Is this the weekend that we see some madness meander through the NCAA Women’s Tournament bracket?
It could use some spice. Some upsets. Some last-second shots. Some teams moving on that you don’t expect to move on. Some teams going home that didn’t expect to go home. There’s been little of that on the women’s side through the first two rounds of March Madness.
Heading into the Sweet 16, which runs Friday and Saturday before the Elite Eight arrives, the women’s tournament has seen all four No. 1 seeds, all four No. 2s and all four No. 3s (all of whom played at home) breeze through the first two rounds. The only zag has been victories by three No. 5 seeds, which joins a No. 4 (we see you, Maryland) in the second weekend.
Does this bracket hold through (and true) for another two days of tournament play or is it time for it to get busted?
Stay tuned.
Seedy Things: March Madness 2025: No. 2 and No. 3 seeds take over Sweet 16
March Madness predictions
Sweet 16
Spokane 1 Regional
∎ No. 1 UCLA over No. 5 Ole Miss: Center Lauren Betts and guard Kiki Rice combined for 53 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in a second-round win over Richmond.
∎ No. 3 LSU over No. 2 North Carolina State: You do know the Tigers are worth watching for more than coach Kim Mulkey’s sideline style choices, right?
Spokane 2 Regional
∎ No. 1 USC over No. 5 Kansas State: Time for the Trojans to prove they’re more than just standout guard JuJu Watkins.
∎ No. 2 Connecticut over No. 3 Oklahoma: Visiting the Sweet 16 for a record (and ridiculous) 31st consecutive season, the Huskies know well how to do this dance.
Birmingham 1 Regional
∎ No. 1 South Carolina over No. 4 Maryland: The Gamecocks have won nine straight games all by double digits — ranging from 11 points to 60.
∎ No. 2 Duke over No. 3 North Carolina: A Tobacco Road rivalry that saw the teams split their two regular-season matchup goes to streaking Duke, which has won eight straight.
Birmingham 2 Regional
∎ No. 1 Texas over No. 5 Tennessee: The Longhorns have done it with defense, forcing an average of 19 turnovers with 10 steals a game in their two NCAA Tournament contests.
∎ No. 3 Notre Dame over No. 2 TCU: Don’t look now, but the Irish have rediscovered their swagger in winning their first two tournament games by an average of 36.5 points.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: March Madness predictions as NCAA Women’s Tournament field is down to Sweet16
