Favorites and sleepers to win the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship

The NCAA Women’s tournament gets started tomorrow, and with 63 games to determine a national champion in what is as wide open a field as we’ve ever seen in the women’s championship, the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook have plenty of teams with a chance in the bubble of San Antonio.

And while the NCAA might not be respecting the bubble the way they should, the betting community should be happy about the parity in the game that makes for quality matchups.

The favorites are the Stanford Cardinal, who have been on fire the last two months. Following two losses early in Pac-12 play, Tara VanDerveer’s group has not only won but dominated opponents down the stretch. Kiana Williams (14.3 ppg) and Haley Jones (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) lead a team that ranks in the top ten in scoring defense in the country.

The next team off the board is the Connecticut Huskies, but they might not be the Geno Auriemma team you think of in the past. This one is dominated by maybe the next superstar in women’s basketball, Paige Bueckers. She’s a living, walking bucket, and you can’t keep your eyes off her when she’s on the floor. Her 19.7 points are great, but her 6.1 assists per game are often breathtaking. If you haven’t watched a ton of women’s basketball yet this season, don’t miss a UConn game or two.

Maryland and Brenda Freese won the Big Ten, and Ashley Owusu is another superstar in this field. Her 18-5-5 per game is great, but women’s backcourt players aren’t supposed to be able to move and handle how she does at 6’0 with “good luck defending the block” post-up size. You might see her and Bueckers guiding some Team USA’s in the Olympics someday.

Need a sleeper? If No. 8 South Florida gets past No. 1 North Carolina State in the Mercado Region (and it’s a good matchup for the Bulls), the 200-1 shot has a path to the Final Four as clear as anyone. They’ve got the second-leading rebounder in the country in Bethy Mununga, only lost by five to Baylor earlier this season, and dominated the American Conference. Way under-seeded as an eight, their draw turns into a plus if they can get by the Wolfpack. And why yes we are being complete homers here, but you for sure can find a worse way to get some value from this event even if you hedge a bit down the line.

Here are the odds to win the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament from DraftKings Sportsbook:

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