NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2025: Odds, Picks for Monday's Bracket
The UConn Huskies delivered one of the most dominant performances in recent memory in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Paige Buckers and Co. defeated Arkansas State by 69 points on Saturday, so of course, the expectation is for them to blow out South Dakota State on Monday night.
However, the Jackrabbits pose a much tougher challenge as one of the best mid-major programs.
South Dakota State is by far the biggest underdog on Monday's eight-game second-round slate.
UConn will likely win the matchup, but the point spread could come under question.
A handful of Monday's other contests have much smaller point spreads. Three of the eight games have spreads of five points or less, including the clash between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Maryland Terrapins.
Monday NCAA Women's Tournament Schedule and Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 NC State (-6.5) (Over/Under 150.5) (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 1 Texas (-18.5) (O/U: 133.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (-4.5) (O/U: 155.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 5 Alabama (-1) vs. No. 4 Maryland (O/U: 152.5) (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 3 LSU (-10.5) (O/U: 169.5) (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 West Virginia (-1.5) vs. No. 3 North Carolina (O/U: 126.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 10 South Dakota State vs. No. 2 UConn (-26.5) (O/U: 136.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 9 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 USC (-17.5) (O/U: 146.5) (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 10 South Dakota State vs. No. 2 UConn (-26.5)
The easy approach to betting the South Dakota State-UConn game is to take the Huskies because they demolished their first-round opponent.
While that logic may turn out to be right, there is a better chance of South Dakota State being competitive with UConn than Arkansas State.
South Dakota State went 30-3 and it was competitive with power-conference teams early in the season.
The Jackrabbits beat Creighton and Oregon and only lost by four to Duke. They also lost to Georgia Tech by 14 points.
However, they were outclassed in a matchup with Texas, which the Longhorns won 103-57.
The larger sample size of South Dakota State games against power-conference teams suggests it could hang with UConn. The No. 10 seed beat Oklahoma State by six points on Saturday.
After all, this is UConn, who won five of its last seven opening-weekend games by double digits. All of those victories were by at least 19 points.
UConn will definitely face a tougher test on Monday in comparison to Saturday, but history tells us the Huskies will pull away at some point, and there will be a good chance of them covering the spread.
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 Maryland ( 1)
Alabama and Maryland look similar on paper.
Both teams have 24 victories, Maryland won its first-round game 82-69 and Alabama earned an 81-67 triumph on Saturday.
Alabama is a slight favorite, but the game takes place on Maryland's home floor.
The home-court advantage is one edge the Terps can bank on, but the other, more important one is the shooting of Sarah Te-Biasu.
Te-Biasu made 10 three-pointers and scored 47 points in her last two games. She averages 10.1 points per game.
An additional scoring boost from Te-Biasu to complement leading scorer Kaylene Smikle could be the edge that the Terps need in what is expected to be a tight matchup.
Alabama only went 6-5 in true road games, and in three of those losses, the Crimson Tide gave up over 80 points.
That is a bit of a concern going into an even matchup in the NCAA tournament where the higher seeds have home-court advantage.
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Odds and lines subject to change. 21 (18 NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.