Welcome to the first day of the 2026 Elite Eight!
We’ve got No. 6-seed Notre Dame facing No. 1-overall seed UConn in Fort Worth on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ABC. Then, No. 3-seed Duke will meet No. 1-seed UCLA in Sacramento at 3 p.m. ET, also on ABC.
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The Huskies and Bruins are the popular picks to meet in the national championship game, while the Fighting Irish and Blue Devils upset very talented No. 2 seeds in the Sweet 16.
One superstar’s performance in particular must be noted as she moves on to face the perceived best team in the country with a spot in the Final Four on the line. Meanwhile, a team that started 3-6 in Duke has a legitimate shot of making their fifth national semifinal.
Here’s what to watch for. Join the conversation in the comments below.
Will Hannah Hidalgo prove she’s the best player in the country?
Ever since Hannah Hidalgo’s first game against UConn on Jan. 27, 2024, we have wondered if she could ever be stopped.
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Turns out, she has been stopped. Many times. Held to inefficient nights and/or low scoring outputs by her lofty standard. Heck, she was a culprit in a 39 -point loss to Michigan this year, going 4-for-21 from the field and 0-for-8 from 3 with seven turnovers. Nobody thought Notre Dame would make the Elite Eight after that performance.
Hidalgo also failed in the 2024 Sweet 16—her first shot at the Elite Eight. She went 4-for-17 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3 with just 10 points, as the No. 2-seed Irish fell to No. 3-seed Oregon State.
In her second shot at the national quarterfinals, her nine free throws allowed her to score 15 points, but she was 3-of-19 from the floor and 0-of-3 from distance. Her Notre Dame squad again exited at the Sweet 16 stage.
This year, Notre Dame has struggled the most out of its three seasons with Hidalgo, dropping to a No. 6-seed on Selection Sunday. Hidalgo has been the team’s lone bright spot through much of it, averaging career-bests of 25.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.7 steals per game, while coming close to her career-best with 5.3 assists.
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A 20-point game with five rebounds, assists and/or steals is really good. She averages more than 25 points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists.
Hidalgo alone made the Irish feared entering this year’s NCAA Tournament. I can’t say it’s that surprising that they beat No. 3-seed Ohio State, or even that it’s a shocker that they were able to defeat No. 2-seed Vanderbilt after that. But Hidalgo had seemed cursed in the Sweet 16, and the embarrassing loss to the Wolverines was still hard to wrap one’s mind around. So there was doubt.
That doubt was blown to pieces by the junior from Merchantville, NJ’s near quadruple-double against the Commodores: 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and seven assists. Just three turnovers and 14-for-25 shooting. Nobody else in the country is capable of putting up that stat line.
When Hidalgo plays like that, social media blows up.
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Again, we question, “How can there be a player better than her?”
UConn’s best player certainly makes a Strong case.
Sarah Strong is averaging 18.5 points, 7.6 boards, four helpers, 3.4 swipes and 1.6 blocks per game. The key difference between her and Hidalgo is her advantage in 3-point efficiency of 40.4 percent (with 1.6 makes per contest) to 25.2 (with one make). Also, Strong’s field goal percentage of 59.8 resembles that of a really good traditional, inside-scoring post player, when really she is a three-level weapon.
There’s also Azzi Fudd, who, like Strong, was named a First Team All-American, will have a chance to prove herself against Hidalgo on Sunday. Hidalgo, a Second Team All-American this year after two First Team selections, just outplayed another First Teamer and the player many consider to be second in the running for National Player of the Year behind Strong: Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes.
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Why not lean into the idea that Hidalgo could at least flirt with taking the title of best player in the country from Strong with a triple- or quadruple-double that leads Notre Dame to an improbable victory on Sunday?
That’s what March is all about.
Can Duke minimize their disadvantages while disrupting UCLA?
Everyone talks about Duke’s defense, but they actually trail UCLA in opponents’ points per game and field goal percentage. The only areas, offensively or defensively, where they have an advantage on the Bruins are free throws attempted per game, turnovers forced, blocks and opponents’ 3-point percentage.
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UCLA’s 14.3 miscues induced is really low for the second-best team in the country (and No. 273), while the Blue Devils are considerably better in that department, forcing 17.
To win on Sunday, Duke needs to play to this strength and be the more disruptive team. They need to make life miserable for the Bruin offense.
They also need to make sure their disadvantages aren’t glaring.
The Blue Devils’ shooting efficiencies from the field (44 percent) and 3-point range (33.1) are decent. But UCLA shoots 51.3 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3, ranking No. 2 and No. 7 in those categories nationally.
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This high level of scoring efficiency is why the Bruins are in the nation’s top tier of contenders, as only UConn, with the top-ranked field goal percentage and second-best 3-point percentage, sports a superior combination. The only other team who was in the top seven in both categories was LSU, and they, of course, were eliminated by Duke. So, that is a good sign for the Blue Devils.
The No. 3-seed Tigers paired their shooting prowess with the No. 4 field goal percentage defense in the country (34.4), which is better than UCLA’s mark of 36.1. However, the Bruins have a slightly superior 3-point defense (28.2) when compared to LSU (28.6).
The Blue Devils need to be efficient enough from downtown to keep pace with UCLA. They were 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) against the Tigers, obviously hitting the most important 3 at the buzzer, courtesy of Ashlon Jackson.
I’m looking to Jordan Wood in particular to have a big game from beyond the arc. Wood comes off the bench and leads Duke with a 37.7-percent clip. She only has 29 makes on the season, but that’s enough to prove that she’s reliable. She was 5-for-5 in the Blue Devils’ opening-round win over No. 14-seed Charleston. She will need to avoid another 0-for-2 performance, which is what she posted against both No. 6-seed Baylor, in the second round, and LSU.
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After Wood, Taina Mair (42 makes), Riley Nelson (42) and Toby Fournier (18) all have solid clips (between 34 and 35 percent). Jackson leads Duke with 73 makes, but at a somewhat less efficient conversion rate of 31.3. Like Wood, she will need to step up and be at her normal percentage or better. Notably, she’s been better in the past, shooting 36.8 percent with 142 makes over the previous two seasons.
For the Bruins, so much of this tournament has been, and will continue to be, mental.
They are better on paper compared to every other team except one, and a little hungrier than that one team, meaning that, if they play their best basketball, they should win the national championship. It’s all about remaining even-keeled and taking it one possession at a time.
The Bruins have consistently said that it is championship or bust, and have talked about staying together and focused. They know most of this is mental. They’ve got a good shot of making the Final Four for the second year in a row (and second time ever) if they don’t look past Duke.
