The most exciting part of March Madness is filling out your bracket. The hope of crafting a perfect bracket still exists, and so does the possibility of picking the correct major first-round upset.
That's enough to get even the most casual college basketball fans amped for their bracket pools.
Beyond the picks, there's one more important element of any bracket: the total points tiebreaker for the national championship game.
While many college basketball fans may scrawl a random triple-digit number in the slot reserved for the tiebreaker, a look at the history of title games can give amateur bracketologists a ballpark estimate for what total to choose.
Here's a look at the title game scoring history for the women's March Madness tournament. To see the average points scored in men's finals, click here.
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Average total points in women's March Madness final games
The women's NCAA Tournament came into existence in 1982, but for this exercise, we'll be looking at championship games dating back to 1987. Why? That's when the NCAA implemented the 3-point line, which naturally increased the scoring ability of each team.
Since 1987, the average total score for an NCAA Tournament championship comes to 134.3 points. That cane be rounded down to 134, meaning each team averages about 67 points per game.
When looking solely at the last 10 women's NCAA Tournament finals, the average is 135 points per game, indicating that the historical average is about right. There may be some outliers — such as the 187 combined points in LSU's win over Iowa in 2023 — but generally, going with 134 or 135 points seems like a safe bet.
WOMEN'S BRACKET GUIDES: Iowa | South Carolina | LSU | USC | UConn
List of women's NCAA Tournament championship scores
| Year | Final Score | Total Points |
| 2023 | LSU 102, Iowa 85 | 187 |
| 2022 | South Carolina 64, UConn 49 | 113 |
| 2021 | Stanford 54, Arizona 53 | 107 |
| 2020 | No tournament (COVID) | N/A |
| 2019 | Baylor 82, Notre Dame 81 | 163 |
| 2018 | Notre Dame 61, Mississippi State 58 | 119 |
| 2017 | South Carolina 67, Mississippi State 55 | 122 |
| 2016 | UConn 82, Syracuse 51 | 133 |
| 2015 | UConn 63, Notre Dame 53 | 116 |
| 2014 | UConn 79, Notre Dame 58 | 137 |
| 2013 | UConn 93, Louisville 60 | 153 |
| 2012 | Baylor 80, Notre Dame 61 | 141 |
| 2011 | Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70 | 146 |
| 2010 | UConn 53, Stanford 47 | 100 |
| 2009 | UConn 76, Louisville 54 | 130 |
| 2008 | Tennessee 64, Stanford 48 | 112 |
| 2007 | Tennessee 59, Rutgers 46 | 105 |
| 2006 | Maryland 78, Duke 75 (OT) | 153 |
| 2005 | Baylor 84, Michigan State 62 | 146 |
| 2004 | UConn 70, Tennessee 61 | 131 |
| 2003 | UConn 73, Tennessee 68 | 141 |
| 2002 | UConn 82, Oklahoma 70 | 152 |
| 2001 | Notre Dame 68, Purdue 66 | 134 |
| 2000 | UConn 71, Tennessee 52 | 123 |
| 1999 | Purdue 62, Duke 45 | 107 |
| 1998 | Tennessee 93, Louisiana Tech 75 | 168 |
| 1997 | Tennessee 68, Old Dominion 59 | 127 |
| 1996 | Tennessee 83, Georgia 65 | 148 |
| 1995 | UConn 70, Tennessee 64 | 134 |
| 1994 | UNC 60, Louisiana Tech 59 | 119 |
| 1993 | Texas Tech 84, Ohio State 82 | 166 |
| 1992 | Stanford 78, Western Kentucky 62 | 140 |
| 1991 | Tennessee 70, Virginia 67 (OT) | 137 |
| 1990 | Stanford 88, Auburn 81 | 167 |
| 1989 | Tennessee 76, Auburn 60 | 136 |
| 1988 | Louisiana Tech 56, Auburn 54 | 110 |
| 1987 | Tennessee 67, Louisiana Tech 44 | 111 |
WOMEN'S BRACKET TIPS: Expert picks | Upset predictions | Best odds to win it all
Who will win March Madness 2024?
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds to win the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament as of March 21, according to BetMGM.
| Team | Odds |
| South Carolina | -135 |
| Iowa | +600 |
| LSU | +750 |
| UConn | +1500 |
| Stanford | +1500 |
| Texas | +1500 |
| Ohio State | +2500 |
| UCLA | +3000 |
| USC | +3000 |
| NC State | +5000 |
| Notre Dame | +5000 |
| Colorado | +10000 |
| Utah | +10000 |
| Virginia Tech | +10000 |
| Indiana | +10000 |
| Oregon State | +10000 |
| Gonzaga | +15000 |
| Kansas State | +20000 |
| Louisville | +20000 |
| UNC | +25000 |
| Baylor | +30000 |
| Duke | +30000 |
| Tennessee | +30000 |
| Michigan State | +30000 |
| Mississippi | +30000 |
| Nebraska | +30000 |
| West Virginia | +30000 |
| UNLV | +30000 |
| Oklahoma | +30000 |
| Creighton | +50000 |
| Maryland | +50000 |
| Mississippi State | +50000 |
| Florida State | +50000 |
| Alabama | +50000 |
| Iowa State | +50000 |
| Michigan | +50000 |
| Marquette | +50000 |
| Kansas | +50000 |
| Miami (FL) | +50000 |
| Texas A&M | +50000 |
| Arizona | +50000 |
| Vanderbilt | +50000 |
| Drake | +50000 |
| Auburn | +50000 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | +50000 |
| Syracuse | +50000 |
| Middle Tennessee State | +50000 |
| Presbyterian | +50000 |
| UT Martin | +50000 |
| Portland | +50000 |
| South Dakota State | +50000 |
| Rice | +50000 |
| Eastern Washington | +50000 |
| Maine | +50000 |
| Marshall | +50000 |
| California Baptist | +50000 |
| Kent State | +50000 |
| Fairfield | +50000 |
| Chattanooga | +50000 |
| Norfolk State | +50000 |
| Jackson State | +50000 |
| UC Irvine | +50000 |
| Sacred Heart | +50000 |
| Drexel | +50000 |
| Columbia | +50000 |
| Texas A&M Corpus Christi | +50000 |
| Green Bay | +50000 |
| Richmond | +50000 |
More March Madness bracket predictions
The Sporting News experts gave their knowledgeable opinions on the tournament, both for the men's and women's tournament. Check out their predictions:
EXPERT PICKS: Bender (UConn) | DeCourcy (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)