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00:00Opening day at the Round of 64 in the Women's Big Dance as well.
00:05And a reminder, noon Eastern time, Bracket Central coverage live right here on SportsGrid.
00:10Wall-to-wall coverage all day long for the entirety of this Friday in the Round of 64 begins in that opening three-hour slot.
00:18It's myself, it's Mike Blewett, it's James Young, our coach, live from our Midtown Manhattan studios right here in New York City.
00:28Versa NYC inside the Renaissance Hotel, 35th and 7th.
00:32If you're in the area, you want to come by, great sports watching venue, grab a beer, heckle us, live bet with us, let's have some fun.
00:42Let's also set the stage for the Round of 64 in the Women's NCAA Tournament in what we will see.
00:48My Women's NCAA Tourney pick six.
00:51My champion is the championship bet that I made back in early January.
00:56I'm a big fan of this UCLA team.
00:58I really believe in what UCLA can do, led by one of the best bigs in college basketball.
01:04A 6-1 price, and maybe you are saying to yourself, well, Ben, they're the number one overall seed.
01:09That's a little bit chalky.
01:10Correct.
01:11Number one overall seed, but third best number to win a national championship.
01:14South Carolina, who has won two titles in three years, a 2-1 price.
01:18Connecticut, the second best number at plus 240.
01:23We'll talk about the Huskies in just a moment.
01:26I really believe in Lauren Betts, but of course, you have to have great guard play to win in the month of March.
01:32Kiki Rice for UCLA does a fantastic job of running the show.
01:37UCLA in its first year in the Big Ten, exacting some revenge against its crosstown rival in USC to win that Big Ten tournament title.
01:45Only two losses for the Bruins this year, both against the Trojans in the regular season.
01:51Giving UCLA a plus 600 to win a national championship.
01:55The number one overall seed in the tourney, the top team in a regional one in Spokane.
02:01Who does UCLA beat to cut down the Nets?
02:04Still have a lot of belief in this Don Staley-led team.
02:07When you've won three national championships in the last seven years, you are embarking on dynastic type of consideration.
02:14And of course, the Gamecocks do have that.
02:16South Carolina had an interesting year.
02:18They had their 54-game SEC win streak snapped by Texas.
02:22They had their 71-game home win streak snapped by nearly 40 against UConn in Columbia.
02:28But still, the second team on that one line.
02:32I do believe South Carolina has a very solid bracket.
02:35Birmingham, Region 2.
02:37The two seed is Duke.
02:38Kara Lawson and the Blue Devils have done some great stuff.
02:41I think South Carolina will be in the women's Final Four and eventually face off in the national championship game.
02:47So elsewhere, where do I go?
02:49A little bit chalky here as well.
02:51There are lines of delineation in women's college basketball.
02:54We don't see madness nearly as much.
02:57We have started to see it more.
02:58We have started to see more parity.
03:00You used to have teams like UConn win four consecutive national championships.
03:05Or under Pat Summitt, Tennessee win three, four in a row.
03:09There is more parity, but there is still those lines of distinction.
03:14For instance, when you look at the national championship odds, you have five teams at an 8-1 number.
03:19South Carolina, UConn, UCLA, Texas, USC in that order.
03:24Before you even drop all the way off to Neal Ivey and Notre Dame at 43-1.
03:31And the Irish are a great basketball team and a three seed in Regional 3 in Birmingham.
03:37That of Texas.
03:39Could Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles cause some chaos?
03:43For sure.
03:44I'm still going to go chalk.
03:45Give me Texas.
03:46I have a national championship bet on the Longhorns.
03:49And out of the other region in Spokane, where USC is the top team,
03:53I'll take the favorites to win that region in UConn.
03:56Paige Beckers is absolutely sensational.
03:59The pedigree led by Gino Auriemma, of course, can hardly be rivaled in women's college hoops.
04:05But I think the difference right now is a healthy AZ FUD for Connecticut.
04:09That's why they get to the Final Four.
04:11Like in men's college basketball, if I'm picking a national championship winner to cut down the nets,
04:16I'm going to go to the best player to win MOP.
04:19That's Lauren Betts, one of the best bigs in college hoops.
04:226'7", dominant in the post.
04:25A sleeper.
04:26Regional 4 in Spokane.
04:28Iowa, playing much better basketball.
04:31On the sixth line in that portion in the final month and a half of this women's college basketball season.
04:38And how about a round one best bet?
04:40South Dakota State, the champions of the Summit.
04:43They've been dominant in that league.
04:45Great three-point shooting team.
04:47They knock off Oklahoma State in the opening round.
04:50Have a great weekend. How could you not?
04:52It's a great day.