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2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament Picks & Predictions: Sweet 16 (Friday)

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After a relatively chalk first week, the Women’s College Tournament continues to the second weekend with Sweet 16 action on Friday, March 27, 2026. I'll target a couple of the games for my Women's NCAA Tournament Picks and Best Bets.

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Friday's Best Women’s NCAA Tournament Picks & Predictions: Sweet 16

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+170) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (-5.5) | O/U 151.5 (-110/-110)

The moneyline in this one has danced around from +185 to north of +200. It has since come back down past +185 to the +170 it currently sits at. The spread has also jumped from 5.5 to 6.5 and back down to 5.5.

Notre Dame is 25-8 ATS against this number on the season. They are currently on a 10-0 ATS streak against this number dating back to February 15.

This play is more about value against this 29-4 Commodores squad. . There is just too much juice, even back down at +170. ESPN Analytics gives the Irish a 41.3% chance of victory this afternoon. The current moneyline of +170 carries an implied probability of just 37%. This means there is 4.1% of value just sitting there and it was upwards of 10% when you could get +200 or better.

Hannah Hidalgo has been on fire in the first two rounds of this tournament, averaging 24.5 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Dating back to the ACC Tournament, the junior is averaging 25.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

Look for Hidalgo and the Irish to cover this number for the 11th straight game and sprinkle a little on the moneyline too.

Pick: Notre Dame +5.5 (-118) & Notre Dame Moneyline (+170)

Duke Blue Devils (+330) vs. LSU Tigers (-8.5) | O/U 145.5 (-110/-110)

LSU is 27-7 (.794) ATS against this -8.5 number this season. When you take out South Carolina, the bane of Kim Mulkey's existence as well as another #1 seed Texas, that number skyrockets to 27-3 (.900). LSU did manage to go 1-3 SU in those four matchups with UT and SC. The Tigers have also already dispatched Duke this season. They won easily, 93-77, back on December 4 at Cameron Indoor Arena.

Yes, Duke is playing much better since the last time these two teams met. The Blue Devils have won 23 of their last 25 (.920) since that home loss to LSU. This includes rattling off 17 straight dubs between December 7 and February 22. Duke has covered +5.5 in 25 straight contests this season and holds a 28-6 record against it on the season. They have covered it in every game since the aforementioned loss to LSU.

All that being said, LSU just has too much firepower for the Blue Devils. The Tigers boast eight players who average over 8.5 points per game, led by Flau'jae (Johnson, for the uninitiated) and her 14.3 PPG. This means there is really never a lineup on the court that can't put up points in droves. LSU is averaging 108.5 points through two rounds of this tournament and has eclipsed the century mark 16 times this season, including four times in their last seven games. Of those 16 100+ point games, 13 have come against LSU's 16 non-conference opponents. Duke was one of the three non-con teams that held LSU under 100 but it still equated to an L. Not to mention, Duke is coming off an OT game in the Round of 32 and the Tigers rolled Texas Tech, 101-47, which is not for nothing despite equal rest.

This is by far the shortest number LSU has seen this tournament and they have blown past the others, No reason to expect anything different tonight.

Pick: LSU Tigers -8.5 (-118)

Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.

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