This year’s NCAA tournament feels different, and it’s not just because it’s the first in a bubble. Rather, for the first time in a long time, it really feels like it’s anyone’s tournament to win.

The last time we watched March Madness in 2019, only No. 1 and No. 2 seeds made the Elite Eight. And in the last 20 years, there hasn’t been a single Final Four without at least two No. 1 seeds.

But this bracket is jam-packed with teams that could stay a few extra weekends, from one seeds (is it a hot take to pick NC State?) to three seeds (don’t forget about Tennessee’s victory over South Carolina) to five seeds (we see you Caitlin Clark and Iowa).

With games starting on Sunday, March 21, here are our first reactions to the 2021 NCAA tournament draw.

No. 1 seed with the toughest path

When it comes to tournament spoilers, Stanford has multiple of their side of the bracket. Second seeded Louisville might have the country’s best player in Dana Evans. Three seeded Georgia has a mean, physical, and experienced defense. Fourth seeded Arkansas has knocked off UConn and Baylor (more on this below). And Five seeded Missouri State came back from 16 to beat Maryland.

The Alamo region! #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/Wz2wNlzse4

— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 15, 2021

Stanford will have some tough games down the road — that is, if they can even make it out of the second round. The Cardinal will have to face off against either Oklahoma State and Natasha Mack, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, or Wake Forest and their four players averaging double-digit points.

There’s a reason Stanford was ranked as the number one overall seed, but don’t let the headlines deceive you. This will not be an easy journey back to the Final Four for the Cardinal.

The non-top two seed with the best chance to win it all

How about No. 4 Arkansas? The Razorbacks have wins over Baylor and UConn, and lost to Texas A&M twice by a total of three points. They can score in a hurry, averaging 83.1 points per game, fourth-best in the country, despite playing in the SEC. They also have a born scorer in Chelsea Dungee, who lives at the free-throw line and attacks the basket without any regard for the defenders in front of her. Dungee dropped 37 points on UConn, and she can do it again. Just ask Ole Miss, whom she torched for 38 points five games later.

CHELSEA DUNGEE. ALL GAS NO BRAKES 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WfoeragYjk

— espnW (@espnW) January 29, 2021

The problems with Arkansas? They’re on the stacked side of the bracket, are 2-6 against top-25 teams, and, for as much as Arkansas can score, they allow opponents to score just as much. In an early-season match-up against Maryland, they gave up 115 points — the Terrapins’ highest-scoring outing of the year. But if this Arkansas team gets hot or Dungee fights her way to the free-throw line 17 times (as she did against Ole Miss), they can beat anyone in the bracket — as they’ve already shown.

Team with the most Cinderella potential

Who doesn’t like watching a team fly up and down the court chucking threes? That’s what you’ll get with Florida Gulf Coast University. Riding a 25-game win streak, the Eagles’ offense averages an NCAA-best 11.9 three-point field goals per game, while they limit opposing three-point shooters to 25.3% on the other end.

Here's some sights from our travel day to San Antonio! 🌴 pic.twitter.com/svJ4KA1ufv

— FGCU Women's Basketball (@FGCU_WBB) March 17, 2021

Their only two losses came early in the season against Missouri State and Arkansas, games they played without their leading scorer Kierstan Bell, an Ohio State transfer who averaged 24.3 points and 10.8 rebounds this year. When Bell finally did return, Florida Gulf Coast scored 70 points and beat a UCF squad that typically holds teams to 49.9 points per game — the best in the country. The 11th seeded Eagles are a tad undersized, without a true forward or anyone above 6-foot-1 on their roster, but, at full strength, no one in the country has beaten them.

Best conference champion to not make the tournament

That’s right. A team won their conference championship and won’t be making the trip to San Antonio. But it’s not because of COVID or NCAA violations. It’s because they’re still in the process of reclassifying to Division I.

We’re talking about Cal Baptist here, the only team in the country to have an undefeated record after they went 24-0 this season and swept the WAC. Previously a Division II team, Cal Baptist must wait a total of four years before hearing their name called on the Selection Show. In the meantime, they’ll have to settle for a WNIT bid. See you in 2023, Lancers fans.

US skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is officially back, clinching her spot on Team USA's 2026 Winter Olympics roster this week behind stellar recent performances on the sport's World Cup tour.

The 41-year-old made headlines two weekends ago when she became the oldest Alpine Ski World Cup winner since the circuit's 1967 inception, taking first in the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on December 12th — her 83rd World Cup victory.

"Every single thing that I could do to be faster, I did," said Vonn after winning the downhill event. "And now, now this is what happens. You get the reward."

Vonn is continuing to rack up the rewards, claiming podium finishes in four of the five total races she's competed in so far this season, earning another second-place downhill finish in St. Moritz before taking third in both downhill and the Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, last weekend.

As for her fifth World Cup race, Vonn clocked in at a still-impressive fourth.

"Four podiums in five races, I couldn't really be any happier," the Olympic gold medalist said in response.

Those finishes have the US ski legend sitting at No. 1 in the World Cup downhill standings and No. 3 in the Super-G — with her downhill ranking putting her far enough ahead to guarantee Vonn one of the four Team USA roster spots at the 2026 Olympics.

"Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication," said US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, confirming Vonn's Team USA qualification in a Tuesday statement. "She's proven once again that elite performance isn't just about past success, it's about rising to the moment, race after race."

Success spurs Vonn to extend final competitive season

Returning to competitive skiing in November 2024 following her retirement in February 2019, Vonn spent part of her five-year hiatus undergoing and recovering from a titanium knee replacement that ultimately returned her to the slopes.

Though Vonn previously planned to retire immediately after February's Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, she's now setting her sights on completing the World Cup circuit in March — though that will officially be the end of the road for the US icon.

"I feel like I'm rolling the dice enough as it is, being 41 and putting myself through this," Vonn told The Athletic. "So this is a one-season, final season."

That said, she'll look to add to her trio of Olympic medals before hanging up her competitive skis.

"For Cortina, things are looking pretty f—ing awesome."

The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.

"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."

While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.

With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.

Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.

The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.

The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.

Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.

The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.

Monday's AP Top 25 Poll featured few dramatics, as the Week 8 tally reflected another consistent slate from the 2025/26 NCAA basketball elite with only one shift in the Top 10 and marginal movement at the bottom.

Undefeated TCU keeps making gains, rising one spot to tie Oklahoma at No. 8 after taking down Big 12 foe Kansas State 77-55 behind senior guard Olivia Miles's 29-point performance on Saturday.

On the other hand, a 90-64 loss to No. 1 UConn on Saturday saw Iowa skid three spots, with the now-No. 14 Hawkeyes falling to a 1-2 record against ranked opponents this season.

Outside the relatively stationary Top 10, some blue chip programs are threatening to exit the AP Poll entirely after dropping ranked games last weekend.

Baylor experienced the greatest slide, dropping seven spots to No. 22 after falling 61-60 to Big 12 rival and rankings newcomer No. 21 Texas Tech on Sunday — the Bears' third loss in their season's four ranked games so far.

Tennessee saw a similar dip, plummeting six spots to No. 23 after losing to a surging No. 13 Louisville 89-65 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

The ranked action returns on Sunday, as No. 4 UCLA visits No. 19 Ohio State at 2 PM ET, live on the Big Ten Network.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 8

1. UConn (12-0, Big East)
2. Texas (14-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (12-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (11-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (13-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (10-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (13-0, Big Ten)
T8. TCU (13-0, Big 12)
T8. Oklahoma (12-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (13-0, Big 12)
11. Kentucky (12-1, SEC)
12. Vanderbilt (12-0, SEC)
13. Louisville (12-3, ACC)
14. Iowa (10-2, Big Ten)
15. Ole Miss (12-2, SEC)
16. UNC (11-3, ACC)
17. USC (9-3, Big Ten)
18. Notre Dame (9-2, ACC)
19. Ohio State (11-1, Big Ten)
20. Nebraska (12-0, Big Ten)
21. Texas Tech (14-0, Big 12)
22. Baylor (11-3, Big 12)
23. Tennessee (8-3, SEC)
24. Michigan State (11-1, Big Ten)
25. Princeton (12-1, Ivy)

USWNT star Catarina Macario could be on the move, with ESPN reporting Monday that numerous interested NWSL teams may make a play for the 26-year-old Chelsea FC forward in 2026.

Macario's contract with the reigning six-time WSL champions expires on July 1st, though FIFA regulations allow her to sign with a new club as early as January, with other European clubs expected to join hopeful NWSL teams in the race.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Despite leading the USWNT with eight goals in 2025, Macario did not dress for Chelsea's recent UWCL league-phase finale against Wolfsburg last week, with the attacker starting just six of the Blues' 11 WSL matches so far this season.

Should an NWSL club make an offer, its viability could hinge on the league's current salary cap dispute, with the Board of Governors suggesting the adoption of a "High Impact Player" rule to help teams keep or attract big names.

However, the NWSL Players Association came out against the mechanism last week, pushing instead to raise the overall cap to match any potential special relief.

Though a Macario NWSL deal is mere speculation at the moment, leagues on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to grapple with the demands of retaining or drawing top talent in the increasingly competitive — and expensive — global women's game.