LSU vs UCLA Women’s Elite Eight Prediction & Picks

In the era before women’s college basketball was under the NCAA umbrella, UCLA won a national championship in 1978 and appeared in the Final Four the next year. But since the NCAA Tournament began in 1982, the Bruins have not reached the Final Four. That will change today with a regional final over LSU in Spokane (3:30 pm ET, ABC).

Bet on LSU vs UCLA Women’s March Madness Odds at BetOnline

In the history of the NCAA Tournament, UCLA has made the Sweet Sixteen ten times. Seven of those ten appearances have come in the last nine editions of the tournament.

But this marks only their third trip to the Elite Eight, with the two previous appearances coming in 1999 and 2018.

Is this the year that the Bruins break through? After earning the #1 overall seed in this year’s women’s March Madness bracket, UCLA (33-2) has defeated #16 Southern by 38, #8 Richmond by 17, and Ole Miss by 14 to set up a matchup with #3 seed LSU (31-5).

The Tigers, who defeated #2 seed NC State 80-73 on Friday, are looking to make the Final Four for the second time in three years and the seventh time in school history.

This is where the tournament ended for LSU last year, as they lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in a rematch of the 2023 national championship game.

LSU’s final NCAA Tournament game has been against a Big Ten school in each of their last three appearances: a second-round loss to Ohio State in 2022, the championship game win over Iowa in 2023, and last year’s Elite Eight loss to the Hawkeyes.

Will that trend continue this year? Is history—and a potential fourth matchup of the season with USC—on the horizon for UCLA?

LSU vs UCLA Odds

Odds are via BetOnline, which is one of the best 2025 March Madness betting sites.

Spread

• LSU +5 (-107)
• UCLA -5 (-113)

Total

• Over 146 (-110)
• Under 146 (-110)

Moneyline

• LSU +190
• UCLA -220

LSU vs UCLA Prediction & Picks

Thus far in the tournament, UCLA has been a much better team in the second half than in the first half.

Against Southern in the first round, the Bruins led 38-26 at halftime then outscored the Jaguars 46-20 in the second half. Their second-round matchup with Richmond was tied at 36 at halftime, then the Bruins outscored the Spiders 48-31 in the second half for a 17-point win.

In Friday’s 76-62 win over Ole Miss, UCLA was up just one at the half, but they outscored the Rebels 46-33 in the second half to win by double digits for the 29^th time this season.

Three of those wins have come in their three previous games against SEC foes, including the 77-62 win over then-#1 South Carolina on November 24 that thrust the Bruins to the top spot, where they have since remained most of the season.

UCLA has been able to get away with the slow starts against Richmond and Ole Miss because of being superior and because Lauren Betts has been nearly perfect in recording back-to-back 30-point double-doubles.

But that raises the alarm bells for a matchup like this against a Kim Mulkey team. One subpar start is one thing, but three in a row—four if you go back to the Big Ten tournament championship game against USC—is indicative of a potential problem spot against a team that is good enough and well-coached enough to take full advantage of that problem spot.

That concern makes picking this one a lot more straightforward. Take LSU to cover and put a little extra on them to win outright.

More March Madness Information

All of our non-game content for this year’s NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments can be found in one place. Bookmark our March Madness main page to keep up with our picks, predictions, and tips on how to bet on the action at the best online sportsbooks.

• March Madness Betting Guide

If you are looking for more March Madness game coverage, we have plenty of that as well, in addition of this look at LSU and UCLA’s women’s March Madness matchup.

• Duke vs South Carolina Women’s Elite Eight Prediction & Picks
• Tennessee vs Houston Elite Eight Odds & Best Bets
• Michigan State vs Auburn Elite Eight Prediction & Best Bets

The tips, tricks, and picks we provide are not only helpful for moneyline betting, spread betting, and over/under betting on games and futures bets on the tournament as a whole. They can also be valuable for your March Madness bracket challenges, including our very own Betting News Bracket Mania.

Also, follow us X (formerly known as Twitter), Twitch, and TikTok to catch all of the March Madness content that we will be posting on our socials.

• Betting News on X
• Betting News on Twitch
• Betting News on TikTok
• Betting News on YouTube