2025 NCAA Women's Tournament Odds: UCLA Is The Favorite to Win Their Region, But Could A Surprise Team Emerge?

Georgia Tech is going to tip-off their tournament on Friday night with a matchup against Richmond

Mar 7, 2025; Greensboro, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Chazadi Wright (1) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against NC State Wolfpack at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images / Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament begins on Friday and that is when Georgia Tech is going to begin play as the No. 9 seed facing Richmond, who is the No. 8 seed. The winner of that game is almost certainly going to face No. 1 overall seed UCLA, who is the heavy favorite to win the region.

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, UCLA is -140 to win the region while LSU (+430), NC State (+600), and Baylor (+1200) are seen as the biggest challengers to the Bruins. Nell Fortner and the Yellow Jackets are seen as a relatively long shot to win the region at +6000, but Georgia Tech has shown they can play with the top teams this season. They took NC State to the brink in the ACC quarterfinals and the Wolfpack are one of the teams thought to be a challenger to UCLA.

For Georgia Tech to win the region, they would face a tough path. If they face the highest possible seed in each round, they would need to beat Richmond, UCLA, Baylor, and NC State to win the region and get to Tampa and the Final Four. Is it likely? Maybe not, but they have talent and have shown they can beat good teams this season if they play up to their potential.

Richmond, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, posted a 27-6 overall ledger to go with a 17-1 conference record to claim the regular season conference title. The Spiders fell in the A-10 Tournament semifinals to Saint Joseph’s.

Georgia Tech looks to continue its storied year in the postseason. Coming off an ACC Tournament quarterfinal run where they took top-seeded NC State to the wire, the Yellow Jackets opened the 2024-25 campaign with the best start in program history at 15-0. They were the first ACC team to open a season 15-0 overall since 2017-18. Georgia Tech has faced 15 teams ranked in the top 50 NET rankings, recorded three wins over top-25 opponents and spent 11 weeks national ranked in the top 25.

The Yellow Jackets capped the regular season earning some prestigious honors as Kara Dunn was named all-ACC first team, while Tonie Morgan earned a spot on the all-ACC second team. Five-time ACC rookie of the week, Dani Carnegie was selected to the ACC all-freshman team and voted the ACC Sixth Player of the Year.

The trio of Jackets are all averaging double-figures on the season paced by Dunn’s 15.8 points per game. Morgan follows contributing 13.8 points, while Carnegie adds 13.1 points per game. Graduate transfer Zoesha Smith leads Tech with 6.0 rebounds per game.

The 2025 championship will be the fourth to have 68 teams. First Four games will be played Wednesday, March 19, and Thursday, March 20 at four of the top-16 host sites. First- and second-round games will be played Friday, March 21, through Monday, March 24, on the campuses of the top-16 seeds. The championship will be utilizing a two-site regional format, with eight competing teams playing at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., and eight teams playing at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash. Regional play in Birmingham and Spokane will take place March 28-31, with each site hosting two regional semifinal games on March 28 and March 29. Each site will also host a regional championship game on March 30 and one on March 31.

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