NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2023: Odds, Picks for Sweet 16 Bracket

The second weekend of the NCAA women's basketball tournament starts with the two wide-open sides of the bracket.

The Greenville 2 and Seattle 4 regions lost their No. 1 seeds in the second round and, in turn, set up some unexpected Sweet 16 battles.

All four teams left standing in each region should feel they have a shot to make a run to the Final Four in Dallas.

Three of the four matchups in those two regions feature seeding mismatches that could be taken over by individual stars.

The most even of the four clashes pits the LSU Tigers against the Utah Utes. The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, in the Greenville 2 region should each feel like they are the favorite to reach the Final Four.

LSU's Angel Reese and Utah's Alissa Pili can take over a contest and will their respective sides to victory, and that is what makes the second game on Friday's schedule the most compelling Sweet 16 game across Friday and Saturday.

Sweet 16 Odds

Brian Bishop/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

BLACKSBURG, VA - MARCH 19: Virginia Tech Hokies center Elizabeth Kitley (33) shoots a jump shot during the Virginia Tech Hokies game versus the South Dakota State Jackrabbits game in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Seattle Regional 3 on March 19, 2023 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA.(Photo by Brian Bishop/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Friday, March 24

Greenville 2: No. 9 Miami vs. No. 4 Villanova (-4.5) (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Greenville 2: No. 3 LSU (-5) vs. No. 2 Utah (5 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Seattle 4: No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 2 Iowa (-5.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Seattle 4: No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Louisville (-2.5) (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Saturday, March 25

Greenville 1: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Maryland (-5) (11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN)

Greenville 1: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 1 South Carolina (-17) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Seattle 3: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 UConn (-10) (4 p.m. ET, ABC)

Seattle 3: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Virginia Tech (-1) (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

No. 3 LSU vs. No. 2 Utah (+5)

Chris Gardner/Getty Images

SALT LAKE CITY, UT- MARCH 19: Alissa Pili #35 of the Utah Utes is pressured by Grace Stone #10 and Parker Hill #22 of the Princeton Tigers during the first half of the second round of the NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament at the John M Huntsman Center March 19, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

LSU and Utah have both been difficult to beat this season because of the performances from their star players.

Reese averages 23.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game—both of those are top-five averages in the country. Pili averages 21 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.

Pili reeled off 61 points and 18 rebounds in Utah's first two tournament victories, and she could help neutralize Reese's threat down low in stretches of the contest.

Reese's incredible play on the blocks is one of the reasons why LSU is favored to win the Greenville 2 Sweet 16 battle. Reese had 59 points and 39 rebounds in the first two rounds.

Utah enters Friday with four losses, all of which were by eight or more points, so that is concerning if you want to bet the Utes on the five-point spread.

However, three of those four defeats occurred in true road games, and it could help the Utes that Friday's contest is being played on a neutral floor.

The Utes' two supporting scorers behind Pili average more points per game than LSU's second-and-third-best scorers after Reese.

Utah needs Gianna Kneepkens and Jenna Johnson to chip in points around Pili. They did in the first-round win over Gardner-Webb, but Kneepkens only put up six points in the second round against Princeton.

As long as Utah's top three scorers are in double figures, it should avoid a large defeat and push LSU for the entirety of the contest.

No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Louisville (-2.5)

Scott Wachter/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 18: Norika Konno #11 of the Louisville Cardinals takes the ball around a Drake player during the first round of the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at the Moody Center on March 18, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The Louisville Cardinals were handed a golden opportunity to get into the Elite Eight after the Ole Miss Rebels upset the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal.

Louisville pulled off a minor upset of its own against the Texas Longhorns in a No. 4-versus-No. 5 second-round battle.

The Cardinals have more losses than the Rebels, but they have found better form in the postseason.

Louisville held three of its last five opponents under 52 points. The Cardinals limited Texas to 51 points, and they held the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to 38 points in the ACC tournament.

The ACC side has some defensive form as its edge, and it has the best player on the floor in Hailey Van Lith.

Van Lith produced 47 points in the first two rounds, and she will be playing with extra motivation in Seattle since she is from Washington.

Ole Miss may not have an answer for Van Lith when she is at her best, and that could be the difference-maker for Louisville.

If the Cardinals win, they could set up an incredible individual battle between Van Lith and Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight.

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