Vegas oddsmakers have a clear favorite ahead of the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament: The South Carolina Gamecocks.
South Carolina, which is looking to win its second national championship in three seasons, is far and away the front runner to cut down the nets next month at BetMGM Sportsbook, sitting at -155 ahead of this weekend’s slate of games.
The Gamecocks have been utterly dominant all season, going a perfect 32-0 during the regular season while outscoring its opponents by more than 30 points per game.
That excellence has continued into March Madness after they beat Presbyterian and North Carolina by 52 and 47, respectively, in the first two rounds of the tournament.
Their tournament showing thus far has dropped their championship odds from +290 at open.
South Carolina is a 15.5-point favorite over No. 5 seed Indiana, who it will play at 5:00 p.m. ET during Friday’s Sweet 16 action.
The Gamecocks’ top competition, per oddsmakers, is the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes, who are +600 to win the title.
Iowa has been a popular team for the betting public, garnering 34.3 percent of the tickets and the most liability at BetMGM, although South Carolina has the highest betting handle (36.2 percent).
Betting on College Basketball?
The defending champion LSU Tigers, who could match up with the Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight if both teams advance this weekend, have the third-best odds at +800.
LSU opened the season as a +350 favorite to repeat as champs at DraftKings Sportsbook but landed at No. 8 in the final AP poll after finishing 28-5, including two losses to South Carolina. They’ve dropped from +550 before the tournament despite two opening-round wins.
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