The first game hasn't tipped off yet, and already sportsbooks are preparing for this to be the most popular women's Final Four ever for sports bettors.
A combination of more states with legal and mobile sports betting and an increase in the number of women's basketball games available to bet throughout the season have money pouring in on this weekend's event in Dallas.
Exact figures won't be available until after the weekend, but Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, said it's likely to be a new record.
"Everything's growing across the board, but especially women's sports," Pullen said. "... You'd think this would be the most bet Final Four in women's basketball history."
LSU, which plays Virginia Tech in the first national semifinal Friday night, is a big reason for the popularity. The Tigers have received steady action in the national championship market at Caesars, which is the official odds partner of The Advocate and Times-Picayune.
The biggest bet at Caesars, Pullen said, was a $500 wager by a Louisiana bettor early in the season at 60-to-1 odds, with a potential payout of $30,000.
"People in Louisiana love their Tigers, and it's a lot of $100 bets, $50 bets, and they add up," said Pullen, who said of all four teams, bettors stand to win the most money with an LSU national title. "It's not a huge liability, but they're playing well, and a lot of people down there would like to see them match up against South Carolina again. It's just been a slow build-up of little bets."
LSU is a 2-point favorite as of Thursday afternoon at Caesars, up from a 1-point spread when the game was first released. Pullen said the Tigers are getting more action on the point spread in both bets and money wagered but that Virginia Tech had more bets on the money line.
"Kiim Mulkey has all the credentials, a national championship-winning coach with Baylor, and LSU is more of the proven entity than Virginia Tech, even though they've done a great job, too," Pullen said. "The LSU action is going to be strong."
The other semifinal has garnered widespread attention, too, with unbeaten and heavily favored South Carolina facing off with Iowa and star guard Caitlyn Clark. The Gamecocks are an 11½-point favorite, and bettors must pay a massive price of -340 on Carolina to win the national championship. That means for every $34 bet, a successful wager would only profit $10.
The Gamecocks were -250 to start the NCAA tournament, and most bettors aren't paying that price, Pullen said. The result is if South Carolina takes home the title, as expected, it's the best-case scenario for sportsbooks, too.
"Investing in the team for a whole year, people say, 'Do I want to lay money to win money to win a championship that's months away?'" Pullen said. "It's definitely unusual. We need South Carolina to win the title, but anything can happen."
Another reason this Final Four is proving to be popular is that for the first time, Caesars and other national books like DraftKings and FanDuel have offered the majority of regular-season games for the first time. A decade or more ago, Pullen said, Caesars would only allow bets on headliner regular-season games, like if UConn played Tennessee, and then wait for the tournament.
That's changing fast.
"The women's game, people want to bet it, there's a thirst for it; people have asked for it over the years, and slowly, we've offered more and more," Pullen said. "And the more they're used to betting it in the regular season, the tournament handle is going to increase as well."
And while the total numbers still pale in comparison to the men's tournament, it all adds up to a women's Final Four that many will watch — and plenty will have some money on the line, too.
"And look, you're going to have good matchups, too," Pullen said. "South Carolina doing what they do, Iowa with Caitlyn Clark, and then LSU and Virginia Tech having great seasons.
"I say this a lot, but every year is going to set more records."