NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2026 Odds, Picks for Monday's Bracket

The Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's basketball tournament will be finalized on Monday.

The UConn Huskies, South Carolina Gamecocks and UCLA Bruins are among the teams that will likely cruise into the second weekend.

Entering Monday, chalk has held across the bracket as eight top-four seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 on Sunday.

A handful of higher seeds do have chances to win on Monday, but to do so, they have to win true road games.

Monday Schedule and Odds

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No. 6 Alabama at No. 3 Louisville (-8.5) (Noon ET, ESPN)

No. 10 Virginia at No. 2 Iowa (-13.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 3 Ohio State (-5.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 5 Kentucky at No. 4 West Virginia (-3.5) (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 9 Syracuse at No. 1 UConn (-35.5) (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 7 Illinois at No. 2 Vanderbilt (-13.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 9 USC at No. 1 South Carolina (-22.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 1 UCLA (-26.5) (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 9 Syracuse at No. 1 UConn (-35.5)

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The No. 1 overall seed is understandably a massive favorite on its home floor for the second straight game.

Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies crushed the UTSA Roadrunners by 38 points in the opening round.

The Syracuse Orange present a step up in competition, but that probably won't matter for the Huskies' margin of victory.

A year ago, the Huskies won their second-round matchup by 34 points as a No. 2 seed.

Syracuse is 0-3 with an average margin of defeat of 23.6 points against Top 25 opposition this season.

Syracuse's losses to the Michigan Wolverines and Louisville Cardinals set a less-than-ideal precedent for what will happen on Monday in Storrs.

UConn is a better team than Syracuse's previous ranked opponents, so Monday's margin of victory will likely be in the 30s.

The Huskies put up 90 points on Saturday without a major scoring contribution from Azzi Fudd. If Fudd is closer to her 17.4 points per game on top of what Sarah Strong and others bring to the floor, the Huskies will have the game wrapped up by halftime.

Pick: UConn (-35.5)

No. 9 USC at No. 1 South Carolina (-22.5)

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Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks face a trickier game on paper in comparison to UConn.

The USC Trojans won what was basically a road game in Columbia against the Clemson Tigers in the opening round.

The Trojans have an incredible scorer in Jazzy Davidson, who has five 20-point performances against ranked foes this season.

The freshman is a more well-rounded player than she was back in November when she put up eight points in a 69-52 loss to South Carolina.

South Carolina is the deeper team with five players who have scoring averages in double digits, led by Joyce Edwards, who had 27 points in the opening round.

USC should be competitive, at least in the first half, if Davidson is making shots, but South Carolina's all-around scoring depth may be too much for the Trojans to handle over four quarters.

Pick: South Carolina (-22.5)

No. 5 Kentucky at No. 4 West Virginia (-3.5)

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The clash between the Kentucky Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers is projected to be the closest one on Monday's eight-game slate.

Both teams won their opening-round contests by double digits, but you could make the case that West Virginia is a strong favorite.

The Mountaineers have a single loss dating back to February 1. That came against the TCU Horned Frogs, who advanced to the Sweet 16 on Sunday night.

Kentucky's been more up and down with a 7-5 record since February 1. All five of those losses occurred against ranked opponents.

The Wildcats are 5-7 against Top 25 foes, while West Virginia is 4-3 in those types of games.

Despite all those statistics, Kentucky has a path to victory if it dominates the glass. Clara Strack is one of the best rebounders in the country and she's going up against a West Virginia team that has one player who averages over six rebounds per game.

Kentucky averages four more rebounds per game than West Virginia, and if the game comes down to earning a few extra possessions, the Wildcats have the edge.

Pick: Kentucky (+3.5)