NCAA Women’s Final Four Insights: Bettors Pile on UConn

A jam-packed weekend of college basketball action tips off tonight with the NCAA Women’s Final Four at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. While three of the tournament field’s four No. 1 seeds have managed to survive up until this point, bettors are flocking to back the lone No. 2 seed remaining: Geno Auriemma’s Connecticut Huskies. Let’s dive into the data:

UConn futures soaring since Regional Finals

While it’s no secret that UConn is considered women’s college basketball royalty,  they didn’t emerge as the betting favorite to win it all until the later rounds of the tournament. Since the Women’s Final Four was set on March 31st, Florida sports bettors (and those in other states, too) have been hammering UConn to win their 12th national title:

• 58% of NCAAW Champion futures have been placed on UConn
• 20% have been placed on South Carolina
• 14% of bets have been placed on UCLA to win it all
• 8% have backed Texas, the fewest of any Women’s Final Four team

Bettors bullish on Bueckers, UConn vs UCLA

Hard Rock Bet players are absolutely loving the Huskies in tonight’s matchup against the UCLA Bruins. Looking specifically into bets backing UConn to win the game and advance to the championship, it’s clear who bettors think will win tonight:

• 88% of moneyline bets are on UConn to win vs UCLA
• 91% of moneyline handle is on UConn to win vs UCLA

Pump the breaks on a blowout?

While it’s fairly obvious who most bettors believe will ultimately win tonight’s NCAAW Final Four matchup between UConn and UCLA, they don’t appear to have nearly as much confidence in the Huskies covering the spread vs the Bruins:

• Just 46% of spread bets are on UConn to cover the -7.5 points
• 55% of the spread money is on UConn to cover -7.5

Connecticut (-7.5) tips off against UCLA at 9:30pm ET. The over/under for the contest has been set at 135.5 points.

South Carolina aims for back-to-back titles

Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks, who took home the title one year ago over Caitlin Clark and Iowa, will look to repeat as national champions in 2025. But first, they’ll have to get past a fellow No. 1 seed and SEC member in the Texas Longhorns. Based on the data, a good chunk of Hard Rock Bet players believe that they will:

• 90% of moneyline bets are on South Carolina to win vs Texas
• 95% of moneyline handle is on South Carolina to win vs Texas

Unlike the UConn game, however, bettors are also expecting a much more lopsided result in this one:

• 63% of bets are on South Carolina to cover -5.5 points
• 67% of the money is on South Carolina to cover the -5.5 points

South Carolina (-5.5) will play Texas in the early game, tipping at 7:00pm ET. The over/under is currently 124.5 points.