NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket breakdown, best games, players to watch

Surprise, praise and criticism — mainly from South Carolina — came swiftly on Selection Sunday, the unofficial start of March Madness.

The field of 68-teams for the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament was unveiled, with UCLA earning the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

"I'm a little bit surprised because we manufactured our schedule and put ourself in a position to be the No. 1 overall seed. I do think if you do the blind test and you put our resume against any other team in the field, I think you will pick us. It's plain and simple," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said Sunday.

South Carolina, Texas and USC also earned No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament, which officially starts this week.

BRACKET REVEAL: Women’s March Madness bracket reveal live updates here

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

Women’s First Four games tip off on Wednesday and Thursday, with the winners advancing to the first round, which begins Friday. First-round games (March 21-22) and second-round games (March 23-24) will be hosted at campus sites, with the top four seeds in each of the four regions hosting.

The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Florida, with semfinal games on April 4 (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET). The championship game will tip off April 6 (3 p.m. ET). ABC will broadcast the title game for the third consecutive year.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, including a breakdown of each region, the best first-round games, players to watch and the first four out. For a printable bracket, click here.

SPOKANE REGION 1

No. 1 UCLA vs. UC San Diego/Southern winner
No. 8 Richmond vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech
No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Ball State
No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon
No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 George Mason
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 San Diego State
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Harvard
No. 2 NC State vs. No. 15 Vermont

Will this be the season that UCLA women’s basketball finally breaks through and advances to the Final Four? The Bruins have advanced as far as the Elite Eight twice (1999, 2018) and Sweet Sixteen nine times, most recently last season, but have never played on the final weekend. UCLA only dropped two games this season, both to crosstown rival USC, but the Bruins got their revenge in the Big 10 Championship game, overcoming a 13-point deficit to defeat the Trojans to reclaim the No. 1 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: UCLA C Lauren Betts (19.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.9 bpg); LSU F Aneesah Morrow (18.5 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 1.4 apg); Florida State G Ta'Niya Latson (24.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.7 apg); NC State G Saniya Rivers (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 spg)

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 San Diego State: The Tigers have limped to the NCAA Tournament with stars Flau'Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow both dealing with lingering injuries. (Both were wearing boots during the Selection Sunday broadcast). San Diego State has no Quad 1 wins this season, but they are streaking and enter the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak.

BIRMINGHAM REGION 2

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech
No. 8 Utah vs. No. 9 Indiana
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 Green Bay
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Norfolk State
No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Columbia/Washington winner
No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Oregon State
No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Oregon
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Lehigh

South Carolina has been the top overall seed of the NCAA Tournament every year since 2021, until now. The defending champions still earned a No. 1 seed, but based on the looks of their watch party, they aren't happy about it. The Gamecocks may have “earned” the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament by way of a coin flip, but South Carolina showed their place at the top was no fluke. South Carolina handedly defeated Texas in the conference championship to win its third straight SEC title following a big game from tournament MVP Chloe Kitts, who is red-hot heading into March Madness. The Gamecocks have won seven consecutive games since a blowout loss to UConn on Feb. 16 and are looking to keep the momentum going to win their fourth NCAA tournament championship in eight years.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: South Carolina F Chloe Kitts (10 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2 apg); Duke F Toby Fournier (13.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg); Duke Oluchi Okananwa (10.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.8 apg); Vanderbilt G Mikayla Blakes (23.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg); Maryland F Shyanne Sellers (14.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.2 apg)BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech: Tennessee Tech will be tasked with slowing down a South Carolina team that has a little bit of extra motivation after being snubbed for the No. 1 overall seed. The Gamecocks will come out and make a statement. You won't want to miss.

BIRMINGHAM REGION 3

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 High Point/Washington winner
No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 9 Creighton
No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 South Florida
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Montana State
No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Iowa State/Princeton winner
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin
No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Nebraska
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 15 Farleigh Dickinson

Texas was the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll on March 4, but the Longhorns’ disappointing loss in the SEC championship game to South Carolina — their second loss to South Carolina this season — knocked Texas down a couple of pegs. The selection committee still rewarded the Longhorns with a No. 1 seed, but their path to their first NCAA women's basketball championship since 1986 just got that much more difficult with Notre Dame and TCU in their bracket. Texas lost to Notre Dame in December, but the Fighting Irish have struggled as of late, ending the regular-season on a two-game skid and faltering late in the ACC tournament. But you can't count out Notre Dame’s elite backcourt, powered Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo; and don't forget TCU's duo of Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Texas F Madison Booker (16.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 apg); Michigan G Syla Swords (16.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.5 apg); Notre Dame G Hannah Hidalgo (24.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.7 spg); TCU C Sedona Prince (17.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 3.0 bpg); Ohio State G Jaloni Cambridge (15.4 ppt, 4.4 rpg, 3.9 apg)

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME:No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Nebraska: Louisville fell to Duke in the ACC quarterfinals, but the Cardinals beat the Blue Devils in February and have an impressive win against Florida State. Nebraska, however, has more Quad 1 wins (4-10) than Louisville (2-9) this year and will be on upset watch.

SPOKANE REGION 4

USC got the best of its crosstown rival and top overall seed UCLA in both of their regular-season matchups, and despite falling in the Big Ten tournament final, the Trojans have a formidable resume. USC has arguably the best player in college basketball in Juju Watkins, who has been rewriting the history books. Can Watkins lead USC to its first NCAA title since 1984? The Trojans will have to go through the UConn Huskies, again. The Huskies, led by Paige Bueckers, ousted the Trojans in the Elite Eight last year, but USC defeated UConn in December.

No. 1 USC vs. No. 16 UNC Greensboro
No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Mississippi State
No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Fairfield
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Liberty
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Murray State
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast
No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 South Dakota State
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Arkansas State

PLAYERS TO WATCH: USC G JuJu Watkins (24.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.5 apg); USC F Kiki Iriafen (18.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 apg); UConn G Paige Bueckers (19 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.9 apg); Kansas State G Serena Sundell (13.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 7.1 apg); Kentucky G Georgia Amoore (19.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 6.9 apg)

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Mississippi State: Cal lost to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament semifinal, but the Bears will look to bounce back against Mississippi State. The 8-9 games are always toss-ups and this one could be no different as has three Quad 1 wins this season.

First Four Out

The First Four out of the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament are, in alphabetical order, Colorado, James Madison, Saint Joseph's and Virginia Tech.

2025 women's First Four schedule

All times Eastern

Wednesday, March 19

No. 11 Iowa State vs. No. 11 Princeton, 7 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 16 UC San Diego vs. No. 16 Southern, 9 p.m. | ESPN U

Thursday, March 20

No. 11 Columbia vs. No. 11 Washington, 7p.m. | ESPN2
No. 16 High Point vs. No. 16 William & Mary, 9 p.m. | ESPN2

2025 women's NCAA Tournament schedule

First round: March 21-22
Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: Friday, April 4, 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women's NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, best games, players

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