The NCAA Tournament bracket is set, and the first games tip off Wednesday. From now until April 2, it’s all about college basketball.

Whether you’re a diehard fan or watching for the first time, Just Women’s Sports has everything you need to know about March Madness.

Who will win it all?

This is a season where the favorite has separated itself from the rest of the 68-team field. Of course, March is mad for a reason, so anything can happen. But South Carolina has all the tools to repeat as champions.

The Gamecocks are 32-0 heading into the tournament, and they have answered every test they have faced this season. Led by Aliyah Boston, the reigning POY, DPOY and Final Four Most Outstanding Player, South Carolina has talent and experience. Four of five starters from last year’s squad are back to chase another title.

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𝐼𝓉'𝓈 𝒪𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁...

Back-to back No. 1 seeds. We're goin' dancin!! 💃 pic.twitter.com/CQZwggF6ZK

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) March 13, 2023

Who could play Cinderella?

The best thing about Cinderella teams is that they usually come out of nowhere, so don’t be surprised when someone outside of these selections makes a run. That being said, UNLV, Middle Tennessee, Gonzaga and Princeton all have a create chaos.

UNLV

The Rebels are seeded at No. 11 because of their conference (Mountain West) and their poor strength of schedule. But if you watch UNLV, the talent is clear. All five players can create their own shots, they run the floor well, and can overwhelm opponents with athleticism.

Middle Tennessee

This team has a tough matchup in the first round with sixth-seeded Colorado, but the 11th-seeded Blue Raiders know how to win big games. They topped Louisville earlier this year and took care of business in Conference USA, winning 18 games. Middle Tennessee is dangerous because of the way the team shares the ball. Six players contribute at least 7 points per game, and four of them average double-digits.

Gonzaga

The Zags makes a point to schedule tough opponents outside of conference play. This year, they played Louisville, Marquette, Tennessee and Stanford, so they won’t be rattled by big-name opponents. Plus, they are experienced, with a starting five made up of all juniors and seniors.

Princeton

The Tigers made a splash last season when they beat Kentucky in the first round and then nearly knocked off Indiana. This time around, Princeton is missing Abby Meyers, who transferred to Maryland, but this team still has the goods to surprise its opponents. Kaitlyn Chen, the Ivy League POY, will lead the charge. She’s averaging 15.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Hearing your name on Selection Sunday never gets old.

We’re going dancing in Salt Lake City, Utah against No. 7 seed NC State!#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/YwBYRr9hbo

— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 13, 2023

Five players you might not know, but should

Desi-Rae Young, UNLV

The Las Vegas native is a problem in the paint, averaging 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 59.7 percent from the field. She anchors a talented UNLV team with strength, athleticism and excellent footwork inside. Young can also face up and take opponents off the dribble, making her a potential mismatch for defenders.

Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado

The Buffs have had an excellent season thus far in no small part because of their point guard. Sherrod is one of the toughest players in the country. She will attack anyone off the dribble, play through injuries and has a motor that never quits.

Katie Dinnebier, Drake

The sophomore and former Miss Iowa Basketball has a habit of coming up big for her team in the most crucial moments. In the MVC Tournament quarterfinal, when Drake trailed by 8 points in the fourth, Dinnebier went on a scoring rampage, pouring in 13 of her 19 points in the final four minutes and 30 seconds.

Yarden Garzon, Indiana

Despite playing for one of the top teams in the country, Garzon has managed to stay under the radar all season. The 6-3 freshman is a complete player who does a bit of everything for the Hoosiers. She averages 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Garzon has also been a starter all season, and despite being thrust into a big role, her youth never showed.

Gianna Kneepkens, Utah

In high school, Kneepkens scored 3,704 points, an insane number. She took her scoring prowess to college, where she puts up 15.4 points per game for one of the country’s best offensive teams. The sophomore has a true scorer’s mentality and is always hunting her shot. She can score from long range or off the bounce at the rim.

🚨𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐂-12 🚨 Congrats, G ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ptuYOuLfUZ

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 28, 2023

Six teams to watch, and why

Who to watch if you love scoring: Utah

The Utes are fourth in the country in points per game with 83.5, and they score in a variety of ways. Utah is a fun offensive team because it features both posts and guards who can score. Everyone can shoot 3s, and everyone can attack off the dribble. Who could forget the 124 points the Utes dropped on Oklahoma earlier this season?

Who to watch it you love efficiency: Indiana

Indiana just plays good basketball. Things start inside with Mackenzie Holmes, who shoots 68.8 percent from the field (second in the country) and scores 22.3 points per game. But the efficiency doesn’t stop with Holmes. As a team, Indiana shoots 49.8% from the field (also second in the country) and has a 1.42 assist to turnover ratio (seventh in the country).

Who to watch if you love 3-pointers: Florida Gulf Coast

The Eagles make 11.7 3-pointers per game, which is first in the country. The closest another NCAA Tournament team comes to that mark is Creighton, which makes nearly two less a contest at 9.8.

Who to watch if you love star power: Iowa

Between her overall talent and the way she interacts with the crowd, Caitlin Clark is a bonafide star. Tune in to watch her shoot from the logo, throw full-court passes and put up triple-doubles. In her last outing, Clark led Iowa to the Big Ten title with 30 points, 17 assets and 10 rebounds.

Who to watch if you love a favorite: South Carolina

The Gamecocks won last year’s national title, and they are favored to do the same this season. They enter the tournament with an undefeated 32-0 record, and are beating their opponents by an average of 30.3 points (first in the country).

After securing spots on the Best XI First Team on Monday, Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga, Washington's Croix Bethune, and Orlando's Emily Sams picked up even more 2024 NWSL awards this week.

On Friday, KC striker Chawinga added 2024 MVP to her stacked resume, one day after Bethune and Sams snagged their respective position awards.

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A striking first NWSL season for KC's Chawinga

It's almost impossible to believe that 2024 was Chawinga's first NWSL season, but the newly minted MVP only joined Kansas City in January.

The Malawi international blasted into the league's history books with 20 goals this year, ousting former NWSL star Sam Kerr from atop the single-season scoring record.

That effort earned the Current star the 2024 Golden Boot. She additionally notched league first along the way, becoming the only player to ever score against all teams in a single season.

Proving herself 2024's leader in capitalizing on opportunities, the 26-year-old took the second-most shots in the league but put the most on target. A menace in the box, her subsequent speed and agility helped Chawinga lead the NWSL with 18 of her 20 goals netted from inside the 18.

"We are so proud of Temwa for earning this award," said KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski on Friday. "Temwa has come so far this season in a short amount of time and is so important to our team, she is the clear MVP of both our team and the league."

Bethune's unmatched NWSL rookie debut

Speaking of history-making first-year NWSL players, Washington standout Bethune became a bonafide league star in her professional debut, one that earned her three end-of-season awards. Along with her Best XI First Team nod, Bethune became the 2024 Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, then capped her individual hardware haul by being named the NWSL's first-ever Midfielder of the Year on Thursday.

As the No. 3 overall pick in the last-ever NWSL Draft, the Georgia alum made her presence on the professional pitch immediately known, snagging Rookie of the Month honors for every month she was eligible. She also became the first rookie to ever notch three assists in a single match.

Bethune, who also won Olympic gold with the USWNT in August, notched five goals and an NWSL record-tying 10 assists in her 2024 campaign. Even more impressively, the Spirit star did so in just 17 games, missing the last nine matches after a late-August injury ended her season.

"I'm so grateful," Bethune told JWS at NWSL Championship Media Day in Kansas City after winning Midfielder of the Year. "Being out a lot of the season with injury [and] being able to achieve goals that I set for myself — thank you to the league and everyone who supports me."

Sams named top NWSL defender

After helping Orlando lead the NWSL with 13 shutouts, fewest goals conceded, and most consecutive minutes without giving up a goal, center back Sams was named 2024 Defender of the Year (DOTY) on Thursday, becoming the first Pride player to earn the honor.

Sams now joins an elite club of seven defenders to ever win the award, including four-time DOTY Becky Sauerbrunn and last year's back-to-back winner Naomi Girma.

Shield-winners Orlando led the NWSL this season, but Sams topped the Pride's backline, leading the club in clearances, blocks, and possessions in the defensive third. Plus, the 25-year-old notched the second-most recoveries on the NWSL's stat sheet with 163, and she'll look to continue shutting down opponents when Orlando faces Washington in Saturday's 2024 NWSL Championship.

Individual numbers aside, Sams was quick to share credit with her teammates on Thursday, saying, "this is literally impossible without all of you guys. Shout out to Anna, Kylie, Bells, Corey and everyone else who played on the backline this year — I can't do what I do without you guys. Lets go win the championship."

2024 NWSL end-of-season awards

• Golden Boot: Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
• MVP: Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
• Rookie of the Year: Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit
• Midfielder of the Year: Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit
• Defender of the Year: Emily Sams, Orlando Pride
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Ann-Katrin Berger, Gotham FC
• Coach of the Year: Seb Hines, Orlando Pride

The 2025 SheBelieves Cup field is officially set, as the world No. 1 USWNT's path to a sixth-straight victory in the annual tournament will feature matchups with 2024 Olympians No. 7 Japan, No. 15 Australia, and No. 21 Colombia.

After the Paris Olympic Games forced an abbreviated four-match, two-day format in 2024, this 10th edition will return to the tournament's original setup of three double-headers in February. Round-robin play will again determine the Cup champion via accumulated points, with goal differential serving as tiebreaker.

The 2025 tournament will kick off at Houston's Shell Energy Stadium on February 20th. The quartet will then battle at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on the 23rd before wrapping up the Cup at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium on the 26th.

A history of USWNT SheBelieves dominance

While Australia and Colombia will make their SheBelieves Cup debuts, the 2025 competition will be Japan's third straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the US-hosted tournament.

Other than France's 2017 victory and England's 2019 title, the USWNT has won all other iterations for a total of seven trophies.

That streak, plus their astounding 71-2-15 combined all-time record against the three visitors — marred only by single 1-0 losses to Japan in 2012 and Australia in 2018 — make the US heavily favored to win an eighth SheBelieves Cup.

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World-class contenders square off for SheBelieves

That said, it won't be easy, as every 2025 contender poses a challenge. Each has already played the USA this year, starting when Colombia fell 3-0 to the States in their Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal in March.

Las Cafeteras didn't have to face the eventual gold medalists during the 2024 Olympics, unlike Australia and Japan. The USWNT knocked the Matildas out of the Paris tournament with a 2-1 win in group play, then narrowly escaped a tough Nadeshiko side in a 1-0 overtime quarterfinal thriller.

All three visiting teams will be gunning for a redemption win over the US come February. That high-stakes competition is something US head coach Emma Hayes welcomes.

"This will be my first SheBelieves Cup, but I’ve followed the tournament, and it always produces close games between top teams," the US boss said in Wednesday’s announcement.

"All four of these teams were in the last World Cup and Olympics, and all are in the building process to qualify for the next World Cup, so to get three games against talented teams and players in a format that replicates group play at a world championship is valuable in our process. All the games will be great tests for the teams and fun for all the fans."

The full 2025 SheBelieves Cup schedule for the USWNT

• Thursday, February 20th (Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas)
  • Japan vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Colombia, 8 PM ET
• Sunday, February 23rd (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona)
  • Colombia vs. Japan, 2 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
• Wednesday, February 26th (Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California)
  • Australia vs. Colombia, 7:30 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Japan, 10:30 PM ET

How to watch the USWNT at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup

Tickets for all 2025 SheBelieves Cup dates and locations are currently available online.

For those unable to make the trip, all USWNT matches will air live on TBS, with the three non-US games will be available to stream on Max.

At least two of the nation's best NCAA basketball teams will see their undefeated 2024/25 campaigns end this weekend, when a pair of cutthroat college clashes tests the limits of four championship contenders.

First, No. 6 Notre Dame will visit No. 3 USC on Saturday, before No. 1 South Carolina takes on the Trojans’ crosstown rival No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.

Saturday's NCAA showdown features superstar sophomores

All eyes will be on preseason All-American sophomore guards JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo when the Irish contend with their season's first ranked opponent on Saturday.

Already a phenom, Watkins became the fastest Trojan to 1,000 career points last Friday — and she did it by a mile. The previous record-holder, legend Cheryl Miller, needed 48 games to hit the same mark.

As for Hidalgo, she's already hit the century mark across Notre Dame’s four matchups to average 25 points per game — the fifth-best offensive rate in the country.

The Irish's other secret weapon, guard Olivia Miles, is also back, returning from her February 2023 ACL tear with a vengeance in the Irish's season opener. Already averaging 18.3 points per game, Miles has also banked 27 assists over Notre Dame's four games — more than twice that of any of her teammates.

Between Hildago and Miles, plus ND's admittedly lopsided matchups so far, the South Bend squad has blasted their opponents by a 42.5-point average scoring margin this season.

It's a similar story for USC, who have been on a tear since their narrow 68-66 season-opening win over then-No. 20 Ole Miss. The Trojans thrashed their next three opponents by outscoring them by a gobsmacking average of 57 points.

The Trojans will need all that offense, plus the stylings of Watkins and All-American forward Kiki Iriafen, to handle the Irish on Saturday. Notre Dame holds the 8-2 all-time series advantage between the two teams, though they haven't squared off since 2011. Should USC emerge victorious, it will be their first win over the Irish since 2006.

Sunday puts powerhouses in the paint

The subsequent Sunday battle between UCLA and South Carolina — who set a program-record 43-game win streak on Wednesday — will likely be decided in the paint, where both team's superstars thrive.

The Gamecocks' depth keeps their stat sheet fairly balanced, making junior forward Chloe Kitts’s team-leading rates in scoring and rebounding that much more impressive.

That said, her UCLA counterpart, junior center Lauren Betts, has been dominant. By averaging a double-double across the Bruins' four tilts with 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, Betts is already sparking National Player of the Year commentary.

Both squads began their 2024/25 campaigns with tight wins, but while UCLA's came over then-No. 17 Louisville, South Carolina was nearly shocked by unranked Michigan. On the other hand, the Gamecocks are the only team to have handled a Top-10 opponent so far this season, confidently downing then-No. 9 NC State just six days after their near-disaster with the Wolverines.

Sunday's showdown kicks off a gauntlet of four ranked matchups in five games for South Carolina. Even though UCLA haven't defeated the Gamecocks this century, the Bruins are the biggest challenge to the reigning champions' undefeated streak on their 2024 docket.

Depending on which version of South Carolina shows up, a combination of the bigs and each team's overall consistency will likely determine Sunday's victor.

How to watch this weekend's Top-6 NCAA basketball games

Notre Dame and USC will tip off the weekend's matchups at 4 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on NBC.

On Sunday, FS1 will broadcast South Carolina vs. UCLA at 4 PM ET on Sunday.

On today's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins joins the chat from Kansas City, where Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit will kick off the 2024 NWSL Championship on Saturday.

Watkins breaks down the full Championship matchup, from each team's path to the Final to the tactics to expect on Saturday's pitch and everything in between. She also dishes on key players to watch — including Pride star Barbra Banda and Spirit attacker Trinity Rodman — and some of the recent injuries keeping star athletes on the sidelines.

Later, Watkins congratulates UConn head coach Geno Auriemma on Wednesday's record-breaking 1,217th victory — one that made saw him pass retired Stanford boss Tara VanDerveer to become the winningest college basketball coach in NCAA history.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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