NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2026 Elite 8 Bracket Odds, Picks for Sunday

The Elite 8 kicks off Sunday with two of the best teams in the country in action in UConn and UCLA.

Will Notre Dame or Duke have any chance of upsetting the two dominant squads or will the Huskies and Bruins continue their path to the finals?

Find out in this preview of Sunday's action, including odds for each of the two match-ups.

(1) UConn vs. (6) Notre Dame

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TV: 1:00 p.m. EST, ABC

Odds: Spread (27.5), Over/Under (141.5)

Moneyline: N/A

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Connecticut is undefeated (37-0), the best team in the nation, and has dominated the competition thus far in the tournament. Even after a rather pedestrian performance against North Carolina in the Sweet 16, in which the team shot just 40 percent from the field and 20 percent from the three-point line, they still managed a 21-point win.

In their first showdown with Notre Dame earlier this season, the Huskies won by 38, further establishing their dominance and setting themselves up as the March Madness favorites they are.

Hannah Hidalgo of the Fighting Irish might be the best defensive player in the country, and her 10 steals against Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 added credibility to that claim. A nightmare on the perimeter for any team, it is her ability to disrupt that might be key to any shot Notre Dame has of scoring the upset Sunday.

Hidalgo is just one player, though, and while her greatness is undeniable, she will not have the impact against Connecticut that she did versus Vanderbilt. The top-ranked team in the tournament is too good defensively, forces too many turnovers, and will do the same to an outmatched Irish squad.

Connecticut is winning their tournament games by an average of 34 points. It may not be quite that bad, but a double-digit win should be expected.

Prediction: UConn wins big, advances to the Final Four

(1) UCLA vs. (3) Duke

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TV: 3:00 p.m. EST, ABC

Odds: Spread (11.5), Over/Under (130.5)

Moneyline: Duke (+540), UCLA (-850)

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UCLA has lost just one game all season and easily dominated Duke in their previous meeting, winning by 30. And that was without star center Lauren Betts.

Betts is averaging 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game and shoots 57 percent from the floor.

Duke advanced to the Elite Eight with a last-second, buzzer-beater against LSU, a team it gave up 85 points to. They have not performed well against the nation's best teams, have a so-so offense at best and on paper, do not measure up in the slightest to their Elite Eight opponent.

The Blue Devils have lost to teams they had no business losing to, such as Clemson, USF, Baylor, and West Virginia, too.

Throw in a dominant Bruins team that has had no problem scoring and winning by wide margins in this tournament, and you have a mismatch of potentially epic proportions Sunday afternoon.

Prediction: UCLA advances to the Final Four by 20+

Odds via Fanduel Sportsbook