UConn leads Final Four betting odds
Reigning champion UConn remains the odds-on favorite to earn a back-to-back NCAA title, plus Chelsea readies for this week's UWCL decider and more news to know
UConn leads Final Four betting odds
UConn’s odds have only slightly narrowed from the start of the NCAA tournament. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
Reigning champion UConn is still on top, as the undefeated Huskies advance to the Final Four as the odds-on favorite to earn a back-to-back NCAA title.
According to DraftKings, UConn is currently -160 to take home the trophy, followed by Texas and South Carolina at +550, with UCLA forecasting the longest odds at +600.
While still frontrunners, the Huskies’ championship futures have narrowed slightly in recent weeks, down from -190 in January.
Context: History seems to be influencing Vegas’s bearishness on UCLA, even after the Bruins cruised through the tournament as the second-highest overall seed.
UCLA will next face fellow No. 1 seed Texas — the only team to beat the Bruins this season — with the Longhorns a 1.5-point favorite ahead of Friday’s semifinal.
UConn holds a -6.5 edge over South Carolina in the Final Four’s other clash — a rematch of the Huskies’ blowout 2025 championship win. (See odds report)
Cash in: The Final Four tips off on Friday at 7 PM ET, live on ESPN.
London derby headlines UWCL deciders
Chelsea enters the second quarterfinal leg at a 3-1 aggregate deficit. (Izzy Poles - AMA/Getty Images)
Champions League action returns today, with a few clubs scrambling for survival as this week’s results determine the 2025/26 UWCL semifinalists.
Second-leg host Chelsea finds itself in a tight spot, entering this afternoon’s London derby decider at a 3-1 aggregate deficit after falling to defending champion Arsenal 3-1 last week. (Watch full highlights)
“We have the belief that we can do it,” said Blues midfielder Erin Cuthbert. “We’ve done it before, but we’re under no illusions it’s a tough one.”
High stakes: Other big-name quarterfinalists also face early exits, with the two remaining German teams eager to play spoiler after strong first-leg performances.
Wolfsburg holds a 1-0 advantage over UWCL titan OL Lyonnes after the pair’s first clash, while Bayern Munich holds their own goal advantage over Manchester United after last week’s 3-2 win.
“We know what we have to do,” said United manager Marc Skinner. “We have to come in and silence a fantastic arena with brilliant fans, and we have to go and create history.”
Tune in: The UWCL quarterfinals return today at 12:45 PM ET, live on Paramount+.
A’ja Wilson returns to USA Basketball
A’ja Wilson won Olympic gold with Team USA in 2021 and 2024. (Yukihito Taguchi/Imagn Images)
Two-time Olympic gold medalist A’ja Wilson will rejoin Team USA this weekend, as USA Basketball dropped its 15-player April training camp roster yesterday.
Fellow Olympic gold medalist Sabrina Ionescu and 3×3 champion Stefanie Dolson were also called up, alongside Napheesa Collier, with the Lynx captain physically sidelined as she continues to recover from ankle surgery.
Monique Billings, Paige Bueckers, and Rae Burrell return from March’s undefeated World Cup Qualifying run, while Caitlin Clark, Breanna Stewart, Aliyah Boston, and Angel Reese did not make the lineup. (See full roster)
Context: USA Basketball training camp tips off in Phoenix alongside the NCAA’s Final Four, with US and Duke head coach Kara Lawson leading this week’s practice.
College standouts Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) and JuJu Watkins (USC) are also joining the squad, with Watkins set for limited activity as she continues her own injury return.
Parker & Delle Donne lead 2026 Hall of Fame class
Candace Parker won three WNBA championships with three different teams. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
Two women’s basketball legends are headed to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, with ESPN reporting that three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker and two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne will get their gold jackets this year.
A two-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist, Parker won both Rookie of the Year and MVP in her first WNBA season, going on to win three titles with three different teams: LA, Chicago, and Las Vegas.
Delle Donne won her lone WNBA championship in 2019, adding to a list of accolades that includes two MVP awards, Olympic gold, and the first 50-40-90 season in league history. (See full report)
Making a mark: Parker and Delle Donne are just the latest WNBA icons to heed the Hall of Fame’s call, after Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Sylvia Fowles joined the Class of 2025.
Toronto expands ownership ahead of WNBA debut
Former Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri joined the Tempo’s ownership group this week. (Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
Just a little over a month before tipoff, the Toronto Tempo announced that former Raptors president Masai Ujiri has joined the 2026 WNBA expansion side as a principle owner.
Ujiri led Toronto’s NBA team to its only NBA title in 2019, before departing last summer to focus on his basketball nonprofit, Giants of Africa.
“I believe deeply in the vision behind the Tempo: creating female leaders, elevating women not just on the court, but across the organization, and building championship culture from day one,” Ujiri said in a statement. (See full release)
Big plans: As part of his duties, Ujiri will spearhead Tempo Rising, a global coaching mentorship program designed to support “emerging women-identifying and non-binary coaches… shaping the future of the game in their communities.”
Number of the day
2
UConn, Texas, UCLA, and South Carolina are back in the Final Four, marking just the second full-slate semifinal repeat in NCAA tournament history.