2024 Women’s March Madness Futures Odds: Unstoppable Force, Immovable Object on Collision Course for the Title?

Last March, South Carolina and Iowa met with a spot in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at stake.

The Gamecocks, the defending national champions, were heavily favored to take out the Hawkeyes in Dallas.

Instead, led by 41 points, eight assists, and six rebounds by Caitlin Clark, Iowa, in its first Final Four appearance since 1993, stunned South Carolina 77-73 to reach the championship game.

When this year’s tournament field is announced on Sunday, March 17, many will hope to see the Gamecocks and Hawkeyes on opposite sides of the bracket. That would set up the possibility of a rematch between the game’s best player and the game’s best team. This time, however, it would be for all the marbles instead of some of them.

After losing all five starters–including Aliyah Boston–plus key reserve Leticia Amihere, South Carolina entered this season with some questions. All they have done in response is lay waste to the competition left and right. With the regular season now concluded, the Gamecocks are a perfect 29-0. With three wins at this week’s SEC Tournament and six more in the NCAA Tournament, they will become the first team to make an undefeated run to the women’s title since Breanna Stewart and UConn went 38-0 in 2016.

Iowa returned their superstar, but they had to replace some key players as well. Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock, the team’s second and third leading scorers and rebounders, finished their collegiate eligibility last season.

Prep for March Madness with Our March Madness Guide

Get ready to follow and bet on all of the exciting action with our March Madness guide. Along with covering helpful information for betting on the NCAA Tournament, we also hook you up with the best March Madness bracket challenges, the best betting sites for March Madness, and a bevy of historical facts that you can use to impress your friends and colleagues.

• March Madness Guide: How to Bet on the NCAA Tournament in 2024

But with Hannah Stuelke and Kate Martin emerging and Clark taking her game to another level, the Hawkeyes have excelled. And even though they were beaten out for the Big Ten regular season title by Jacy Sheldon and Ohio State, Iowa will enter the NCAA Tournament second in line behind South Carolina as the top contenders for this year’s title.

What about last year’s national champs? It has not been a perfect season for Reese or LSU, by any means. However, the Tigers finished second in the SEC behind the Gamecocks and should not be overlooked. Kim Mulkey’s squad will not be inclined to give up their crown without a furious fight.

Are there any teams that could prevent a title tilt involving two of South Carolina, Iowa, and LSU?

Any conversation about NCAA women’s basketball championship contenders isn’t complete without mentioning UConn.

The Huskies are title-less since that 2016 season, and their run of 14 consecutive Final Fours ended last season. But even with injuries to key players a major factor for a second straight season, the Huskies will be considered among the favorites as well, as a team led by Paige Bueckers should be.

Odds to Win the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship

Odds are via BetOnline, a longtime fixture in the sports betting industry, as of Monday, March 4, 2024. Check out our BetOnline sportsbook review, then grab yourself a nice sign-up bonus to bet on the men’s and women’s tournaments this year.

Who Are the Favorites to Win This Year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship?

South Carolina (-130)

• Record: 29-0, 16-0 SEC (won SEC regular season title)
• Best Wins: vs Notre Dame (neutral site), at North Carolina, at Duke, vs Utah (neutral site), vs UConn, at LSU, at Tennessee
• NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection (via ESPN): #1 overall seed

Having to replace the players they lost is no small feat. But South Carolina has both talent and depth in droves. Nine players average at least 14.1 minutes per game and 5.6 points per game, and five players are averaging 10+ PPG.

Leading the way is 6’7 senior Kamilla Cardoso. Cardoso was a key bench piece on the last two teams, but she has made the most of moving into a starting role this season.

Who can stop them? It’s entirely possible no one can. That said, that was the concern last season, and they were upended in Dallas by Clark and the Hawkeyes. However, only four teams have been able to keep it within single digits against South Carolina: UNC, Utah, LSU, and Tennessee (in Columbia).

Iowa (+650)

• Record: 26-4, 15-3 Big Ten (finished second in the Big Ten)
• Best Wins: vs Virginia Tech (neutral site), vs Kansas State (neutral site), at Iowa State, vs Indiana, vs Ohio State
• NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection: #2 seed

Without a doubt, Clark is the headliner, the game-changer, and the showstopper.

But to call the Hawkeyes a one-person team would be disrespectful to the likes of Stuelke and Martin, who have come up with some huge contributions this season.

Most notably, Stuelke poured in a career-high 47 points on February 8 against Penn State, in a game in which Clark was only 8 of 23 from the field but dished out 15 assists.

Ultimately, what the Hawkeyes do or don’t do will largely depend on Clark’s ability to take over games, whether as a shooter, a distributor, or both. The last one is the ideal, and that’s understandable. Clark is averaging 32.3 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 7.3 RPG and has four 40-point games and six triple-doubles this season.

But how far can a superstar of her level take a team? For all that she did to carry the Hawkeyes to the title game last season, LSU proved to be too much, and losses in several of their toughest games indicate that there may well be a limit to their ceiling even with Clark at her best.

LSU (+800)

• Record: 26-4, 13-3 SEC (finished second in the SEC)
• Best Wins: vs Virginia Tech, at Ole Miss, at Alabama, at Tennessee
• NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection: #2 seed

Between allowing 92 points in a season-opening double-digit loss to Colorado, to Reese missing four games early, to suffering three losses in their first eight SEC games, the reigning champs have not had a smooth ride this season.

But they have won eight straight games since suffering back-to-back losses to South Carolina and at Mississippi State at the end of January, and all but one of those wins (a 71-66 home win over Auburn on February 22) has been by at least 15 points.

Are they back? Is their best yet to come? That all remains to be seen but dismiss a team with their talent at your peril.

Reese and Aneesah Morrow are averaging a double-double apiece, their five leading scorers are averaging at least 12.3 PPG, and five players average at least 2.4 APG and/or 4.0 RPG.

Stanford (+1600)

• Record: 26-4, 15-3 Pac-12 (won the Pac-12 regular season title)
• Best Wins: vs Indiana, vs Duke, vs Florida State (neutral site), at Utah, vs UCLA, at Oregon State
• NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection: #1 seed

In this week’s AP poll, the Pac-12 leads the way with six ranked teams: #2 Stanford, #5 USC, #7 UCLA, #13 Oregon State, #18 Colorado, and #22 Utah.

Stanford finished two games ahead of the Bruins and Trojans in the conference standings, and they are all but certain to be one of the four #1 seeds on Selection Sunday.

Despite their success this season, they aren’t receiving the same level of love as South Carolina, Iowa, or LSU, and that is unlikely to change even if they steamroll the competition at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Should that be the case? Like LSU, the Cardinal have two players averaging a double-double apiece in Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink, and head coach Tara VanDerveer, who crossed 1,200 career wins this season, is a titan of the sport.

The Cardinal may not have generated as many headlines this season as the Gamecocks, Hawkeyes, and Tigers, but when it comes to the title hopefuls outside of that top trio, the Cardinal have the fewest cons in their case to be considered.

They can have some ups and downs offensively, but they finished atop a tough conference, are a strong defensive team (which is highly valuable at the business end of the season), have star power, and own some high-level wins. At these odds, they are fantastic value if you want to invest in someone other than South Carolina, Iowa, or LSU.

Where Can You Bet on Women’s March Madness This Year?

Throughout the college basketball season, you can find NCAA basketball odds at the top online sports betting sites. That includes prominent names like BetDSI, BetOnline, BetUS, and Bovada.

Along with game odds, many sportsbooks offer men’s and women’s March Madness futures odds, Final Four odds, Wooden Award odds, and more.

If you are unfamiliar with any of these sites, check out our sportsbook reviews to learn more about what they all offer. Our reviews analyze available betting options, deposit and payout options, mobile and live betting, and the sportsbook sign-up bonuses and other promos offered.

• BetDSI Sportsbook Review
• BetOnline Sportsbook Review
• BetUS Sportsbook Review
• Bovada Sportsbook Review
• MyBookie Sportsbook Review

Every sportsbook does not offer women’s college basketball odds throughout the season, but some sportsbooks that don’t ma offer game odds for the women’s NCAA tournament, as well as women’s March Madness futures odds.

One sportsbook that has offered both women’s college basketball game odds and women’s NCAA tournament futures during the season is BetOnline. Given what they have done during the season, that is one sportsbook you should trust to have the odds you are looking for when the tournament tips off in a couple of weeks.

Other NCAA Basketball Betting Information and Content

Interested in Learning More About Betting on NCAA Basketball?

Are you interested in learning more about betting on NCAA men’s or women’s basketball? Check out our college basketball betting guide, which covers the basics of wagering on the action.

• College Basketball Betting Guide: How to Bet on NCAA Basketball in 2024

Also, follow Betting News on X/Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok to get more daily NCAA basketball betting insight from myself and the rest of our team.

• Betting News on “X”/Twitter
• Betting News on Twitch
• Betting News on TikTok