March Madness has arrived, and it's an exciting time among basketball fans and bettors! Starting with the Round of 64, teams will compete for the Final Championship!
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
As teams dance into the NCAAW Tournament, 64 teams must advance to the Round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four.
In Women's basketball, South Carolina (+230), UConn (+250), UCLA (+600), Texas (+700), and USC (+800) are among the most favorable teams to win the 2025 NCAA Championship.
Before you bet on your future 2025 NCAA March Madness Champions, let's take a took at my top sleeper picks and odds to win the title this year! I have four sleeper teams out of each region!
2025 NCAAW March Madness Sleeper Picks & Odds
Spokane 1: No. 10 Harvard Crimson
- NCAAW Championship Odds: +50000
One of favorite teams heading into the NCAA Tournament,
No. 10 Harvard Crimson
gets their ticket to March Madness for the first time since the 2006 season. They will face off against No. 7 Michigan State, where they are slim underdogs by +5.5 points.
With a 72-68 quad 1 victory over Indiana, this team has proven they can hang with the top teams. Ending the season with four straight victories, their Ivy League Tournament victory over Columbia was most impressive.
Primarily led by Senior Guard Harmoni Turner, she has the ability to take over games at any given point. With 44 points against Princeton and 24 vs Columbia, she could be the sharpshooter Harvard needs to make a deep run.
They will have a tough matchup against No. 7 Michigan State the first round. Do the Spartans play in a tougher conference? Yes. I just don't trust them right now especially after dropping four of their last six games!
Can Michigan State Rebound From A Disastrous End Of The Season?
That's four losses to No.1 UCLA, No. 4 USC, No. 12 OSU, and Iowa.
Overall, this Harvard team screams sleeper and upset team to me. They may not have as potent as an offense as MSU, however, their defense is one of the best in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 5 in NCAA in opponent points per game (52.5), the Crimson are up there with the likes of UConn defensively. With the 20th best scoring margin in NCAA (17), this is one of the best three-point defending teams in all of March Madness.
The Spartans offense has been streaky, averaging 71.5 points over the last six games of the regular season. Shooting an abysmal 40 percent from the field, and 27.3 percent from deep against Iowa, will Harvard shut them down too?
Final NCAAW March Madness Sleeper Best Pick and Prediction: Harvard Crimson (+50000 FanDuel)
Finishing with a 24-4 record in Ivy, the stakes are much higher for Michigan State. If Harvard does advance past the first round, they will likely have a tough matchup with NC State, depending on injuries.
- Getting through LSU and UCLA will be tough, however, Harvard can make some noise as one of my biggest sleeper teams this year. A Cinderella ending for the Crimson? We will see this weekend.
- NCAAW Championship Odds: +50000
One of my favorite NCAA sleeper in the Spokane 4 region, I'm taking the
Fairfield Stags
at +50000 odds.
At 28-4, the Fairfield Stags finished as the top team in the MAAC Conference. As a Connecticut native, I have a ton of familiarity with this team. While they didn't have one single quad 1 matchup, they finished the season 22-1.
After a dominating 76-53 victory over Quinnipiac to win the MAAC Championship, Meghan Andersen once again led the Stags with 27 points, five rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
I do worry about Fairfield, who puts up 72 points per game. While this team has heavy hitters with Andersen and Kaety L'amoreaux, the Stags have a ton of depth. In fact, the Stags rank No. 22 in NCAA in bench points with 25.8 points per game. Although teams rotations are likely to shrink, extra depth can
NEVER
hurt.
Why Fairfield Can Upset Kansas State
They will face No. 12
Kansas State
in the first round, who's had two quad 1 victories, one of which came against TCU. A even balanced team on both sides of the ball, the Wildcats had a real rough end to their season.
Dropping four of their last six games to West Virginia, Baylor, Iowa State, and West Virginia in the Big 12 Quarterfinal, this team is beatable. Now they face a top Fairfield team who ranks No. 10 in NCAA in scoring defense!
With a +18.8 scoring margin, there's no doubt the Stags have the team to make a deep run. They always say defense wins championships right?
One of the best teams in guarding the perimeter, they now face one of the top offenses in Kansas State (79.3 PPG). I am a bit concerned about the Wildcats, who scored less than 60 points in two of the last three games.
- Give me the Fairfield Stags as one of my top sleeper teams in the Spokane region for +50000. They are hot at the right time, and defense can carry them deep into the tournament.
Birmingham 2: No. 7 Vanderbilt Commodores
- NCAAW Championship Odds: +25000
One of my NCAAW sleeper picks in the Birmingham 2 region, I'm picking the
Vanderbilt Commodores
for +25000 odds.
There's no denying Vanderbilt finished 22-10 in an extremely competitive SEC Conference. 3-1 in their last four games, they did get rocked by South Carolina and Oklahoma a few times.
Even so, this is one of the top offenses in the NCAAW Tournament. Their ability to score at a high level makes them a top sleeper (83.6 PPG), Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre is as scary as any duo in the nation.
This type of offense is one that can beat top seeded teams, and now they get their second ever matchup with
Oregon!
4-9 in quad 1 games, I'm not sold on Oregon, who enters the NCAAW Tournament for the first time in a few years. Their 68.2 points per game is one of the least efficient in NCAA.
Final NCAAW March Madness Sleeper Best Pick and Prediction: Vanderbilt Commodores (+25000 FanDuel)
I truly don't believe the Ducks can keep up offensively against an elite Vanderbilt offense. Overall, they are in a tough Birmingham 2 region led by South Carolina.
Birmingham 3: No. 14 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks
- NCAAW Championship Odds: +50000
You may think I'm crazy, but the
Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks
is a team to keep a close eye on in the Birmingham 3 region. They face Notre Dame, which is considered one of the biggest powerhouses in Women's Basketball. Led by Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles, and Sonia Citon, the Fighting Irish are a tough team. With eight Quad 1 wins, Notre Dame had one of the most challenging schedules in NCAA Women's basketball.
Full transparency, I've cooled off on Notre Dame, who have current odds of +1300 to win the NCAAW Title. With a 24-2 start under Niele Ivey, this team has lost it's mojo. Boasting the No. 5 scoring offense in the country (84.7 PPG), the Irish fell apart in the last quarter of the season.
Suffering back-to-back losses against No. 13 NC State and No. 24 Florida State, Notre Dame isn't a sure lock. In one of the most exhilarating matchups of the year, we singlehandedly watched NC State stars Zoe Brooks and Aziaha James dominate for 53 points. The former No. 1 seed, Notre Dame barely kept things alive, forcing a three-pointer by Citron to force overtime.
Can Notre Dame Get It Together?
On full display was
Notre Dame's
shooting and defensive woes. How can you confidently say this team is going to win it all when your star players shoot a combined 17-49 (34.7 %) from the floor? Notre Dame got rocked on the rebounds, as well as fouls against NC State.
Following the loss, the Fighting Irish looked completely uncoordinated in the 86-81 loss against Florida State. Although Citron led Notre Dame with 21 points, the offense went awol. Crushed on the rebounds once again, the Fighting Irish are going to have to fight for those second chance opportunities. To put it bluntly, their success heavily relies in the hands of Hidalgo, Miles, and Citron.
SFA Ladyjacks Enter The NCAA Tournament Blazing Hot!
Friday, they get Stephen F. Austin, who finished 29-5 in the Southland Conference. Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021, this is a team that's not to be slept on. Riding a 15 game win streak, they are one of the hottest teams heading into the tournament.
Led by Senior Faith Blackstone and Junior Ashlyn Traylor-Walker, this is an offensive powerhouse of a team. Sure, they are in a weaker division, however, SFA ranks No. 24 in scoring offensive (78 PPG). A high percentage three-point shooting team (36 %), the Ladyjacks put up some of the most three-pointers in the NCAA tournament (9.4).
Neither of these teams rank the highest defensively. With that said, can the Ladyjacks keep up with the Irish offense?
Final NCAAW March Madness Sleeper Best Pick and Prediction: Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (+500000 FanDuel)
It's all about who's hot, and the Ladyjacks come into the NCAA Tournament with nothing to lose. Sometimes, those teams are the ones that make the most noise.
- Overall, I don't trust Notre Dame's offense at the moment. Do I think they will get upset early? No. However, It's possible, and therefore SFA is a sleeper in the Birmingham 3 region. +50000 odds is a long shot, and facing TCU or Texas would be a tall task. It's worth a sprinkle.
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