[More region breakdowns: Spokane 1 | Birmingham 2 | Birmingham 3]
With the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament upon us, here’s everything you need to know about the Spokane 4 region.
Who are the favorites?
No. 1 seed USC is not the betting favorite from the Spokane 4 region. That honor would go to No. 2 seed UConn.
Armed with two-time All-American and former National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers and All-Big East guard Azzi Fudd, the Huskies have the second-shortest odds in the entire field to win the tournament, just behind two-time reigning champion and Birmingham 2 No. 1 seed South Carolina (+260). Having a coach in Geno Auriemma who’s won 11 national titles also doesn’t hurt.
USC, meanwhile is a not-insignificant underdog in the region it was seeded to win. This may explain why USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was so perturbed by her team’s draw despite earning a 1 seed.
After USC and UConn, the odds get notably longer. This is a two-team race.
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When will the No. 1 seed go down?
See above. USC earned a No. 1 seed, but will be an underdog if it reaches a regional final matchup against UConn. The Huskies are under-seeded despite a 31-3 campaign and 18-0 romp through the Big East.
It’s not just betting lines that support the Huskies. Per NET rankings, UConn is the best team in the country. USC ranks sixth in NET. UConn doesn’t have the record against Quad 1 opponents (5-3) that the No. 1 seeds boast (South Carolina: 16-3; Texas: 14-3; UCLA; 13-2; USC: 13-3), which probably explains why UConn is on the No. 2 line. But you can only beat the teams that you play, and UConn did a lot of winning.
[Click for NCAA women’s printable bracket]
One team UConn didn’t beat? USC. The Trojans edged the Huskies, 72-70, in December — in Hartford. USC has three more wins against top-10 teams — two against UCLA and one against Ohio State. And USC counters Paige Bueckers with JuJu Watkins, a reigning All-American and the current Big Ten Player of the Year.
So UConn will be the favorite in a hypothetical regional final. But this will be one of the most anticipated games of the tournament if both teams advance.
Who is the Cinderella of the region?
Cinderellas are traditionally tougher to come by in the women’s bracket than the men’s. Only one team seeded 14-16 has ever recorded a win in the women’s tournament (No. 16 Harvard over No. 1 Stanford in 1998). But if you’re looking for a double-digit seed to make some noise, you can do worse than No. 10 South Dakota State, which faces No. 7 Oklahoma State in the first round.
The Jackrabbits went 29-3 this season and haven’t lost since December. They rate reasonably well in the analytics department with a NET ranking of 44. If winning one game qualifies as a Cinderella, SDSU is a decent bet.
Biggest upset of the region?
No. 11 Murray State is also a team capable of pulling off an early upset. The Racers finished 25-7 as MVC champions and enter tournament play on a 10-game winning streak. They feature three All-MVC players in forward Katelyn Young and guards Haven Ford and Halli Poock.
They have a decent analytics profile with a NET ranking of 51 and could. An upset of No. 6 Iowa would be a tall task, but not out of the realm of possibility.
Players to watch
The injuries that stunted Bueckers’ career are in the rearview, and hopefully, strictly a thing of the past. The former freshman sensation who was named National Player of the Year in her first year in Storrs just completed a Big East Player of the Year campaign in her second full season back from injury.
Last year, she was a first-team All-American and projects to be one again this season in addition to being an NPOY candidate. She’s a star in the truest sense of the term and capable of leading UConn to its first NCAA championship since 2016.
Enter Watkins, who projects to join Bueckers as a first-team All-American and NPOY candidate. Watkins burst onto the scenes as a freshman last season and led the Trojans past Bueckers’ Huskies in the Elite Eight into the Final Four.
Watkins led the Pac-12 in scoring as an All-American freshman and leads the Big Ten in scoring this season a sophomore. She’s a two-way sensation who averages 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. Like Bueckers, she’s a bonafide star who projects as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft when she’s eligible and declares.
Amoore is a difference maker. A fifth-year senior, Amoore transferred to Kentucky last offseason after four seasons at Virginia Tech that included a third-team All-America campaign in her final season in Blacksburg. In her first season in Lexington, Amoore earned first-team All-SEC honors while leading the Wildcats to their first NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons as a No. 4 seed.
She averages 19.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. A potential Sweet 16 matchup against Watkins and USC looms.
East region game schedule, tip times (all times EDT)
No. 1 USC vs. No. 16 UNC Greensboro (Los Angeles, Saturday, 3 p.m. | ABC)
No. 8 Cal vs. No. 9 Mississippi State (Los Angeles, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. | ESPN2)
No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Fairfield (Lexington, Friday, 2:30 p.m. | ESPNews)
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Liberty (Lexington, Friday, noon | ESPN)
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Murray State (Norman, Saturday, noon | ESPN)
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast (Norman, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU)
No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 South Dakota State (Storrs, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2)
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Arkansas State (Storrs, Saturday, 1 p.m. | ABC)
Who makes it to Tampa?
If chalk plays out, we’ll be treated to a championship-worthy matchup in the Elite Eight. It’s not so great for USC or UConn. But it would be great for fans. Picking a winner won’t be easy. But if forced to do so, we’ll give the slight edge to UConn.
