NCAA Tournament Betting: South Carolina Is the Favorite in the Women's 2025 Title Market
The South Carolina Gamecocks have officially won their second NCAA tournament of the past three years.
Fortunately for sports bettors, FanDuel Sportsbook already has odds to win the women's 2024-25 NCAA basketball tournament. South Carolina is a strong favorite to repeat as national champion, but how does the remaining field stack up?
Interestingly, with superstar Caitlin Clark headed for the WNBA in 2024, the back-to-back runner-up Iowa Hawkeyes are not within the top-15 odds for next season's national title winner.
The sports betting industry is not dissimilar to others wherein the early bird often gets the worm. With that in mind, let us take a look at this market at FanDuel Sportsbook an entire 12 months in advance.
All college basketball odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Odds
South Carolina (+145)
As noted, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley is building a college basketball dynasty out in Columbia, SC. In 2024, the University of South Carolina's WBB team dazzled through an illustrious undefeated title season: 38-0.
Prior to Staley's arrival at USC in 2008, the Gamecocks had never won an SEC title in women's hoops. In her tenure, they have now collected eight regular-season conference crowns and three national championships. On the natty side, this third NCAA title puts Staley in a push with Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, which is obviously legendary status.
As with any successful college WBB program, South Carolina will lose a name or two to graduation and/or going pro. Most notably, Kamila Cardoso has already entered the 2024 WNBA Draft set for April 15th in Brooklyn. However, young stars MiLaysia Fulwiley and Ashlyn Watkins -- who combined for 20.9 PPG in 2023 -- will lead a strong group of returners.
Cardoso was one of just three seniors on South Carolina's roster last season. Simply, the Gamecocks will return strong for the 2024-25 campaign; get them at plus money (+145 odds) while you can.
Texas (+400)
The Texas Longhorns are joining the SEC with aforementioned South Carolina starting next academic year. Be that as it may, Texas is still labeled with four-to-one odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to win the 2025 Women's NCAA tournament.
For reference, this is a feat the Longhorns have accomplished in WBB only once. Of course, we must look back to 1986 -- just after Halley's comet was last visible from Earth -- to find a UT hoops team with national champion accolades.
In 2023, the 'Horns were masterful behind a 33-5 record. From there, Texas managed to win the most recent Big 12 tournament, trouncing a very solid Iowa State team by 17 points in the conference title game. Still, the SEC will present new challenges in 2024-25 for this bunch from Austin.
For the coming campaign, Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer will be back for his fifth season at post. Schaefer has twice made Final Four appearances, but those both occurred during his stint as Mississippi State's HC. Either way, Texas was dominant enough to earn a No. 1 regional seed in 2023, but Schaefer is still in search of that elusive first national title.
UT is excited to return 2023 Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Madison Booker. As a freshman, the 6-foot-1 Booker churned out 16.5 PPG to pace the 'Horns. Undoubtedly, she is one of the top returning players in women's college basketball.
Connecticut (+400)
As one of the top programs in college basketball, the UConn Huskies don't expect to skip a beat next season. Being that the men's side just earned a second-straight national championship, you can assume head coach Geno Auriemma and the women are hungry to add another banner in Storrs. Like Texas, the Huskies are currently labeled with +400 odds to do exactly that in 2025.
Through the history of the women's NCAA tournament, no school has won more titles than the University of Connecticut. More impressively, all 11 of their championships have come since 1995 with Auriemma has been at the helm for each one.
The most recent season for the Huskies was ended by Clark and Iowa in the Final Four (on a questionable foul call, to say the least). That is understandable to an extent, but UConn has now gone eight consecutive seasons without a WBB national title, which is considered a drought by the Huskies' lofty standards.
Notably, star guard Paige Bueckers will return to Storrs next year. The sharp-shooting senior produced 21.9 PPG in 2023. Given Connecticut's recent postseason exit, I imagine Bueckers coming back to college with a vengeance.
UConn will be losing senior Aaliyah Edwards to the 2024 WNBA Draft, but the Huskies are still flush with talent. In particular, the young backcourt duo of Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold are excellent complements to Bueckers' game. I expect Shade and Arnold both provide pivotal efforts as sophomores -- especially with spacing the floor.
Looking for more NCAA basketball betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the upcoming college basketball odds.
Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!
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.