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UConn vs. South Dakota State Prediction Tonight: Women's March Madness Best Picks, Preview & Odds

Philip Wood

Last Updated: March 24, 2025 5:00 PM EDT • 4 min 43 sec read.

UConn vs. South Dakota State Prediction Tonight: Best Women's March Madness Picks, Preview & Odds
Pictured: UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) reacts after a play against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Photo by David Butler II via Imagn Images.

The No. 2 seed UConn Huskies (32-3) meet the No. 10 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits (30-3) tonight in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament second round at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN) from Gampel Pavillion in Storrs, Conn.

The Huskies are 28.5-point favorites to advance in the Spokane 4 Region of the women's March Madness bracket tonight. We don’t see the Jackrabbits putting up much of a fight in our UConn vs. South Dakota State prediction, odds, and preview as part of our women's March Madness predictions.

🏀 UConn vs. South Dakota State prediction & picks for Monday

Here are my best UConn vs. South Dakota State predictions for the first round of the NCAA Tournament; use our parlay calculator to get the best odds for any same-game parlay:

✅ Against the spread pick: UConn -26.5 (-110 via BetMGM) vs. South Dakota State ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔥 Best player prop bet: Sarah Strong Over 9.5 rebounds (+118 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎯 Exact score prediction: UConn 82, South Dakota State 52

👉 Want more March Madness action? Check out the rest of our college basketball picks for both the men's and women's NCAA tournament.

🏆 Best UConn vs. South Dakota State pick, player prop bet & score prediction

Our NEW college basketball player prop odds tool can help you find the best odds for any March Madness market across legal sportsbooks in your area!

✅ UConn to cover the spread: -26.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Huskies won by 69 points in the first round, despite Paige Bueckers playing just 22 minutes. Three different Huskies scored at least 20 points, as they held Arkansas State to just 17.1% shooting from the field. Monday’s test will be tougher, but the Huskies should win by at least 27 points.

The Jackrabbits only have three losses all season, and they nearly upset the Duke Blue Devils in a 75-71 loss. But their 30 wins have been against no one, and they lost 103-57 to the Texas Longhorns in December.

The major concern for the Huskies is the same as it was in the first round. Will they play their key players long enough to hold onto the massive lead they built up early? I believe they will. The Huskies will dominate all phases of this game as they use the contest to stay sharp for next weekend, with plenty of time between this game and their inevitable Sweet 16 matchup.

📊 Best odds: -110 via BetMGM ($10 to win $9.09)

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🔥 Sarah Strong Over 9.5 rebounds ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Strong leads the Huskies with 8.5 rebounds per game, and she even managed to pull down 12 in Saturday’s win over the Red Wolves, despite playing just 21 minutes. She has now pulled down at least 11 boards in four consecutive games.

The Jackrabbits are a solid rebounding team, as they are tied for 57th in the nation in rebounds per game. However, it’s hard to put much stock in those numbers when they’re used to competing against undersized Summit League teams. 

Mesa Byom and Brooklyn Meyer may cause some trouble on the glass for Strong, but they won’t be effective enough to stop her from going over her season average. Additionally, the Huskies are allowing the fourth-lowest field goal percentage to opponents this season, so there will be plenty of missed shots for Strong to clean up.

📊 Best odds: +118 via FanDuel ($10 to win $11.80)

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🎯 Score prediction: UConn 82, South Dakota State 52

After their first-round win, the Huskies have now held 11 consecutive opponents to fewer than 60 points. Considering how effective they’ve been, I don’t care that the Jackrabbits are the 32nd-highest-scoring team in the nation and averaging 76.3 points per game. The Huskies are going to make everything difficult for the South Dakota State as they cruise to an easy win.

There are no exact score props available at any of our best sports betting sites at this time because of the large spread.

📊 Best odds: N/A

🤖 UConn vs. South Dakota State AI prediction

For entertainment purposes, we asked ChatGPT to analyze historical trends and live NCAA Tournament stats before predicting the winner and exact score for UConn vs. South Dakota State. Our AI prediction projects a final score of UConn 82, South Dakota State 64.

🖥️ AI score prediction: UConn 82, South Dakota State 64

  • The Jackrabbits are a mid-major powerhouse, particularly in recent years. They have consistently been a strong team in the NCAA Tournament, often being a 10- or 11-seed and making noise with upsets.
  • One of the best players in the country, Bueckers is an elite scorer, passer, and defender. She has the ability to take over games with her shooting and court vision. Her leadership and experience are invaluable in big games.
  • UConn is a balanced offensive team with multiple scoring threats. They average around 80 points per game and can score in transition, as well as in half-court sets.

🤔 Betting takeaway: ChatGPT's AI prediction would mean South Dakota State covering the spread (+26.5) and a total of Over 136.5 points. ChatGPT is not a dedicated sports betting model, but it can identify data that March Madness bettors might overlook.

📊 Live UConn vs. South Dakota State odds

Follow the latest women's March Madness odds for the NCAA Tournament.

📈 UConn vs. South Dakota State latest odds

UConn has jumped from a 26.5-point favorite to a 28.5-point favorite in the hours leading up to tonight's tipoff. The line is as high as 30 elsewhere. The Huskies have -100000 moneyline odds at some of our best live betting sites, whereas others have taken their line to win outright off the books entirely.

🔢 UConn vs. South Dakota State opening odds

  • Spread: UConn -26.5 (-110) | South Dakota State +26.5 (-110)
  • Moneyline: UConn OFF | South Dakota State OFF
  • Over/Under: Over 136.5 (-110) | Under 136.5 (-110)

📺 How to watch UConn vs. South Dakota State: Women's March Madness

📅 Date: Monday, March 24
🕗 Time: 8 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Gampel Pavillion (Storrs, Conn.)
📺 TV: ESPN
💻 Streaming: March Madness Live

💰 March Madness betting odds pages

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Written By:
Philip Wood
Phil has covered sports betting since 2016, and he has been with SportsBook Review since 2022. He previously hosted the College Football Pick 'Em podcast for CanesInsight.com. He is always looking for value, especially on lines that just seem too good to be true. His belief is that if a line doesn't make sense just assume oddsmakers know something you don't. He also loves in-season futures. There is so much value to be had as the public overreacts weekly. Bettors tend to forget just how long NFL and college football seasons are. After all, the Green Bay Packers were 2-5 in 2023 and they made it to the Divisional Round. When deciding where to bet, it comes down to value over everything. +100 is always better than -110. An alumnus of The U, Phil always holds out hope that the next head coach will be the one who turns the football program around. He is also a diehard Detroit Lions fan and is willing to forgive Dan Campbell for forgetting that a kicker can be useful.