Women's college basketball continues to reach new heights with the betting public.
The Final Four matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and UConn Huskies on Friday night was the biggest women's single betting event of all time at FanDuel. The previous high was the Elite Eight game between Iowa and LSU on Monday. Friday's game broke FanDuel's handle record by 62%.
In fact, Iowa-UConn was the biggest betting event of the day at FanDuel, topping all NBA, MLB, and NHL action.
It’s been a record-setting year for women’s college basketball, and the National Championship game should continue to attract strong viewership and plenty of betting action. Caitlin Clark and Iowa will face undefeated South Carolina in the final Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
OMG 14.2 million people watched Iowa-UConn, per ESPN 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/wY5HxJBn4L
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 6, 2024
National Championship betting lines
Current betting insights from BetMGM reveal that South Carolina has moved from a -4.5 point spread favorite up to -6.5. Action at the sportsbook shows 82% of the betting handle but only 49% of bets are on the Gamecocks to cover as 6.5-point favorites. The Hawkeyes are only receiving 18% of the betting handle but a whopping 51% of bets to cover +6.5.
The point total betting handle is less lopsided, with 59% of bets and 57% of the betting handle on under 159.5 total points. Due to the Gamecocks' defensive capabilities, this market has moved down a point from 160.5 to 159.5.
“Early action is on Caitlin Clark and Iowa to upset South Carolina in the National Championship game," said Matt Cosgriff, director of trading at BetMGM. "Iowa has been the sportsbook’s biggest liability all season on the futures market. South Carolina winning would be a positive result for BetMGM.”
At FanDuel, 89% of bets and 80% of the handle is on Iowa on the moneyline. The spread also sits at -6.5 for South Carolina, and 54% of the bets and 62% of the handle is on the Gamecocks to cover.
Paths to the National Championship
Iowa and South Carolina’s paths to the National Championship have been much different, despite each team entering the tournament as a one-seed in their region.
The Gamecocks haven’t suffered a loss all season, sitting at an impressive 37-0, but they did come close to losing to 4-seed Indiana in the Sweet 16, edging out the Hoosiers 79-75. All of their other games have been lopsided blowout wins during March Madness, including double-digit wins over Oregon State and NC State in the Elite Eight and Final Four, respectively.
The Hawkeyes fell into a brief deficit against LSU in the Elite Eight, which is the same team that beat them 102-85 in the National Championship last year. However, Clark dominated this time around, scoring 41 points and draining nine 3-pointers en route to a 94-87 win over the Tigers. In the Final Four, Clark got off to a poor shooting start, but she and the rest of Iowa’s starters rallied in the second half to mount a narrow comeback win in the closing seconds of their matchup against the three-seeded Huskies.
South Carolina had a few close calls in the regular season, while Iowa just overcame adversity to return to the National Championship.
If Clark gets off to a hot start for the Hawkeyes against South Carolina, they could play spoiler and upset the Gamecocks as a +240 moneyline underdog. It’s a tall task, but the public loves Iowa, while most of the money coming in is on South Carolina to finish its undefeated season with one final win to spoil Iowa’s championship aspirations.
