The NCAA Tournament’s first weekend is for introductions and recalibration. Its second weekend is when everything intensifies.
Women’s March Madness levels up with neutral-site regional semifinals. The four Friday matchups have rich narrative arcs and real stylistic tension. Unblemished Connecticut battles a plucky UNC outfit in Fort Worth, Texas. No. 1 UCLA draws red-hot Minnesota, Blanket Lady and all, out west in Sacramento, Calif.
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The Vanderbilt-Notre Dame game showcases two pure scorers. And Duke earns its rematch with LSU as a completely remade team. Here’s what to know before tuning in to Day 1 of the Sweet 16.
All times ET.
Women’s March Madness schedule for Sweet 16, Day 1
Date: Friday, March 27
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
|
Game |
Time |
TV |
Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Vanderbilt vs. Notre Dame |
2:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Fubo (Watch Now) |
|
UConn vs. North Carolina |
5 p.m. |
ESPN |
Fubo (Watch Now) |
|
UCLA vs. Minnesota |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Fubo (Watch Now) |
|
LSU vs. Duke |
10 p.m. |
ESPN |
Fubo (Watch Now) |
ESPN programs are also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Notre Dame
Fort Worth 1 Region
Mikayla Blakes is on an absolute heater for her Commodores. The shifty sophomore guard dropped a 30-piece in the round of 64. She was one assist short of a 25-point triple-double in the round of 32. Blakes is a sure-fire star in the making, and she has a chance to lift Vanderbilt to its first Elite Eight berth since 2002. Head coach Shea Ralph, a disciple of the great Geno Auriemma, installs efficient offense with modest tempo.
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Hannah Hidalgo is a bucket in her own right. Notre Dame’s nexus finished with 26 points in a second-round upset of Ohio State, and she arrives with an absurd 16 steals across two tournament rounds. The junior has two Sweet 16 exits in two postseasons; Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey is trying to avoid her fifth straight loss in this round.
Both Blakes and Hidalgo hail from New Jersey. Their head-to-head possessions should be riveting.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 North Carolina
Fort Worth 1 Region
The secret is out — UConn is really, really good. Connecticut storms into the Sweet 16 at a flawless 36-0, second in points per game and first in points allowed. Auriemma’s juggernaut beat UTSA by 38, then knocked out Syracuse by 53.
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The program has typified excellence in women’s basketball throughout the 21st century. The current iteration is four wins from yet another perfect season.
How does a team lose Paige Bueckers and remain world-shatteringly good? It starts with All-American talents Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, the latter of whom is this year’s only unanimous first-team selection. Still just a sophomore, Strong is shooting 60 percent from the field and about 42 percent behind the arc, while racking up nearly five stocks (steals + blocks) per game. Her output is as dominant as it is balanced.
UNC has to pull out all the stops, then somehow find new stops and pull those out as well. Courtney Banghart’s Tar Heels stifled Maryland into terrible 32/13 percent shooting splits last round. Their defense takes risks to generate turnovers. Their offense is balanced around glass-cleaning senior Nyla Harris, Finnish jump shooter Elina Aarnisalo and long-range specialist Lanie Grant.
North Carolina is solid across the board. It just needs to be so much more to hang with the Huskies.
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No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Minnesota
Sacramento 2 Region
This is the first of two rematches on Friday’s Sacramento slate. UCLA comfortably defeated Minnesota back on Jan. 14, but heightened stakes and sudden momentum make this a new challenge.
UCLA has been a wire-to-wire force at 33-1. The Cori Close crew is exceptional in perimeter action, and decorated center Lauren Betts creates perpetual second chances off the boards. Betts is one of five Bruins near the top of The Athletic’s WNBA mock draft — alongside sleek initiator Kiki Rice, green-light shooter Gianna Kneepkens, versatile wing Gabriela Jaquez and pro-ready passer Charlisse Leger-Walker.
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Minnesota is the undeniable underdog against such a stacked lineup. Still, the Golden Gophers are feeling themselves after their propulsive game-winner. Amaya Battle buried a last-second jumper to seal the second-round comeback versus Ole Miss. The Barn went into bedlam.
The Gophers are fundamentally sound, ranking fourth in both turnover percentage and defensive rebounding rate. They’re also slow, down to 323rd in adjusted tempo on Bart Torvik. They’ll have to be near perfect on those limited possessions, or else coach Dawn Plitzuweit will have to get creative and junk up a major upset. Regardless, the program can take pride in its second-weekend status.
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke
Sacramento 2 Region
Duke fell to a dispirited 3-6 when it lost to LSU on Dec. 4. Since then, the Blue Devils have won 23 of 25 games, claiming both the ACC’s regular-season and tournament championships in a total about-face. Kara Lawson is steadying the sideline; Toby Fournier is assertive in the paint. They just beat sixth-seeded Baylor by 23.
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Much respect is due to those in blue. But even with realized potential, do they have enough to stay alongside the sport’s best scoring offense?
No one puts up more points per game than Kim Mulkey’s Tigers, and yes, that includes mighty UConn. LSU dropped 116 (!) on Jacksonville last Friday. It went for another 101 versus Texas Tech on Sunday. The Duke defense is worlds better than those lower seeds, but Friday’s scoreboard operator should keep fresh thumbs regardless.
The stars are title-tested, too — three-level scorer Flau’jae Johnson was a starting freshman on the 2023 national championship squad, and bench spark MiLaysia Fulwiley cut the nets with South Carolina in 2024. A 2026 run is still on the table, so long as Fournier and the Blue Devils don’t flip it over with their newfound strength.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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