After capturing the 2025 national championship, the UConn Huskies enter the new season tied with the South Carolina Gamecocks as early favorites for the title.
As the Huskies begin a new chapter without Paige Bueckers, all eyes turn to Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong to lead the way. They’ll be backed by five newcomers — including two key transfers — as UConn looks to make another run to the promised land next April.
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Meanwhile, Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks are on a mission for redemption after falling short against Geno Auriemma’s squad in last season’s championship game.
With contenders like Texas and UCLA knocking on the door last season, the 2025–26 campaign is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. Here’s a look at how the rest of the preseason odds stack up before tip-off!
Odds to win 2025-26 Women’s March Madness
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Team |
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|---|---|
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UConn Huskies |
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South Carolina Gamecocks |
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Texas Longhorns |
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UCLA Bruins |
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LSU Tigers |
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
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USC Trojans |
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Duke Blue Devils |
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Tennessee Volunteers |
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TCU Horned Frogs |
Odds as of 10-29.
Women’s March Madness opening odds
It should come as no surprise that oddsmakers were high on South Carolina after the Gamecocks became just the 10th team ever to cap off an undefeated season with a national championship.
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But it’s the UCLA Bruins who shook up the scene this season after going 30-2 and putting all of women’s college basketball on notice after being the No. 1 ranked team in the country for most of this season. Led by Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, the Bruins are out for blood and appear to be a shoe-in to win the Big Ten tournament ahead of March Madness.
Popular March Madness markets
March Madness betting splits
Highest ticket percentage:
• UConn 17.3%
• South Carolina 14.8%
• UCLA 11.1%
Highest handle percentage:
• UConn 30.3%
• South Carolina 23.9%
• UCLA 12.4%
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Biggest liabilities:
• UConn
• USC
• South Carolina
All data courtesy of BetMGM.
Understanding March Madness futures odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for the NCAA women’s basketball championship as early as the summer before the season starts. These odds are constantly adjusted throughout the offseason as players get hurt, suspended or are traded. Once the season begins in November, title odds will change as often as daily as teams win and lose games and as players get hurt or suspended. Sportsbooks will also adjust the March Madness futures odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
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March Madness futures odds will usually look like this:
This means that on a $100 bet, you’ll stand to win $800 if the Hoosiers win the NCAA women’s basketball title. If it’s close to the end of the regular season or even during the tournament and college basketball has a very dominant team, you might see that a team is has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
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South Carolina Gamecocks -165
This means that you would need to bet $165 to win $100 on a South Carolina championship.
Above we have posted the American odds for March Madness futures. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool.
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How to bet college basketball futures
Learning how to successfully bet on March Madness is one of the hardest things to do in sports betting. The lose-and-go-home format and the fact that a school needs to win six straight games against quality opponents means that the favorites don’t always take home the title.
Another factor that comes into play is that the tournament bracket isn’t set until Selection Sunday. As the college basketball season winds down, you can be pretty sure that the big favorites will slide into the bracket as top seeds. But for teams in the middle of the pack, nothing is certain.
As always when betting futures odds, be sure to look into injuries and suspensions. You might find some current value in a team that is expecting to get a key player back before March Madness begins.
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Where to bet on Women’s March Madness
If you’re in a state that allows mobile, or online betting, make sure you know which sites are the best March Madness betting sites. Great betting sites offer sharp odds, quick payouts and are safe and secure when it comes to depositing and withdrawing your money.
Past Women’s March Madness champions
|
Year |
Champion |
Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
|
2024 |
South Carolina |
Iowa |
|
2023 |
LSU |
Iowa |
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2022 |
South Carolina |
UConn |
|
2021 |
Stanford |
Arizona |
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2020 |
COVID-19 |
COVID-19 |
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2019 |
Baylor |
Duke |
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2018 |
Notre Dame |
Mississippi State |
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2017 |
South Carolina |
Mississippi State |
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2016 |
UConn |
Syracuse |
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2015 |
UConn |
Notre Dame |
|
2014 |
UConn |
Notre Dame |
|
2013 |
UConn |
Louisville |
|
2012 |
Baylor |
Notre Dame |
Women’s March Madness trends
• The last four winners of the tournament all entered the season as the No. 1 seed.
• Since 1982, a No. 1 seed has made the Final Four every year.
• UConn has the most women’s NCAA titles of all-time (11), including four straight years of successfully defending the championship from 2013-2016.
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
