If you read my full NCAA Tournament bracket picks earlier this week, you’ve already seen the first-round matchups to keep an eye on. But the excitement of the tournament doesn’t end on Saturday (thank goodness), and there are plenty of storylines to hold the interest of even a casual fan.

So, let’s break down the potential matchups in each region.

Greensboro

Second round: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 North Carolina

I mentioned on Monday that I think UNLV has the potential to give Arizona trouble in the first round. If the Wildcats get past the Rebels, they’ll have another tough opponent in the Tar Heels.

UNC is a consistent team that upset a great Louisville squad late in the season, proving they have what it takes to top elite competition. Led by sophomore guards Deja Kelly (15.9 points per game) and Alyssa Ustby (13.2 ppg, 8.6 rebounds per game), and aided by a rebounding advantage, UNC moves on.

Sweet 16: No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 3 Iowa State

There’s nothing quite like a regular-season rematch in the NCAA Tournament. This one has extra intrigue because the two teams are instate rivals. Iowa State topped Iowa 77-70 on Dec. 8, led Ashley Joens’ 25 points.

But that Iowa team and the one playing now couldn’t be more different. The Hawkeyes blasted through the end of the season, winning eight straight, including the Big Ten tournament championship. And unlike when they were struggling early in the season, it’s no longer just the Caitlin Clark show. Everyone on this squad is playing at a high level, and because of that, they top the Cyclones and move into the Elite Eight.

Elite Eight: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Iowa

All of that brings me to another juicy matchup. The committee loves a good narrative, and so do I, which is why this game has the potential to be one of the best of the tournament. Caitlin Clark vs. Aliyah Boston, the two favorites for National Player of the Year, will take the court against each other, trying to get their teams to the Final Four. In the end, South Carolina has more weapons, and the guard duo of Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson will give the Gamecocks a leg up.

Wichita

Second round: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Oregon

Oregon is a team with the potential to be great. The Ducks have all the pieces and, at times, they’ve come together — a Jan. 17 win over UConn being the prime example. But now that the tournament has come around and they still haven’t realized their full potential, I’m thinking twice about the Ducks even getting past Belmont in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Tennessee looked great for most of the season, before dropping seven of their last 12 games. At least part of that slide can be attributed to leading scorer Jordan Horston hurting her elbow on Feb. 17. If the Vols are healthy, they should handle Oregon. If not, this region could get a lot more interesting.

Second round: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 7 Ole Miss

Watching Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith and Ole Miss’ Shakira Austin battle in the paint will be intense. But Baylor has more pieces, particularly shooters, to keep the Ole Miss defense honest around doubling and sagging on Smith. That gives Baylor the edge.

Sweet 16: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Michigan

This one, a rematch of Michigan’s 74-68 overtime win on Dec. 19, features another elite post matchup between Smith and Naz Hillmon. Leigha Brown led the Wolverines with 25 points in that contest, and the Bears shot just 22.2 percent from 3. Expect Baylor to have a better defensive game plan and a better performance from beyond the arc. Add those together, and Baylor has the upper hand.

Sweet 16: No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 4 Tennessee

Now, here is a spot in the bracket where I start to question myself. Louisville has been outstanding this season, and as I mentioned earlier, Tennessee has fallen off as of late. So why am I picking Tennessee in this matchup? The Vols have a height advantage with 6-foot-6 Tamari Key, leading to second-chance points and one-shot possessions. The Vols also have athletic defenders to slow down Louisville’s guards. Player to player, this is a good matchup for the Vols, and they just have to play their game.

Spokane

Second round: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech

Stanford should win this game, but it’s going to get messy. The Yellow Jackets have pulled off several upsets this season thanks to intense on-ball defense, holding opponents to 51.9 points per game as the fifth-best scoring defense in the country. The toughest thing for Stanford is that it’s impossible to replicate Georgia Tech’s defense in practice; the real thing is always more chaotic. That said, Stanford is certainly experienced enough to handle the pressure. The scoreline might be closer than the Cardinal would like, but Stanford will come out on top.

Second round: No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 Ohio State

This matchup is one between great guards: LSU’s Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris vs. OSU’s Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell. LSU has an advantage inside with Faustine Aifuwa going up against OSU’s Rebeka Mikulasikova. Aifuwa’s 44 blocks this season will give the Buckeyes something to think about when they drive to the hoop.

Sweet 16: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 Maryland

When these two teams played back in November, Stanford came away with a lopsided 86-67 win. But Maryland was short-handed, dressing only seven players, and Angel Reese struggled. She was 2-for-13 from the field and played just 15 minutes before fouling out. On the other side, Cameron Brink played just nine minutes due to illness.

In other words, we didn’t see the full potential of this matchup. Maryland has serious offensive firepower, averaging 78.1 points per game, but the Terrapins can’t match up with Stanford defensively. Because of that, I’m going with the Cardinal.

Sweet 16: No. 3 LSU vs. No. 2 Texas

Texas freshman Rori Harmon has been incredible all season, but in the Big 12 Championship she was on another level, scoring 30 points against Iowa State and 20 against Baylor. With her attacking, Aliyah Matharu coming off the bench (12.5 points per game) and Lauren Ebo in the paint, Texas has a complete offense. That, plus their overwhelming defense and unrelenting pace of play, will send the Longhorns to the Elite Eight.

Elite Eight: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 2 Texas

When these teams met in November, it was Texas’ coming-out party. The Longhorns forced Stanford into 20 turnovers and just 35.4 percent shooting (14.8 percent from 3). Since then, the Cardinal have figured out their rotation and gotten healthy. Now, Stanford will be ready for Texas’ speed and pressure. The Cardinal will get revenge, and a Final Four appearance.

Bridgeport

Second round: No. 1 NC State vs. No. 9 Kansas State

This tournament is full of exciting post matchups, and NC State vs. Kansas State boasts two of the best bigs in the country in Elissa Cunane and Ayoka Lee. The Wolfpack got the better of this matchup back in November, in a 90-69 win, and I don’t think that changes this time around.

Second round: No. 3 Indiana vs. No. 6 Kentucky

There is no team hotter than Kentucky right now, but with Mackenzie Holmes finally looking healthy, Indiana is too good at every position. Expect the maturity and poise of the Hoosiers to be a factor as they move on to the Sweet Sixteen.

Sweet Sixteen: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Indiana

With Paige Bueckers back and Azzi Fudd starting to peak, UConn is the team we thought it would be heading into the season. Injuries allowed Bueckers’ teammates to get some much-needed experience, and now everyone is playing at a high level. Expect a player like Christyn Williams to have a huge performance as IU throws all of its resources at Bueckers. Plus, with a short bench, Aaliyah Edwards (6-foot-3) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6-5) will be too much for the Hoosiers to handle.

Elite Eight: No. 1 NC State vs. No. 2 UConn

Unlike a lot of teams in the country, UConn has the personnel to defend Cunane. The Huskies will also be able to go toe-to-toe with NC State’s guards, and their overall talent will prevail.

Final Four

No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 2 UConn

The Cardinal and the Huskies have met six times in the Final Four and 18 times total since 1988. UConn holds an 11-7 advantage, and I expect the Huskies to add another win to that list. Like with NC State, UConn has the personnel to guard Brink in the paint. And when it comes to overall talent and athleticism, the Huskies have the edge over the Cardinal. Haley Jones could give them problems with her versatility, but UConn takes this one by a slim margin.

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Baylor

I don’t anticipate this game to be as close. Baylor may have the best player on the floor in Smith, but Boston hasn’t been stopped all season. That won’t change against Baylor, and the Gamecock guards also have a leg up over Baylor’s.Their ability to attack and draw fouls will impact this game enough to send them to the championship.

Championship

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 UConn

Apart from two bumps in the road (losses to Missouri and Kentucky), South Carolina has been consistently elite this season. That tells me the Gamecocks have the tools to go all the way. Meanwhile, UConn has been tested with injuries and upsets, but the healthy Huskies can get right back to where basketball fans are used to seeing them.

This game comes down to overall talent. Both squads have star power, but South Carolina doesn’t have a weak spot on the floor. One through five, the Gamecocks are too talented for even the Huskies to stop, giving Dawn Staley’s squad a second NCAA title banner to add to their collection.

Eden Laase is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. She previously ran her own high school sports website in Michigan after covering college hockey and interning at Sports Illustrated. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.