2025 women's Final Four odds, predictions for South Carolina vs. Texas, UConn vs. UCLA
Between names like Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley in the coaching ranks and Paige Bueckers and Lauren Betts among the players still competing in the NCAA women's tournament, this year's Final Four won't disappoint.
Though Connecticut is the favorite to win the national championship at -165 odds, it'd be foolish to count out South Carolina (+275) in its hunt for a second straight title. And UCLA (+800) and Texas (+850) are 1-seeds for a reason. They won't go down without a fight either.
In fact, UCLA is the overall No. 1 seed, though that might be easy to forget with the Bruins being 7.5-point underdogs for Friday's game against 2-seed UConn. Can they pull off the upset? Would it even be considered an upset? These are my predictions for the Final Four, with odds via BetMGM.
Texas vs. South Carolina
Best bet: Texas +5.5
The Longhorns have all the ingredients to give South Carolina a tough game. They play elite 3-point defense, force turnovers and get to the free throw line. They even beat the Gamecocks in February behind 20 points from Madison Booker (though South Carolina blew their doors off in the SEC championship game).
Ultimately, I give SC the edge because of coaching and talent, but the familiarity between these teams and Texas' elite defense will keep this one close.
Final score: South Carolina 64, Texas 63
UConn vs. UCLA
Best bet: UCLA +7.5
Getting this spread at the opening line of 8.5 points would have been better, but I'm still taking the points on UCLA at +7.5 because it's almost disrespectful for a top seed to be such a big underdog. Don't get me wrong, I expect the Huskies to win; Bueckers is that good, the Huskies have the outside shooting edge and UCLA turns the ball over too much. But who exactly is supposed to stop the 6-foot-7 Betts?
The answer is nobody. UConn wins, but UCLA covers.
Final score: UConn 71, UCLA 66
South Carolina vs. UConn
The national championship matchup I predicted in my original bracket is the one I still think we'll see in the end; a rematch between South Carolina and UConn. I'm also sticking with my original champion pick, South Carolina, though I'm not nearly as confident as I was at the start of the tournament. Bueckers ripping off three straight games of at least 30 points, including a 40-ball in the Sweet 16 is enough to make one's confidence waver.
However, I still think the Gamecocks have a bit of a chip on their shoulder for not being the No. 1 overall seed and much of that has to do with the way UConn smacked them around in February. Even in a game they held Bueckers to 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting, they lost by 29. If they defend Bueckers like that again, I'm confident saying they'll come out on top. That loss will be the fuel for Staley's next title.
Final score: South Carolina 68, UConn 67