South Carolina has opened at +450 to win next season's NCAA women's basketball tournament, the shortest of any team on the odds board, according to ESPN BET lines. USC came in next at +500, followed by national champion UConn at +600.

Paige Bueckers is ending her college career on top.

Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong lead the way in a dominant victory over the defending champion Gamecocks, securing the Huskies’ 12th women’s basketball championship.

The journey has been more challenging than usual, but Dawn Staley and defending national champion South Carolina are still getting the job done.

UConn is back on top of women's basketball, winning its 12th national championship by routing defending champion South Carolina 82-59 on Sunday, ending a nine-year title drought for the team. Azzi Fudd led the Huskies with 24 points while Sarah Strong added 24 points and 15 rebounds. Paige Bueckers had 17 points in her final game at UConn (37-3).

With a historial final match ahead, the Gamecocks and the Huskies proved they were always the teams to be beat in the Final Four stage

The Gamecocks opened at +450 on ESPN Bet to win the 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament, which put them at the top of the odds board over USC (opening odds: +500) and 2025’s newly-minted champion, UConn (+600). Texas, Notre Dame and LSU opened tied for fourth at +750, while UCLA opened just behind at +850.

Bree Hall, Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin are one win away from a third national championship for South Carolina under Dawn Staley.

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During Staley’s first season at South Carolina, the Gamecocks and Huskies faced off, and for seven consecutive matchups, UConn delivered. But in 2020, at South Carolina, the tides turned. The Gamecocks, with a starting five that included four future first-round WNBA Draft picks, picked off the Huskies at home.

The UConn Huskies beat South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 on Sunday to win their 12th NCAA women's basketball title. CBS Sports basketball writer Isabel Gonzalez breaks down the game.

South Carolina’s reign as national champions is over, however the future remains promising for the Gamecocks under Dawn Staley, who has transformed her program into a perennial Final Four contender over the past decade.