UConn is now the favorite to win the women’s NCAA tournament as USC is a long shot following the news of JuJu Watkins’ ACL tear.
South Carolina was a slight favorite ahead of the Huskies at BetMGM to win it all after the bracket was announced, but UConn has taken over that status before the Sweet 16 despite being a No. 2 seed. UConn is now +175 to win it all and South Carolina is at +200.
The Huskies beat No. 10 South Dakota State 91-57 on Monday night in Paige Bueckers’ last home game. She scored 10 straight in the first half as she finished with 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting with four assists, four steals, three rebounds and no turnovers.
UConn will play No. 3 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. South Carolina beat Indiana 64-53 on Sunday in the second round to set up a matchup with No. 4 Maryland in the third round. The Terrapins beat Alabama in the game of the tournament on Monday. Maryland beat the Tide 111-108 in double-overtime.
South Carolina’s drop to No. 2 favorite likely has less to do with them and more to do with UConn’s path to the Final Four now. Late Monday night, Watkins had to be helped off the court in No. 1 USC’s 96-59 win over No. 9 Mississippi State. She was quickly diagnosed with a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Her loss is a massive blow to USC’s title hopes as the Trojans and Huskies were slated to meet in the Elite Eight. USC is now +2500 to win it all after opening the tournament at +550.
If you think someone other than UConn or South Carolina can win it all, there’s value to be had across the board. UCLA, Texas and Notre Dame all have odds to win the national title longer than they did at the start of the tournament. UCLA was +500 before Selection Sunday and Texas and Notre Dame were both at +600.
Post-Sweet 16 women’s national title odds
- UConn (+175)
- South Carolina (+200)
- UCLA (+650)
- Texas (+750)
- Notre Dame (+1000)
- USC (+2500)
- Duke (+3000)
- TCU (+3500)
- LSU (+4000)
- NC State (+4500)
- Oklahoma (+6600)
- Kansas State (+8000)
- Ole Miss (+10000)
- Tennessee (+12500)
- North Carolina (+15000)
- Maryland (+15000)
