The first round of the 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, March 22. Defending champion LSU is among the teams in action, as it faces No. 14 seed Rice on Friday afternoon at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. No. 1 seed Texas hosts No. 16 seed Drexel, while No. 2 seeds Ohio State and Stanford will also play their first-round games. 

Before you lock in any 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament picks or predictions for the first round on Friday, you need to see what women's basketball expert Calvin Wetzel has to say.

Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women's hoops to turn the site's prediction model into picks. Now Wetzel has turned his attention to women's college basketball after teaming up with Aaron Barzilai, a Ph.D. from Stanford.

Since the start of the 2021-22 women's college basketball campaign, Wetzel is 1,384-988 (+371.33 units)!

We can tell you that Wetzel is taking No. 3 seed LSU to cover the spread as a 27.5-point favorite against No. 14 seed Rice in Albany Region 2. The Tigers had their 10-game winning streak snapped in a loss to undefeated South Carolina in the SEC Tournament earlier this month, but they only lost by seven points. Seven of their 10 victories during their winning streak came by at least 20 points, so they are accustomed to blowing out their opponents. 

"LSU was the preseason No. 1 team in the country for a reason, and while the Tigers stumbled a little during the middle of the season, they are playing well again and simply too talented for this Rice team to handle. Take this one in the 20s or at -30.5 if needed," Wetzel told SportsLine. 

Wetzel has also released picks for two other games in the first round of the Women's NCAA Tournament on Friday! You ABSOLUTELY need to see these picks before locking in any women's college basketball picks of your own.

So which Women's NCAA Tournament games should you be targeting on Friday? Join SportsLine right now to find out which picks you should be all over for the first round, all from the expert who is up 371 units since the 2021-22 season!