Betting Odds Released For Colorado vs. Illinois in NCAA Tournament

The Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team will be dancing. Colorado is the No. 10 seed in Regional 1 and will face the No. 7 seeded Illinois Fighting Illini. What are the current betting odds for this first round matchup?

Colorado-Illinois Betting Odds

Colorado Buffaloes Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament Illinois Fighting Illini March Madness Betting Odds First Round — Mar 6, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach JR Payne reacts to a play against the Baylor Bears during the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images | Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Colorado is a 2.5-point underdog to Illinois. The Buffaloes are +136 to win the game outright while Illinois is -162. The current over/over is at 132.5 points.

Colorado enters the tournament with an overall record of 22-11. This includes a mark of 11-7 in Big 12 conference play. The Buffs finished in 6th place in the Big 12 this season and made it to the Big 12 tournament semi-finals before falling to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Illinois on the other hand is 21-11 and 9-9 in Big Ten conference play. They finished tied for 9th place in the Big Ten. The Illini fell in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Tip-off between Colorado and Illinois is scheduled for Saturday, March 21. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. MT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

The winner of this 7-10 matchup will take on either the No. 2 seeded Vanderbilt Commodores or the No. 15 seeded High Point Panthers in the second round. Vanderbilt is the highest seed in this pod, so they will host all three of these games.

Colorado is led by junior guard Desiree Wooten. Wooten averages a team-high 13.3 points per game to go along with 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Illinois is led by forward Berry Wallace. Wallace leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game. She also averaged 6.2 rebonds and 1.8 assists.

Buffaloes Back in NCAA Tournament

For the fourth time in the past five years, Colorado is in the NCAA Tournament. The Buffs missed it in 2025 after making it consecutively from 2022-2024. They made the Sweet 16 in 2023 and 2024. They will have their hands full if they want to make it back to the second weekend.

Even if Colorado is able to pull the minor upset against Illinois, they will most likely have to face the No. 2 seed Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is 27-4 this season, finishing tied for second place in the SEC with a conference record of 13-3. The Commodores have the sixth best odds to win the national title at +5000.

The heavy favorites to cut down the nets are the UConn Huskies, with odds of -275 to win it all. UConn won the national championship last season and looks poised to go back-to-back. The Huskies finished the regular season with a perfect record of 34-0. They are not surprisingly the No. 1 overall seed.

UConn is also the No. 1 seed in Colorado's region, so if the Buffs go on a deep run, they could very well run into the Huskies.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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