Betting public backs Iowa in NCAA tournament rematch vs. LSU - ESPN

When LSU and Iowa faced off in last year's paradigm-shifting national championship game, the Tigers overcame their status as 3-point underdogs to beat the Hawkeyes outright and deliver the program's first national title to Baton Rouge. Almost an entire year later, these two teams play again with a trip to the Final Four on the line, and the betting public will once again be backing Iowa.

Monday night's colossal women's college basketball game sees the Hawkeyes as 1.5-point favorites over the Tigers at ESPN BET — their smallest favorite role since the 2023 national championship, per ESPN Stats & Information; the tight line has moved up to as high as Iowa -2.5 at other sportsbooks. The last time Iowa closed as an underdog was in the 2023 Final Four against South Carolina, a game the Hawkeyes won outright as 10-point underdogs.

For LSU's part, this is just the third time they will be underdogs this season, with the first two occasions being against South Carolina. In both of those games, the Tigers lost outright, but won against the spread.

Across the board, Iowa is receiving overwhelming public support on the spread, attracting 74.1% of the tickets and 76.4% of the money at ESPN BET, which also notes that, with hours to go before tip-off, this is the most-bet game of the women's tournament. BetMGM (71% bets, 76% handle) and DraftKings (67% bets, 71% handle) report similar splits, while Fanatics Sportsbook reports the only negative difference in bet-handle split for Iowa (82.1% bets, 75.9% handle).

The sheer volume of bets could explain the line movement for Iowa.

«I'm expecting this to be the most-bet women's college game we've ever had at BetMGM,» the sportsbook's manager of trading, Seamus Magee, said.

«Iowa-LSU is