2025 NCAAW March Madness Tournament Best Bets: Round of 64 Predictions & Odds for March 21

March Madness is here, and the NCAA Women's (NCAAW) Round of 64 will begin on Friday, March 21!

Photo Credit: Jineen Williams/ Ballislife

It's the most exciting time of the year. It's truly a moment when we separate the best from the great teams. Whether it comes down to luck or skills, it's all about who gets hot at the right time! In this case, betting can be truly difficult. In this case, most give their best-educated guess.

This is where I come in. If you're looking to bet on NCAAW and women's sports, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll give my best round of 64 predictions and the current odds. No need to line shop, it's a one stop shop here!

There are many storylines in the Spokane and Birmingham regions, but only 32 will survive after the first round.  Bound to be some upsets, Birmingham 3 may be the toughest region of them all. The No. Seed overall in women's basketball, UCLA could have a challenging road to a potential Final Four.

Starting at 11:30 a.m. ET, the first round of 64 games will run all day! With 16 games on the NCAAW slate, let's look at the FanDuel March Madness Odds for Friday, March 19.

Odds Are Current As Of March 19 AT 5 P.M. ET

There's an exciting road ahead, so let's capitalize and cash out on several matchups! With South Carolina, the overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA tournament at +230, can UConn, UCLA, USC, or even Notre Dame come for the crown!?

It's important to note I've placed all of my best bets within FanDuel Sportsbook separately. With that, I will also encourage responsible betting, even though the duration of March Madness.

Here are my top best bets and predictions for the March 21 NCAAW Tournament Round of 64 matchups! Don't worry, I'll be back on Saturday with my best picks and predictions for day two.

NCAAW Tournament Best Bets: First Round of 64 (Day 1)

Best Bet #1: No. 8 Utah vs No 9 Indiana

• Indiana Moneyline (-142 FanDuel)

My first bet of the first round of 64, I have Indiana to win the moneyline outright vs Utah.

A classic No. 8 vs No. 9 seed, this is one of my highly anticipated matchups in the first round. Sure, can upsets happen in the round of 64? Absolutely. However, a majority of the games have large spreads, which I veered away from. This game is much more intriguing to me.

First off, Utah and Indiana are set to face for the first time ever. This is what makes March so uneasy. When two teams are ranked so closely, it can go either way!

It hasn't been the easiest season for the Utah Utes, who finished No. 4 in the Big 12 with a 22-8 record. Then there was an unexpected twist. head coach Lynne Roberts announced her decision to leave the Utah to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.  Leading the Utes to a 3-1 record, associate head coach Gavin Petersen was named the next head coach.

Utah didn't miss a beat, defeating McNeese 118-50 in Petersen's debut. Leading the Utes to a 19-7 record, that's good enough to tab them as a No. 8 seed.

It was a rough end of the season for Utah, who suffered three losses in the last five games of the season. That of course includes Big 12 second round loss against Texas Tech.

Utah Has It's Consistencies

Overall, this is a Utah team that puts up a ton of offense with 76.7 points per game. Let's face it, the Utes have three snipers in Gianna Kneepkens, Kennady McQueen, and Matyson Wilke. All shooting 40 percent and above from beyond the arc, Indiana will have their work cut out for them.

Utah is one of the most elite three-point shooting teams in the NCAAA tournament, shooting 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. With 26.9 three-pointers per game, the Utes are going to heavily rely on the three-ball. There's times when it doesn't go their way, which we saw in the Big 12 Tournament against Texas Tech. Uncharacteristic, Utah shot just 28.6 percent from three-point range.

A significantly better team on the rebounds, there's concerns when it comes to Utah. They've had slightly an easier schedule load in which they went 1-4 against conference teams. Perhaps the most impressive was their double-digit 78-67 upset over Notre Name. Mind you, the Irish couldn't buy a shot and turnovers killed them.

While defeating Notre Dame is quite the honor, I'm concerned about the conference losses. A 24 points loss to Kansas State was eye opening. They then suffered a 81-73 defeat to TCU. Perhaps Utah's worse loss of the season came to Wester Virginia, 75-46.

The Indiana Hoosiers Are In Tough Big Ten Conference

In the round of 64 they get the Indiana Hoosiers, who had quite the challenging schedule this year. Finishing No. 8 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers finished with a 19-12 record. They may be the lower seed, however, the Big Ten is an extremely tough conference. Imaging having to compete alongside USC, UCLA, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State, and Michigan State just to name a few?

Although the Hoosiers took L's to UCLA and USC, they only suffered a -18 point differential over the last two games. That's the difference between these two teams. Sure, the Hoosiers +6.2 point differential doesn't compare to Utah's +13.5, Indiana finished with a 4-6 record against top 25 teams. That includes defeating Ohio State, 71-61.

While we can look at all the stats, we saw how Indiana performed against USC in the Big Ten Quarterfinal. Although conceding to JuJu Watkins and company, 84-79, they've proved they can hang with big teams. That's twice this year, the Hoosiers kept themselves within 10 points of the USC Trojans.

With Yarden Garzon leading the way with 23 points, the Hoosiers shot more efficient from the three-point (42.1 %) than the field.

Final NCAAW March Madness Round of 64 Best Bet Pick and Prediction: Indiana Moneyline (-144 FanDuel)

Overall, Utah is a much more efficient team on offense, averaging 76.7 points per game. If the Hoosiers want to win this game outright, they must protect the three-point line. Middle of the pack, they allow opponents to shoot 31.6 percent from beyond the arc.

At the end of the day, the March Madness often comes down to coaching. It's no disrespect to Petersen, he's spent several years with the Utah program.  Indiana's head coach Teri Moren has led the program to five straight NCAA appearances, including the regional finals.

• I'm taking Indiana to win the moneyline outright vs Utah.  I don't trust the Utes coaching system, along with the their inconsistencies. Indiana has the length and size to take care of business. Now it's about defending against a high powered offense. 

Best Bet #2: No. 13 Grand Canyon vs No. 4 Baylor

• Grand Canyon +16.5 (+112 FanDuel Boost)

My second best bet for the NCAA Round of 64, I placed one unit on Grand Canyon to cover the +16.5 underdog spread against Baylor.

I'm not saying this will be an upset, but this should be an entertaining matchup between Grand Canyon. The Lopes are for real folks, this is not a drill.

One of the biggest powerhouses on the offensive end, the Lopes are No. 26 in overall NCAA scoring offense with 77.6 points per game.

Overall, this is a team that's doesn't take a ton of threes, but shoots a high clip as a team (38.1 %). This may be a first time NCAA appearance on this team, however, don't sleep on Grand Canyon. All of it's top scorers, Trinity San Antonio, Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Laura, Erikstrup, Tiarra Brown, and Nneka Obiazor are all seniors!

Here's a stat, everyone on the roster is a senior except three players. They face a Baylors squad who's got a fair amount of seniors with experience.

Overall, Grand Canyon had a fairly easy strength of schedule, and will get it's toughest test against Baylor. WAC Tournament champions, we saw this team put up nearly 90 points. The question is, can they keep up with Baylor, who holds opponents to 60 points on the season.

Grand Canyon Is Riding A 30 Game Win Streak

I do want to give Molly Miller her flowers, who's led the Lopes to a 32-2 season. Boasting the 8th best point differential with +20.4, how can I not take the points here. Sure, they haven't played the level of competition in Baylor. However, they finished the season with 30 straight wins!

This team is hot, and that's what March Madness is all about!

Their only ranked game this season came against Oregon, who defeated the Lopes 70-54. In the end, they went cold from the floor, and were massively out rebounded. If they want to keep this one close, that can't happen against Baylor. Finishing top 20 in rebounds (41.1), the Lopes allow the ninth least rebounds in NCAA women's basketball (30.2).

Despite losing to TCU in the in the Big 12 Championship, Baylor finished out the season strong. We know one thing, they are 0-2 against TCU. Other than that, they went 11-0 outside of their matchups against TCU down the stretch.

Final NCAAW March Madness Round of 64 Best Bet Pick and Prediction: Grand Canyon +16.5 (+112 FanDuel Boost)

While Baylor is an offensive juggernaut of a team, they can be beat. With losses to Oregon, Indiana, and Oklahoma State, three of those programs were unranked at the time. Defeated 72-57, I'm not sure If I would put the Bears into that top bracket of teams.

Size may be an issue for the Lopes, can they stop Bears center Aaronette Vonleh? The Baylors has a bunch heavy hitters with Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Jada Walker, Sarah Andrews, Yada Felder, and Jana Van Gytenbeek. 

• As dominant as Baylor's been, I'm taking Grand Canyon to cover the +16.5 point spread coming off a 30 game win streak. 

 Best Bet #3: No.12 South Florida vs No.5 Tennessee

• Tennessee -19.5 (-110 FanDuel)

My last best bet for the round of 32, I'm taking Tennessee to cover the 19.5 point favorable spread vs South Florida.

Despite losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament, the Lady Vols are a dangerous team. 22-9 on the season, they finished 8-8 in conference play. Mind you, the SEC is loading with talent which starts with South Carolina.

They arguably had one of the toughest schedules, although Tennessee gained it's signature win against UConn this season. The fact they kept a loss against South Carolina is impressive to me.

Now they face a South Florida team, who's had it's ups and downs. While Duke has vastly improved, the Bulls got a signature win over the Blue Devils. And then we saw South Florida get massacred by TCU, 87-46.

Overall, South Florida lost by 16 points against South Carolina, however tournament games hit different. Anything can happen, but on paper, these two teams don't match up.

Take Tennessee, the second leading scoring in all of NCAAW (87.2 PPG), match them against the South Florida Bulls, who have one of the weakest offenses in the league. It may work in their favor, since Tennessee isn't the most efficient on the defensive end.  However, just 66 points per game?

Both team's aren't prolific three-point shooting teams, however, I don't see the Bulls keeping up with the Lady Vols. Having a one-two punch with Talaysia Cooper and Jewel Spear, they will need to contain Sammie Puisis. She's the true sniper for South Florida.

Final NCAAW March Madness Round of 64 Best Bet Pick and Prediction: Tennessee -19.5 (-110 FanDuel)

I know Tennessee had a disastrous end to the season, dropping three of their last four games. With plenty of rest, it's been ample amount of time to reset. 19.5 points is a large spread. However, Tennessee boasts a +16.7 point differential, while South Florida with a +5.5. Given South Florida didn't finish first in their conference, comparing the SEC to American is night and day. There's strictly no comparison.

• I'm taking Tennessee to cover the 19.5 point spread vs USF