NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2026 Odds, Predictions for Final Four Bracket

The top four teams in women's college basketball will face off at the Final Four on Friday.

All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for the fifth time in NCAA women's tournament history. It is the first time since 2018 that it has happened.

Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies will try to keep their perfect season alive in Friday's first game in Phoenix.

UConn takes on the South Carolina Gamecocks in a rematch of last season's national championship.

The second contest between the Texas Longhorns and UCLA Bruins is a rematch from a November regular-season contest won by Texas. That was the only loss UCLA suffered this season.

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 1 UConn (-7.5)

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Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

UConn is the clear favorite against South Carolina, and understandably so, since the Huskies possess an undefeated record.

Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong and Co. reeled off four double-digit victories to reach Phoenix. They held all of their opponents to 52 points or fewer.

Fudd, Strong and Blanca Quinonez, who comes off the bench, have all scored in double figures in each of UConn's four NCAA tournament games.

South Carolina needs to attempt to slow down at least one of those scorers to drag the Huskies in a defensive battle.

But even if that plan works, UConn can counter with a strong defensive effort of its own given how well its played in the Big Dance.

A UConn win seems inevitable, and the margin of victory might be in double digits, but if South Carolina can somehow find a way to make it close, it would put more pressure on the undefeated Huskies.

Prediction: UConn (-7.5)

No. 1 Texas (-1.5) vs. No. 1 UCLA

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Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Texas-UCLA national semifinal is projected to be much closer than the opener.

The two programs are a combined 70-4 this season. UCLA's lone loss came at the hands of the Longhorns in November.

The big storyline in that game was Lauren Betts' eight-point performance. The UCLA senior recorded a single-digit point total only four times this season. She is averaging 24 points per game in the NCAA tournament.

UCLA lost that game to Texas by 11 points. Even if Betts scores around her season average of 17.2 points, the Bruins can make up the gap to the SEC side.

Texas has a superstar on its roster in Madison Booker, who is averaging 22.5 points per game in the NCAA tournament. Booker was one of four Longhorns in double figures in the November win over UCLA.

Texas forced 20 turnovers in that contest in addition to holding Betts to single digits.

The Longhorns have the formula to beat UCLA, and in turn, the Bruins know what needs to be fixed in order to be competitive.

Prediction: Texas (-1.5)