Half of the college women's basketball Sweet Sixteen field is set, after top NCAA tournament seeds tallied blowouts, survived scares, and saw more than a few star performances through the first few days of 2026 March Madness action.
With one more day of second-round play left, all of the bracket's No. 1 through No. 4 seeds remain safe, with No. 1 Texas, No. 2 LSU, No. 2 Michigan, and No. 3 Duke among the standouts advancing to next weekend's third round.
"You want to start playing your best basketball at this time," LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson said. "You want to start clicking — you want everything to look seamless."
It hasn't all been smooth sailing, however, as No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Minnesota both saw close calls before punching their Sweet Sixteen tickets on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs eked out a 62-59 win over No. 6 Washington in overtime, while the Gophers needed a buzzer beater from guard Amaya Battle to defeat No. 5 Ole Miss 65-63.
"She hits those shots every day in practice over our scout guys," said Battle's teammate Mara Braun. "Everyone, I think, knew that it was in."
How to watch March Madness teams vie for the last Sweet Sixteen spots
The second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament continues with No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 3 Louisville at 12 PM ET on Monday, airing live on ESPN.
