3 Best Futures Bets for the 2025 Women’s College Basketball Tournament

The women's college basketball tournament tips off on Friday, and we've got a crop of star-studded teams looking to contend for a national title.

While the women's field is typically dominated by the chalks, it's hard for things to get too chalky when the best team in 2025 might just be a two seed.

With some help from BartTorvik, Sports Reference and FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds, let's check out some of the best futures bets for the women's tourney.

Women’s College Basketball Tournament Betting Picks

UConn To Win the National Championship (+250)

At long last, the Connecticut Huskies are entering the tournament at full health.

They're my pick to win the national championship.

Geno Auriemma's team has reached the national semifinals in 15 of the last 16 seasons. The one miss came in 2023 when Paige Bueckers was sidelined with an ACL tear. Last year, we saw them return to the semifinals stage only to fall short to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they were missing sharpshooter and projected WNBA lottery pick Azzi Fudd in that campaign.

Now, UConn enters the 2025 tournament with Bueckers, Fudd, and freshman standout Sarah Strong. Simply put -- there is no better Big 3 than this one.

The Huskies rank first in adjusted offense and defense (per BartTorvik). Since 2010, there have been six teams to lead the nation in both adjusted offense and defense. Five of those six teams -- all of whom were home to Storrs -- ended up winning the national championship.

UConn's effective field goal percentage (57.7%) in comparison to their effective field goal percentage allowed (41.0%) is preposterous.

There's no denying they have a tough road. Region 4 could easily be viewed as the strongest with USC as the one seed, and Oklahoma and Kentucky will serve as tough outs, too.

But there's a reason USC's head coach Lindsay Gottlieb saw red when the bracket was released. UConn is the highest-rated team across models, and there's no telling what we could see from them now that they have depth on their side.

Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong will make the headlines, but the bench is what most excites me about betting on UConn. Due to injuries, we saw then-freshmen KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade forced into starting roles and playing upwards of 35 minutes in last year's tournament. Both proved valiant on the big stage, with Arnold logging five steals in both the regional and national semifinals and Shade going 10 for 20 from distance in the first two tournament games.

Now, UConn has the privilege of bringing those two experienced postseason players off the bench on a need-be basis. Foul trouble won't shake this team. Plus, we saw the Huskies roll over South Carolina -- who are favored to win their side of the bracket -- by 18 points on the road just last month. I think Geno's winning his 12th national title this year.

Notre Dame To Win Region 3 (+220)

Texas (one seed), TCU (two seed), and Notre Dame (three seed) are the top dogs in Region 3.

Notre Dame (+220) is actually favored to win the region over TCU (+650) -- a correct call by the market.

Since 2015, 29 out of 32 teams to win their region came into the tournament with a top-18 adjusted defense. The exceptions here were rightful outliers -- Iowa in their tournament two runs with Clark, and Washington the year college Kelsey Plum was Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark.

TCU enters the tournament with a 27th-ranked adjusted defense, which could spoil their chances to compete with the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame checks in with an eighth-ranked offense and third-ranked defense, making them one of just five teams -- along with Texas, UCLA, South Carolina, and UConn -- to fare in the top 10 on both sides of the ball.

Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles helped Notre Dame churn out key victories over Texas, USC, and UConn this season. They might just be the best team in this region, making them a good bet to win Region 3 at +220.

Baylor To Win Region 1 (+1200)

Cinderella stories don't really exist in the women's tournament -- to the point where it would be a total triumph if the Baylor Bears (four seed) managed to make it to the national semifinals over UCLA (one seed), NC State (two seed), and LSU (three seed).

UCLA has everything going for them and more. The number one overall seed features Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice and checks in with the fourth-best adjusted offense and seventh-best adjusted defense.

However, there's a path where we can at least consider Baylor to come out of the region with +1200 odds available.

Since 2021, 13 out of 16 teams to win their region held a top-15 defense, top-30 offense, top-40 effective field goal percentage, and a top-80 turnover rate. The exceptions were Iowa (twice) and a South Carolina team that featured one of the scarier frontcourts we've seen in Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso.

Region 1 features just one team that checks all of those boxes -- Baylor.

The Bears are 15th on defense and 25th on offense. They rank in the top 45 of EFG% on both sides of the ball. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs -- a guard who led the team in scoring and rebounding -- has been sidelined since February 15th but is set to return just in time for the tournament.

In Littlepage-Buggs' absence, we saw six-foot-three Aaronette Vonleh step up to the plate in a huge way. Vonleh scored a career-high 37 points in the Big 12 semifinals before posting 20 points to nearly defeat TCU in the conference championship game. They might just have the roster to contend with UCLA.

You can also download our FREE college basketball printable bracket.

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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.