The Lady Buckeyes have been gaining attention with impressive victories over Marland and No. 3 Iowa, and the college basketball odds are showing some love for Ohio State.
Please join me as I review the DraftKings Ohio leaderboard for the Women’s March Madness National Championship.
DraftKings 2023-2024 Women’s March Madness Championship Odds
University |
Conference |
DraftKings NCAA Odds |
---|---|---|
South Carolina Gamecocks |
SEC |
+200 |
LSU Tigers |
SEC |
+650 |
Iowa Hawkeyes |
Big Ten |
+800 |
UConn Huskies |
Big East |
+800 |
UCLA Bruins |
Pac-12 |
+1200 |
Ohio State Buckeyes |
Big Ten |
+2500 |
Lady Buckeyes Lead Big Ten
The No. 8 ranked Lady Buckeyes are in a three-way tie with No. 3 Iowa and No. 10 Indiana for the Big Ten lead. Ohio State has won seven straight and is 10-1 at home. Included in that streak was a strong away victory over Maryland, followed by a strong home win over Iowa in overtime.
The Lady Buckeyes begin a two-game homestand Thursday night with the Wisconsin Badgers, followed by a Sunday showdown with co-Big Ten leader Indiana. Senior guard Jacy Sheldon leads Ohio State in scoring (17.9 ppg) for the 17th-best scoring team in the country.
Can Anyone Stop South Carolina?
While the sports world is fawning over Iowa’s Kaitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, No. 1 ranked South Carolina has gone about their business and is the betting favorite for one simple reason;
The Lady Gamecocks win basketball games.
They’ve won 19 consecutive games, including a huge away victory over Reese and the Tigers in Baton Rouge. The Gamecocks score the second-most points and surrender the 13th-fewest with a whopping top-ranked +35.7 points differential.
LSU Two-Game Losing Streak
It’s easy to see why the public money is on South Carolina, but defending champion and No. 9 ranked LSU has a pretty good program of its own. They’ve hit some speedbumps along the way and are currently mired in a two-game losing skid.
Reese mysteriously missed some time earlier this season but still averages a double-double. The Lady Tigers boast seven players scoring in double-digits, but they’ve surrendered 76+ in each of their last two ballgames, and their lack of any real bench depth could be their undoing come March.
Big Week Ahead for Clark and the Hawkeyes
No. 3 Iowa leads the nation in scoring behind the best scorer in the women’s college game. Clark has been phenomenal again this season, but the Hawkeyes rely on Clark far too much, and their defense is really their offense, outscoring their opponents on a nightly basis.
We’ll learn much more about the Lady Hawkeyes after their two-game road trip beginning Wednesday night at Northwestern, followed by a prime-time showdown at Maryland on Saturday night.
UConn is Undefeated in the Big East
No. 11 ranked UConn Huskies are catching some public money at DraftKings. They are a perfect 9-0 in the Big East but saw their 13-game winning streak snapped at home by No. 15 Notre Dame.
The Lady Huskies rank tenth in scoring with an above-average defense, but what stands out the most is UConn’s +23.6 points differential fueled by a defense allowing 59 points or fewer in eight of their last 10 tilts.
Big Rebounding Bruins
Then-ranked No. 2 UCLA Bruins suffered a home upset loss Saturday to Washington State and plummeted to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 poll. This lowered their odds considerably, but the Lady Bruins are still seeing some betting action at DraftKings and round out the top five programs on the board.
UCLA is the best rebounding team nationally with astonishing differentials: a whopping +16.3 overall rebound and an equally astonishing +8.3 offensive rebounding differential await the Lady Bruins’ opponents. Sophomore center Lauren Betts is shooting 67% from the field, but the Bruins aren’t a great defensive team yet, and that could be their undoing come March.
For more Ohio sports betting picks, check us out at OH Betting.