Death, taxes, and South Carolina and UConn sitting atop the women's college basketball world.
It's no surprise that Dawn Staley's Gamecocks and Geno Auriemma's Huskies, the respective No. 1 and 2 preseason teams, are co-favorites to win the national title with odds (+250) that give them each better than a 25 percent implied probability to cut down the nets.
South Carolina knocked UConn out of last season's Final Four before falling to the senior-led UCLA Bruins in the championship game. Now the Gamecocks return their top scorer, Joyce Edwards, to lead a talented roster that features top recruits Oliviyah Edwards and Jerzy Robinson. The Huskies, meanwhile, are anchored by Sarah Strong — last season's national player of the year.
The player who won that award the season before Strong, JuJu Watkins, makes her much-anticipated return from an ACL injury that ended her 2025-26 campaign before it officially started. The oddsboard continues to mirror the preseason top 25 at No. 3, with Watkins' USC Trojans sitting at +450 odds that give them around an 18 percent implied probability to win it all. They're in a tier of their own, with last season's leading scorer Jazzy Davidson (17.9 PPG) set to share the court with Watkins for the first time in regular-season play.
The Texas Longhorns also stand in a tier of their own with +900 odds that give them a 10 percent implied probability to finish as national champions for just the second time in program history. They're led by Madison Booker, who joins Strong and Watkins as preseason All-American selections after earning first-team honors in back-to-back seasons.
The fourth team to make last season's semifinals before eventually winning the title is in a crowded fourth tier alongside LSU, Duke, Michigan, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame — teams with odds between a 2.5 and five percent implied probability to win. The UCLA Bruins graduated the entirety of their championship-winning starting lineup but bring in a talented class of transfers that the market expects to keep them competitive. Their +2800 odds leave them smack in the middle of this tier with the Tigers (+1900), Blue Devils (+2500) and Wolverines (+2500) ahead of them. The Commodores and Fighting Irish round it out at +3100 and +3500, respectively.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Women's College Basketball, Sports Betting
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