The women’s Final Four is approaching tip-off, and three No. 1 seeds have converged on Tampa in what sets up as an epic final weekend.
But the favorite to take home the national title isn’t a 1-seed. It’s UConn. The Huskies, No. 2 in the Spokane 4 Region, have taken over as betting favorites to win the whole thing, according to a number of sportsbooks.
UConn faces the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, UCLA, on Friday night in the national semifinals (9 p.m.), and they’re an 8.5-point favorite to beat the 34-2 Bruins.
The Huskies are -165 to win the title, according to BetMGM, with South Carolina (+275) next.
UCLA (+800) and Texas (+850) are listed with rather long-shot odds despite being No. 1 seeds with a combined record of 69-5 this season.
That’s how much the sports betting world thinks of UConn now that it is fully healthy and motivated to win it all in what will in all likelihood be Paige Bueckers’ final season with the Huskies.
What’s more, the UConn women actually have the shortest odds of any team in either the men’s or women’s Final Fours, where the seven other participants are No. 1 seeds. Duke (+105), Florida (+300), Houston (+500) and Auburn (+575) are all are all plus-bets, meaning oddsmakers don’t favor any one of them to win the title more than the rest of the field.
The Huskies are favored over the rest of the women’s field, with an implied 62% chance to win it all, according to the BetMGM odds.
