket, and the action picks back up on Friday. Texas and South Carolina go toe to toe at 7:00 pm ET, followed by UConn facing off with UCLA at 9:00 pm ET. It might be a chalky group, but it also means we should get a pair of exciting games.

Here are the bets that stand out most in FanDuel Sportsbook's women's college basketball betting odds.

Women's College Basketball Betting Picks for Today

Texas vs. South Carolina

Texas +4.5 (-108)

This will be the fourth meeting between South Carolina and Texas, and the Gamecocks won two of those first three matchups by double digits, most recently defeating the Longhorns by 19 points in the SEC tournament title game.

Despite those dominant performances, beating a team like Texas three times in a given campaign won't be easy, and it's not like South Carolina has been cruising past the opposition in this tournament. While SC blew the doors off a 16 seed in the first round, they trailed Indiana at halftime before emerging with an 11-point victory, and they won by just 4 points against both Maryland and Duke.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns have won their tournament games by 44, 17, 8, and 11 points, and they come in playing lockdown defense after holding two of their last three opponents to under 50 points. In the previous round, Texas most notably limited TCU to 47 points despite the Horned Frogs ranking second in adjusted offense this season, per Bart Torvik.

Bart Torvik ranks both South Carolina (second) and Texas (third) as top-three squads overall and projects the Gamecocks to win by just three points. In what should be a tightly contested matchup between two familiar foes, siding with Texas and the points looks like the way to go.

UConn vs. UCLA

UCLA +7.5 (-114)

It's a little scary to go against a UConn team that's firing on all cylinders and ranks first in both adjusted offense and defense, but if there's a team that's good enough to give them problems, it's UCLA.

The Bruins rank fourth in adjusted offense and ninth in adjusted defense, and let's not forget they lost just twice all season, with both defeats coming at the hands of a top-tier USC team. In fact, UCLA went 15-2 in Quad 1 games -- Connecticut was 7-3 -- and this included a home win over South Carolina and getting their revenge on USC in the Big Ten tournament title game.

UCLA's 6'7" Lauren Betts is a matchup nightmare for any team, and their offense should also getting plenty of looks from beyond the arc, as the Huskies give up a ton of long-range attempts (348th in three-point rate allowed).

Given the star power of UConn and tournament experience of both Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers, it all still might be too much for Betts and the Bruins to overcome. But UCLA will easily be the Huskies' toughest test yet in this tourney, and they should be able to play well enough to at least cover.

Lauren Betts Under 19.5 Points (-110)

Betts will be critical to UCLA keeping pace with UConn, and while we should expect her to make her mark on this game, she could have a tough time reaching 20+ points.

The junior center has averaged 20.0 points per game this season, but she's failed to reach that mark when playing the country's elite teams. In the three games against USC, she scored 18, 11, and 17 points, and in a matchup versus South Carolina, she was held to 11 points.

What those two opponents have in common is that they rank inside the top 10 in two-point percentage allowed, and pretty much all of Betts' scoring comes from two-pointers, as she doesn't shoot threes and is just a 61.0% free throw shooter. UConn is sixth in two-point percentage allowed, so Betts could have another below-average scoring output against a top-flight defense.

This is in stark contrast to what Betts faced in conference play. Outside of USC (and UCLA themselves), the Big Ten didn't have a single other team with a two-point percentage defense that ranked inside the top 75.

Early foul trouble limited Betts' minutes in the last round against LSU -- she finished with 17 points in 25 minutes -- which is another path toward coming up short.

While it's tough to fade a superstar who's having an excellent tournament, the difficult matchup should prevent Betts from having a ceiling game in the scoring department.

You can also click here to get our updated printable Women's College Basketball Tournament bracket for the Round of 4.

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Which bets stand out to you for the upcoming games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest women's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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