Women’s NCAA Tournament Regional Breakdowns Heading Into the Sweet 16

The first weekend of March Madness is in the books, and what started as 68 teams battling it out for the national championship is down to the Sweet 16.

As was the case on the men’s side, the women’s tournament saw a lack of upsets once again in the early rounds of play, with only one double-digit seed—No. 10 Virginia—making the Sweet 16.

While that means we’re down to 16 extremely talented teams, the biggest question that remains in the women’s tournament is simple: Can anyone stop UConn?

Take a look below as we reset where things stand in the women’s tournament heading into this weekend’s games.

Fort Worth 1 Regional

UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the UTSA Roadrunners. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Sweet 16 Schedule

No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN)
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 North Carolina, 5 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN)

The Huskies have not lost a game this entire season, and have won their first two games of the tournament by an average of more than 45 points. In the second round, star guard Azzi Fudd caught fire in the first half, scoring 26 points to more than double the production of the entire Syracuse team heading into the break. Can anyone stop the wagon that is UConn basketball?

The Tar Heels will be next to try, entering the game as 27.5-point underdogs. Should UConn prevail there, it will be up to the winner of Friday’s game between Vanderbilt and Notre Dame to take on the Huskies. Vanderbilt would represent one of the toughest opponents the Huskies have faced all season, with the Commodores having solid wins over top 10 teams LSU, Michigan and Texas. Meanwhile, if Notre Dame advances, it will put Fudd in a matchup of college basketball stars against Hannah Hidalgo of the Irish.

Sacramento 2 Regional

LSU player Bella Hines reacts after a play against Texas Tech. | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sweet 16 Schedule

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN)
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke, 10 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN)

If the undefeated Huskies didn’t exist, UCLA would be the easy favorite to win the national championship in two weeks. The Bruins have lost just once all season, and that was against No. 4 Texas in early November. Since then, they’ve been perfect, and they are understandably sizable favorites over Minnesota to reach the Elite Eight.

Meanwhile, LSU is still LSU, led by coach Kim Mulkey and star senior Flau’jae Johnson. The Tigers took a 16-point win on the road against the Blue Devils in December, but both teams have grown quite a bit since that meeting.

Fort Worth 3 Regional

Madison Booker of Texas goes to the basket against Oregon. | Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Sweet 16 Schedule

No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Louisville, 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ABC)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Kentucky, 3 p.m. ET Saturday (ABC)

Louisville held off a late charge from No. 6 Alabama in the final minute of their second-round game to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 in one of the most thrilling games of the tournament thus far. The Cardinals will have to follow that up with another huge performance against a Michigan team that has yet to be challenged in March Madness.

In the other Sweet 16 matchup, Texas takes on Kentucky. Few teams in college basketball sport a résumé as strong as the Longhorns, who have a whopping 14 wins over ranked opponents this season, including against fellow tournament one-seeds UCLA and South Carolina. Kentucky was able to keep things relatively close with Texas when the two schools met in the regular season—an 11-point win for the Longhorns—but the Wildcats will have to take things up another level if they’re to get the win here.

Sacramento 4 Regional

Senior South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson waves to the crowd after a win. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Sweet 16 Schedule

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN)
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 10 Virginia, 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN)

You can simply never count out a Dawn Staley South Carolina squad in March Madness, and the Gamecocks’ Sweet 16 matchup against Oklahoma is one of the most fascinating of the entire weekend. The Sooners delivered South Carolina one of its only three losses all season—a 94–82 overtime shootout in Norman, Okla., in January. Can South Carolina avenge the loss? Or is it possible this Sooners team has the Gamecocks’ number?

In the region’s other matchup, Cinderella Virginia will look to keep on dancing against TCU. If the Cavs can win, they’ll become just the second 10-seed to ever reach the Elite Eight in the women’s tournament, joining Oregon’s run from 2017.

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