2025 NCAA Women’s Tournament Picks & Predictions (Saturday)

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Many fans will only watch and bet on the men's March Madness bracket. To those fans, I'd like to say this: You are missing out. Not only is women’s college basketball great, but it also offers fantastic betting opportunities. To that end, I've created a best bets list for each region.

In this post, I'll go over my best bets for Regional 1 – Spokane.

2025 NCAA Tournament March Madness Bracket Strategy & Betting Picks>>

March Madness Pick'Em Contest

Regional 1 – Spokane Best Bets (Saturday)

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

No. 10 Harvard Crimson (+172) vs. No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (-4.5)

  • Date: Saturday, March 22
  • Start: 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Coverage: ESPNews

No. 10 seed Harvard is coming in hot. The Crimson finished with an 11-3 conference record in the Ivy League (good for third), went on to defeat the No. 1 and No. 2 teams to win the Ivy League tournament (Princeton and Columbia) and won nine of their last 10. No. 7 seed Michigan State stumbled down the stretch, losing five of their last eight, including an early exit in the Big Ten tournament versus Iowa (74-61) in the second round.

However, three losses were to ranked teams: No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC and No. 12 Ohio State.

The metrics all point to Michigan State winning this game, but there is something to be said for playing your best basketball at the right moments. Harvard is playing their best; Michigan State is not.

Pick: Harvard Moneyline (+172)

No. 11 George Mason Patriots (+170) vs. No. 6 Florida State (-4.5)

  • Date: Saturday, March 22
  • Start: 7:45 p.m. ET
  • Coverage: ESPN2

No. 11 seed George Mason Patriots have had a solid season, going  27-5 and winning the A-10 conference tournament over Saint Joseph's 73-58. Defense was their calling card this year, as they held teams to 56.7 points per game (No. 28 in the country) while scoring 73.7 per game. However, the competition wasn't too tough. Of their 27 wins, 20 came against Quad 4 teams, with none against Quad 1 teams.

While No. 6 seed Florida State played a more competitive schedule (7-8 vs. Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams), they stumbled down the stretch with losses to Duke in the regular season finale and North Carolina in the ACC Tournament quarter-finals.

As great as Florida State's offensive can be (87.2 points per game), they scored fewer than 60 points in three of their last five games. Ta’Niya Latson won the scoring title again, but she's not hitting her shots. It will not be easy for her to find her shot against a good George Mason defense. The Patriots’ offense will benefit from playing a poor Florida State defense, but it won’t be that great of a benefit.

I see too many variables to pick a winner reliably, but the final score will be somewhere in the 70s for both teams.

Pick: Under 156.5 Points (-106)

No. 14 San Diego State Aztecs (+3500) vs. No. 3 LSU Tigers (-25.5)

  • Date: Saturday, March 22
  • Start: 10:15 p.m. ET
  • Coverage: ESPN

No. 14 seed San Diego State comes into the NCAA Tournament with a bit of momentum. They finished fourth in their conference (11-7) but went on to win the Mountain West tournament after beating Wyoming 72-68 in triple-overtime. The Cowgirls had beaten them on February 8th by a score of 64-51. As for No. 3 seed LSU, the Tigers are coming in cold, losing three of their last four. One loss was to No. 20 seed Alabama (88-85 in overtime) and the other to No. 1 Texas (56-49).

But can they break out of their slump and avoid becoming the first No. 3 seed in tournament history to lose in the first round? Eh…

The Aztecs will not win this game, but I'm not confident the Tigers can cover the spread. Yes, LSU has a top-10 offense, but it has not played like one lately unless they play someone with a dreadful defense (i.e., Florida). On paper, San Diego State looks like a decent team. However, their schedule was relatively weak with no Quad 1 team and they were just 2-2 against Quad 2 teams.

San Diego State should play well enough to keep LSU from winning by more than 25 points.

Pick: San Diego State +25.5 (-110)