Women’s basketball has continued to shine brightly this season as March Madness begins.
Last year, the women’s NCAA championship game achieved a remarkable milestone, garnering a larger television viewership compared to the men’s final for the first time. Approximately 18.9 million viewers tuned in to witness undefeated South Carolina’s victory over Iowa, led by the sensational Caitlin Clark. The key question was whether the departure of stars like Clark, Angel Reese, and Kamilla Cardoso to the WNBA would affect viewer interest.
Instead, women’s basketball has maintained its allure with an array of compelling talents, from Paige Bueckers representing UConn to JuJu Watkins at USC, Hannah Hidalgo from Notre Dame, and Madison Booker from Texas.
This year’s tournament sees UCLA clinching the top overall seed.
Another factor making this season unmissable is the level of parity among teams. Four teams have occupied the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, equaling the record for the most in history. Notably, this year’s NCAA Tournament joins only one other year in the past 19, which was in 2022, where no team enters with zero or one loss.
Games of interest include Harvard, with a No. 10 seed, taking on No. 7 seed Michigan State, and 10 seed Oregon traveling to face 7 seed Vanderbilt and their standout freshman, Mikayla Blakes. Additionally, No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast faces 3 seed Oklahoma on challenging Sooner territory. Remarkably, despite their coach’s early departure for the WNBA, the team has not faced defeat since December 16, while securing a 30-3 record.
Fans can catch every moment of the women’s tournament on ESPN’s various networks and streaming platforms, with select games also available on ABC.
As the tournament kicks off, the betting favorites include defending champion South Carolina, UConn, UCLA, and USC, based on insights from BetMGM Sportsbook.
The tournament consists of 31 automatic bids earned by conference champions, supplemented by 37 at-large selections determined by the NCAA selection committee. The matchups were unveiled during Selection Sunday.
The tournament schedule sees the First Four encounters on Wednesday and Thursday, while the first two rounds take place Friday through Monday across multiple campus venues nationwide. The Sweet 16, scheduled for March 28-31, will be hosted in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.
Tampa, Florida, will host the Final Four on Friday, April 4, culminating in the championship game on Sunday, April 6.
