March Madness: Top seed falls as women’s Sweet 16 gets set

March Madness is racing toward the Sweet 16! Here is what toknow about the women’s NCAA Tournament as teams battle for slots inthe regionals:

TOP SEEDS

The top four seeds in the tournament were given to SouthCarolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Stanford — and the Cardinalwas the first to bow out.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The undefeated defending national champions arethe No. 1 overall seed and they look every bit a juggernaut,advancing to the Greenville I regional without a serious challenge.The region includes two teams in No. 2 seed Maryland and No. 4 seedUCLA that lost to the Gamecocks earlier this season. South Carolinais loaded, with two-time Southeastern Conference player of the yearAliyah Boston and leading scorer Zia Cooke.

INDIANA: The Hoosiers landed the top seed in the Greenville IIRegion and won its opener by 30 points. Mackenzie Holmes, who leadsIndiana with 22.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, didn’t evenplay but she was expected to return for the second round. Topchallengers include No. 2 seed Utah, No. 3 seed LSU and No. 4 seedVillanova, which is led by scoring sensation Maddy Siegrist. Shehad 35 points in ’Nova’s first-round win.

VIRGINIA TECH: The ACC tourney-champion Hokies top the Seattle 3Region and they will take a 13-game winning streak to the Sweet 16behind star center Elizabeth Kitley. Virginia Tech could have tonavigate No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 2 seed UConn or No. 3 seedOhio State after that.

STANFORD: The committee looked to Stanford’s steadiness for muchof the season in giving it the top seed in the Seattle 4 Region.But the Cardinal instead became the first No. 1 to fall short ofthe Sweet 16 since 2009, ousted 54-49 by Ole Miss and its stingydefense. That throws the region wide open for the likes of No. 2seed Iowa, No. 3 seed Duke, No. 4 seed Texas and No. 5 seedLouisville.

GAMES TO WATCH

No. 4 seed UCLA (26-9) vs. No. 5 seed Oklahoma (26-6), Monday,10 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Perhaps the top freshman class in the women’s game will face afar more experienced group. The Bruins have the youth, and theSooners have three players with at least 1,500 career points. UCLAhas the benefit of playing at home and rolled to a 67-45 victoryagainst Sacramento State in the opening round. The Sooners, the No.2 scoring team in the country, beat Portland 85-63.

No. 2 seed Connecticut (30-5) vs. No. 7 seed Baylor (20-12),Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Two longtime rivals meet again. Two years ago, the Huskies won69-67 in a regional final after a possible foul was not called onthe final possession. Four players who were on the court for the2021 game are expected to play: UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards and AubreyGriffin and Baylor’s Caitlin Bickle and Sarah Andrews. The Bearsare seeking their 13th trip to the Sweet 16 in 14 years. UConn hasmade the regional final in 28 consecutive seasons and is seekingits 15th straight Final Four berth and 12th national championshipappearance.

No. 4 seed Texas (26-9) vs. No. 5 seed Louisville (24-11),Monday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

It will be a rematch from a fall matchup in the Bahamas, butthis time a Sweet 16 bid is on the line and it will be on Texas’home court. Louisville won the early matchup 71-63. Texas hasreached the Elite Eight two years in a row. The Cardinals haveadvanced to the Elite Eight or Final Four in each of the last fourseasons.

No. 4 seed Tennessee (24-11) vs. No. 12 seed Toledo (29-4),Monday, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

The Rockets of the Mid-American Conference might be wise to notlook up as they try for their first trip to the Sweet 16 onTennessee’s home floor. Playing under its eight nationalchampionship banners, Tennessee is trying to advance to thetourney’s second weekend in back-to-back years for the first timesince 2015-16, but for the 36th time overall.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The women’s tournament field is filled with stars, includingSouth Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, last season’s AP player of the yearwho is back in hopes of winning a second straight national titleand has more than 80 double-doubles in her incredible career. Shewill have plenty of competition for the honor this year, includingsharp-shooting Iowa star Caitlin Clark.

There is also center Mackenzie Holmes of top-seeded Indiana andthe AP All-America team is also a good place to check out some ofthe top players in the game. The Cavinder twins, gym rats who arewildly popular on social media, made their first tournament — andhelped their team win its opener — after transferring from FresnoState to Miami.

The field is also remarkable for the high number ofinternational players, a growing trend in women’s basketball.

SHINING MOMENTS

Standout performances abound.

Grace Stone nailed her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 4.7seconds remaining to lift 10th-seeded Princeton to a 64-63 win overNorth Carolina State. Alissa Pili had a career-high 33 points,eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists to lead No. 2 seedUtah over Gardner-Webb.

Power forward Angel Reese had 34 points and 15 rebounds as3-seed LSU beat Hawaii while fellow All-American Caitlin Clarkscored 48 points and added 24 assists over two wins to help Iowareach the Sweet 16.

GO DEEPER

Gun violence has cost lives and disrupted college sports allseason, touching some of the top programs in college basketball.Coaches have been thrust into uncertain and unwelcome roles intrying to navigate the topic — as well as the fallout from theSupreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

On a lighter note, the Big Ten is loaded and eager to climb backinto the title game. And if you think you know the women’stournament, try this 25-question quiz from AP.

Want to hear from the athletes themselves? UCLA freshman KikiRice and injured UConn star Paige Bueckers have each writtendiaries for AP about their “tourney journeys.”

HOW TO WATCH

The title game will be on a national network — ABC — for thefirst time since 1996 in a stroke of good news for the game. ABCplans to air at least a half-dozen other games, too.

Beside that, every game of the women’s tournament will beavailable on ESPN’s networks or streaming, with fans encouraged tonavigate to the “Watch” tab on ESPN’s sites. The NCAA will have awomen’s basketball specific March Madness app by AT&T.

There are multiple sites listing game times and other details,including the NCAA site.

BETTING GUIDE

Who’s going to win the national championship? The bettingfavorites last week to reach the Final Four are (in order): SouthCarolina, Indiana, UConn, Stanford, LSU and Iowa, according toFanDuel Sportsbook. The Gamecocks are a heavy favorite to becomethe first repeat champion in the women’s tournament since UConn wonthe last of four straight in 2016.

MARCH MADNESS CALENDAR

Selection Sunday set the brackets for First Four games andfirst- and second-round games through Monday at campuses across thecountry.

Sweet 16 weekend brings a twist this year for the women’s teams:There will be two regional sites instead of four, with Greenville,South Carolina, and Seattle each hosting eight teams.

Where is the women’s Final Four? In Dallas, where the semifinalsare March 31 and the championship game is April 2. As it happens,the men’s Final Four is a four-hour drive down the road in Houstonthat same weekend.