Congratulations to the UCLA Bruins for winning the 2026 National Championship, but sportsbooks have already turned the page.
Early Women's March Madness odds for the 2027 tournament list the UConn Huskies as the +165 favorite, highlighting a wide-open championship race.
With traditional powers like South Carolina and USC also near the top of the board, early betting action is expected to be competitive as teams reload and the race to next year’s title begins to take shape under the new March Madness expansion format.
Odds to win Women's March Madness 2027
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
 Connecticut |
+165 |
 South Carolina |
+500 |
 USC |
+500 |
 Texas |
+650 |
 Michigan |
+1100 |
 LSU |
+1600 |
 Vanderbilt |
+1600 |
 Duke |
+3000 |
 Iowa |
+5000 |
 Kentucky |
+5000 |
 Louisville |
+5000 |
 Maryland |
+5000 |
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Introducing the New 76-team Format
More Teams and More Games in 2027!
— NCAA (@NCAA) May 7, 2026
The #MarchMadness Expansion explained. @MarchMadnessMBB x @MarchMadnessWBB pic.twitter.com/gQavENSiN2
Beginning next year, both the women's and men’s tournaments will expand from 68 to 76 teams.
The First Four will be replaced by a 12-game Opening Round featuring 24 teams—the 12 lowest automatic qualifiers and 12 lowest-seeded at-large bids—with winners advancing to the unchanged Round of 64.
Automatic bids will drop from 56 to 52, while at-large spots increase from 37 to 45, creating more opportunities for bubble teams.
Women's March Madness 2027 schedule
| Event | Date | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Selection Sunday | March 13 | -- |
| First Four | March 17–18 | TBD |
| First Round | March 19-20 | Top 16 seeds host. |
| Second Round | March 21–22 | Top 16 seeds host. |
| Sweet 16 | March 26–27 | Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA |
| Elite Eight | March 28–29 | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV |
| Final Four | April 2 | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH |
| National Championship Game | April 4 | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH |
Understanding March Madness futures odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for the NCAA women's basketball championship as early as the summer before the season starts. These odds are constantly adjusted throughout the offseason as players get hurt, suspended or are traded. Once the season begins in November, title odds will change as often as daily as teams win and lose games and as players get hurt or suspended. Sportsbooks will also adjust the March Madness futures odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
March Madness futures odds will usually look like this:
- Indiana Hoosiers +800
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $800 if the Hoosiers win the NCAA women's basketball title. If it's close to the end of the regular season or even during the tournament, and college basketball has a very dominant team, you might see that a team has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
- South Carolina Gamecocks -165
This means that you would need to bet $165 to win $100 on a South Carolina championship.
Above, we have posted the American odds for March Madness futures. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool.
How to bet college basketball futures
Learning how to successfully bet on March Madness is one of the hardest things to do in sports betting. The lose-and-go-home format and the fact that a school needs to win six straight games against quality opponents mean that the favorites don't always take home the title.
Another factor that comes into play is that the tournament bracket isn't set until Selection Sunday. As the college basketball season winds down, you can be pretty sure that the big favorites will slide into the bracket as top seeds. But for teams in the middle of the pack, nothing is certain.
As always, when betting futures odds, be sure to look into injuries and suspensions. You might find some current value in a team that is expecting to get a key player back before March Madness begins.
Where to bet on Women's March Madness
If you're in a state that allows mobile or online betting, make sure you know which sites are the best March Madness betting sites. Great betting sites offer sharp odds, quick payouts, and are safe and secure when it comes to depositing and withdrawing your money.
Past Women's March Madness champions
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  UCLA |
 South Carolina |
| 2025 | UConn |
South Carolina |
| 2024 | South Carolina |
 Iowa |
| 2023 |  LSU |
Iowa |
| 2022 | South Carolina |
UConn |
| 2021 |  Stanford |
 Arizona |
| 2020 | COVID-19 | COVID-19 |
| 2019 |  Baylor |
 Duke |
| 2018 |  Notre Dame |
 Mississippi State |
| 2017 | South Carolina |
Mississippi State |
| 2016 | UConn |
 Syracuse |
| 2015 | UConn |
Notre Dame |
| 2014 | UConn |
Notre Dame |
| 2013 | UConn |
 Louisville |
| 2012 | Baylor |
Notre Dame |
Women's March Madness trends
• Four of the last five winners of the tournament all entered the season as the No. 1 seed.
• Since 1982, a No. 1 seed has made the Final Four every year.
• UConn has the most women's NCAA titles of all-time (11), including four straight years of successfully defending the championship from 2013-2016.
Women's March Madness Odds
The UConn Huskies are +165 favorites to win Women's March Madness.
The Women's March Madness title game will take place on Sunday, April 4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Oddsmakers at sportsbooks create odds to win the Women's NCAA Tournament based on the team's implied probability to win the title. The team with the lowest odds has the best chance to win the tournament.
Betting on game outcomes for all college teams is allowed as well as individual players, but may not be widely available across sportsbooks.
Sportsbooks adjust odds in real time based on betting action, team performance, injuries, and other developments.
Betting on individual players during Women’s March Madness is possible, but it’s not as widely available as betting on teams or game outcomes. Most sportsbooks focus primarily on team-based bets for the Women’s NCAA Tournament, especially in the early rounds.
