Even with JuJu Watkins out of the tournament due to a knee injury, the women’s March Madness still has plenty of star power, with players like Paige Bueckers, Hannah Hidalgo, and Lauren Betts continuing to shine. Watkins injured her right knee in the first quarter during Southern California’s victory over Mississippi State on Monday night. She was carried off the court, and later, USC confirmed that she would miss the remainder of the tournament.
While the big stars are taking center stage, there haven’t been many surprises in the tournament. No lower-seeded teams managed to pull off upsets, and there haven’t been any Cinderella stories. For the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, no team seeded 11th or lower made it past the first round. Of the 16 teams still in the tournament, 15 belong to Power Four conferences, with UConn being the exception. Two of the regional tournaments will be held in Spokane, Washington, and the other two in Birmingham, Alabama.
As is often the case, the top 12 teams in the NCAA Women’s Tournament have all made it to the Sweet 16, which kicks off on Friday. Players like Paige Bueckers, Hannah Hidalgo, and Lauren Betts have been instrumental in leading their teams. Bueckers, who is expected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft, played her final home game and put on an impressive performance, tying her career high with 34 points. Hidalgo has been key to Notre Dame’s resurgence, helping the Fighting Irish regain their dominant form after a tough finish to the regular season and conference tournament. Lauren Betts has been a dominant force for UCLA in the first two games of the tournament, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds.
South Carolina still has the opportunity to become the first team to win back-to-back titles in the women’s tournament since UConn achieved the feat from 2013-2016. The Gamecocks are succeeding with a strong team effort and a chip on their shoulder. They felt they deserved to be the overall top seed in the tournament but were overlooked. Additionally, Indiana suggested that South Carolina might be vulnerable this year without the dominant post player they had in previous championship runs. The Gamecocks are back in the Sweet 16 with a well-rounded team and strong depth. Their bench set an NCAA record with 66 points in their opening win over Tennessee Tech.
Joining the top teams in the Sweet 16 are three 5-seeds — Kansas State, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Alabama nearly made it four 5-seeds, but they lost to Maryland in a double-overtime thriller on Monday. “This was a heavyweight fight,” said Maryland head coach Brenda Frese. “No team deserved to lose this game tonight.” The three 5-seeds made history by advancing on the road, which had never been done before since the NCAA tournament changed its format. In previous years, only the top four seeds hosted the first two rounds. Although three 5-seeds advanced in 2021, the tournament was held entirely in Texas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Tennessee is a regular in the Sweet 16, Kansas State is making its first appearance in the second weekend since 2002. TCU, the second seed, is also in the Sweet 16 for the first time and will face a rematch against Notre Dame in Birmingham. The Horned Frogs defeated the Irish in the Cayman Islands during a Thanksgiving tournament.
Conferences with teams still in the tournament:
The SEC leads all conferences with the most teams in the Sweet 16:
—SEC (6): South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma.
—ACC (4): Notre Dame, Duke, NC State, North Carolina.
—Big Ten (3): UCLA, USC, Maryland.
—Big 12 (2): Kansas State, TCU.
—Big East (1): UConn.
