2025 Women’s March Madness First Round Odds, Predictions, and Best Bets

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights vs. TCU Horned Frogs: TCU -30.5 (-120)

The TCU Horned Frogs open their highly anticipated NCAA Tournament bid against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. Although TCU doesn’t have the firepower of South Carolina and UConn, the Horned Frogs are a major threat to go the distance.

Led by veteran Hailey Van Lith, TCU enters the Big Dance with a record of 31-3. They are on a 10-game winning streak, which includes a 64-59 victory over Baylor in the Big 12 Championship. TCU has the perfect balance of offense and defense.

A legendary season, with legendary moments 🏆 🔥

Hailey Van Lith, a Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College POY semifinalist, delivered under pressure — dropping 20 points and sealing the deal in TCU’s @Big12Conference championship win over Baylor.

A clutch performance that… pic.twitter.com/gs8KZ6hnB8

— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) March 18, 2025

They are scoring an average of 77.6 points while yielding 57.3 points per game in the NCAA this season. With Van Lith in the backcourt and center Sedona Prince in the frontcourt, TCU is well-prepared to beat teams from the outside or inside. Van Lith is averaging 17.9 points and 5.3 assists per game.

Prince has dominated in the paint, with 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and this is where the huge mismatch against Fairleigh Dickinson lies. The Knights don’t have a body to put on Prince to counter in the paint. She will do as she wishes on offense and defense.

Fairleigh Dickinson should be overmatched from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer. They don’t have the size or speed to compete with the Horned Frogs. The Knights had a good run in the Northeast Conference, but it came to an end against TCU. Look for the Horned Frogs to pull away for a big win to cover the spread!

Lehigh Mountain Hawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Lehigh +27.5 (-110)

The women’s Duke Blue Devils may not be as highly regarded as the men’s squad, but they enter with momentum on their side. They are coming off a 76-62 victory over NC State to capture the ACC title.

Duke went into the ACC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and came out as champions over No. 1 NC State. The Blue Devils have to be feeling good about their chances. I can say the same about an upset-minded Lehigh side.

The Mountain Hawks are on the heels of a fantastic performance in the Patriot League Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, Lehigh handled their business with a 74-62 win over Army in the championship matchup. The Mountain Hawks had zero competition in the first two games, with a 62-44 win over Boston University and 65-44 over Holy Cross.

Too good not to relive 😌🏆 pic.twitter.com/c5GcJG0cye

— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) March 18, 2025

Lehigh’s defense has done a fine job of holding offenses down. They’ve allowed 57.4 points per game and notched 70 points heading into the NCAA Tournament. Although Duke should win comfortably, the point spread is too inflated in my opinion.

I don’t expect the Blue Devils to be too interested in the Mountain Hawks, but Lehigh is likely to get up for this one. Duke should emerge with a win by 20-25 points to give the Mountain Hawks the cover. With this in mind, consider backing Lehigh for your Women’s March Madness betting picks!

Vermont Catamounts vs. NC State Wolfpack: NC State -20.5 (-120)

The North Carolina State Wolfpack look to dust themselves off and get right back on the floor after losing in the ACC Championship. NC State entered the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed but exited as a loser to Duke in the final matchup.

The Wolfpack enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-6 record following a strong campaign. Despite the loss in the ACC Championship, this is still a very good team expected to go far in March and into April. Prior to dropping the 76-62 decision to Duke, NC State had won 15 of their previous 16 games.

They are spearheaded by talented guard Aziaha James, who has a chance to steal the spotlight. James leads NC State in scoring with 17.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. She has the capability to slice through Vermont’s defense to do big damage.

AZIAHA JAMES 😱

She is up to 36 points against Duke. pic.twitter.com/c8cVOs93E7

— ESPN (@espn) February 4, 2025

In 2024-25, NC State averaged 76.8 points and conceded 65.4 points per game. Vermont can play defense but severely lacks any offensive punch. They’ve netted just 60.1 points per game this season.

Vermont’s defense won’t be as effective against a stacked offense like NC State, so this appears like a bad matchup for the underdogs. I don’t expect the Catamounts to offer much resistance against a star like James.

In short, lay the points on the Wolfpack for your Women’s NCAA Tournament basketball predictions!

Norfolk State Spartans vs. Maryland Terrapins: Norfolk State +16.5 (-115)

The Maryland Terrapins look to play spoiler against the top teams in the NCAA Tournament. However, before then, they’re going to have to knock off Norfolk State in the opening round.

Maryland might be the stronger team on paper, but don’t overlook the Spartans. They made easy work of opponents in the Mid-Eastern Conference and may very well give the Terrapins a few issues. Norfolk State went 14-0 in the conference and 30-4 overall.

AND WE'RE NOT DONE YET✅#GoldStandard🔰 pic.twitter.com/6AQDzqPKQf

— Norfolk State Women’s Basketball (@NorfolkStateWBB) March 19, 2025

They made some teams look silly on the floor, including a 72-33 win over Coppin State in the second game of the MEAC Tournament! The Spartans won by double digits in every one of their conference tourney matchups, capped off by a 68-56 win over Howard in the title contest.

With 74.4 points scored and 55.9 points conceded per game, Norfolk State won by an average of roughly 20 points this season! Maryland had a strong season, finishing fourth in the Big Ten with a record of 23-7.

They should get out of the first round victorious, but not before Norfolk State’s Kierra Wheeler and Diamond Johnson leave a mark. Look for Maryland to edge away for a win but fail to cover the lofty point spread. As one of the best Women’s March Madness bets, consider Maryland +16.5 in the opening round.