The 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament ended in an action-packed final weekend, from two thrilling semifinal matchups on Friday to LSU’s national championship win against Iowa on Sunday.

While we’re still waiting on ratings for Sunday’s title game on ABC, the rest of the tournament shattered records. The Final Four game between Iowa and South Carolina averaged 5.5 million viewers, the most for a semifinal on ESPN networks and the most-viewed college basketball game (men’s or women’s) on ESPN since 2008.

The women’s tournament is currently included in a TV deal with 28 other sports’ NCAA tournaments. But that contract with ESPN expires in 2024, and the momentum of women’s basketball could give the tournament its own TV deal in the upcoming bargaining cycle.

“I think the biggest opportunity there — and I would argue that the investments that have been made in the women’s game have had a tremendous return to the women’s game and to the players and the coaches and everybody else — is the fact that the timing on the bid associated with this is perfect,” new NCAA president Charlie Baker told reporters Saturday. “Basically, this thing is going out this year and it’s going out on the heels of what will have been the most successful tournament…

“Let’s see what the market thinks it’s worth. I think the market is going to think it’s worth a lot.”

2023 NCAA Tournament: Top storylines from March Madness

March 29 — Caitlin Clark wins Naismith Player of the Year

Iowa star Caitlin Clark beat out reigning winner Aliyah Boston for the Naismith Player of the Year award.

While leading her team to the Final Four, Clark has averaged 8.6 assists per game, which puts her first in the NCAA in that category. She also ranks first in 3-pointers per game (3.53) and triple-doubles (five this season) and third in points per game (27.3). The Hawkeyes guard is the only player in the country to average more than 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Boston may have lost the top award to Clark, but she took home the Defensive Player of the Year award for the second season in a row. The South Carolina center is ranked in the top five in the country in both offensive and defensive player rating.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has been named the Naismith Coach of the Year for the second season in a row, as she has led the defending champions to an undefeated record and a third straight Final Four berth.

ONE OF ONE.

Caitlin Clark is the 2023 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TtGc4o6gVJ

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) March 29, 2023

March 26 — Inflate-gate: LSU questions air level in basketballs

After a poor offensive showing from both teams in LSU’s 54-42 win against Miami in the Elite Eight, the third-seeded Tigers questioned the inflation levels of the basketballs.

LSU shot 30.2% from the field in their win, while Miami shot 31.6% from the field. The teams combined to go 1-for-27 from 3-point range, with that one 3-pointer coming from LSU’s Kateri Poole in the fourth quarter.

“They need to take some air out of the ball,” Poole told The Athletic. “It’s too much and I think everyone’s shot has been off lately.”

The men’s tournament has featured similar complaints about the basketballs, including from overall No. 1 seed Alabama.

“We need to check those balls out, because it’s not even fun for me to watch the men play,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “I mean, knockdown shots is normal for men and they’re just rattling all over the rim.

“It’s happening to both teams, so it’s not like one team has an advantage. But I know Alexis Morris’s ball handling skill and she’d bring the ball up, and all of a sudden you’d see that thing just jump off the floor.”

March 25 — Ohio State ends drought, snaps UConn streak

The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated UConn, 73-61, to earn a spot in their first Elite Eight since 1993. With the win, Ohio State simultaneously ended UConn’s streak of consecutive NCAA Final Fours, which dated back to 2007.

March 24 — Miami, LSU, Iowa, and Louisville book tickets to Elite Eight

The first four games of the Sweet 16 were filled with plenty of drama, beginning with No. 9 Miami upsetting No. 4 Villanova. With the win, Miami becomes just the second No. 9 seed to qualify for the Elite Eight of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

March 21 — ACC and SEC lead Sweet 16 slate

The ACC and SEC each had four teams advance to the Sweet 16, tied for the most of any conference in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

While the Big Ten and Pac-12 dominated the Associated Press Top 25 poll for much of the season, each of those conferences came up just short, with three teams each in the Sweet 16. The Big East has the final two in UConn and Villanova.

LSU star Angel Reese defended the strength of her team’s conference after her Tigers won their second-round game against No. 6 seed Michigan, and then No. 8 seed Ole Miss stunned No. 1 seed Stanford.

“But the SEC was light this year???” she tweeted Sunday night during the Ole Miss victory. “OH OK.”

March 18 — Seven upsets highlight first round

Seven first-round games were won by the lower seed. No. 12 seeds Florida Gulf Coast and Toledo pulled off the biggest upsets, with FGC defeating No. 5 Washington State, 74-63, and Toledo bumping off No. 5 Iowa State, 80-73.

Here’s the full list of first round upsets:

• No. 10 Georgia 66, No. 7 Florida State 54
• No. 11 Mississippi State 81, No. 6 Creighton 66
• No. 9 South Dakota State 62, No. 8 USC 57 (OT)
• No. 10 Princeton 64, No. 7 NC State 63
• No. 9 Miami 62, No. 8 Oklahoma State 61
• No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 74, No. 5 Washington State 63
• No. 12 Toledo 80, No. 5 Iowa State 73

March 18 — Baylor records historic comeback

Baylor needed a historic comeback to emerge from the first round of the 2023 NCAA basketball tournament. Trailing by 18 points against Alabama, No. 7 seed Baylor went on to win the game, 78-74. The 18-point deficit is tied for third largest comeback in NCAA tournament history.

“Wow, we were really bad in the first quarter and really good after that,” Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said.

Two other teams managed 16-plus point comebacks Saturday, with Miami coming back from a 17-point deficit and Ohio State reversing a 16-point margin.

“Not how I expected March Madness to start but cheering my girls on today – just a stomach bug & I’ll be back asap,” Brink wrote on Instagram.

NC State point guard Diamond Johnson will miss the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament due to injury, she revealed Thursday night on social media.

The junior is dealing with an ankle injury, which has kept her off the court since Feb. 16. Still, the Wolfpack had planned for her possible return, and indeed her absence at the end of the regular season was aimed at giving her enough time to recover ahead of the postseason, according to coach Wes Moore.

“I will not be playing in the NCAA Tournament this weekend and wanted to let everyone know,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “I have been rehabbing my injury and taking it week by week, although it hasn’t been easy my support system has helped me get to this point both mentally and physically.”

No. 7 seed NC State will start its tournament run against No. 10 Princeton at 10 p.m. ET Friday at Utah’s Jon M. Huntsman Center.

March 16 — Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson out for NCAA Tournament

Florida State will be without its leading scorer in Ta’Niya Latson for the NCAA Tournament, the team announced Thursday.

Latson missed the Seminoles’ most recent game, a loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, but Florida State has not released any information about the injury. The freshman guard led the team with 21.3 points per game this season.

Sophomore guard O’Mariah Gordon also will miss the NCAA Tournament due to injury. Gordon averaged 6.9 points per game for the Seminoles.

March 16 — Geno Auriemma: ‘If we weren’t called UConn, we’d be a No. 1’

Geno Auriemma’s UConn teams had earned a No. 1 seed in 13 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments before this year. But the Huskies will begin this round of March Madness with a No. 2 seed.

While the team also was a No. 2 seed in 2022 and 2019 (and made it to the Final Four in each of those seasons), the legendary program is not used to playing second fiddle. And the Huskies only did not claim a top seed this year because they are being judged relative to their own high bar, Auriemma said.

“I think if we weren’t called UConn, we’d be a No. 1,” the coach said after the bracket reveal.

The Huskies have dealt with injuries, big and small, all season, which hampered their chances at a No. 1 seed. Star sophomore guard Azzi Fudd missed much of the regular season with a knee injury but returned for the Big East Tournament.

Auriemma called the No. 2 seed “expected” despite the disappointment, though he is not looking forward to the trip to Seattle for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight should his team make it that far.

March 13 — Holy Cross faces travel trouble ahead of first round

The No. 15 seed Crusaders are set to face No. 2 seed Maryland at 2:15 p.m. ET Friday at the Terrapins’ home arena in College Park — 393 miles from their home in Worcester, Mass.

Unfortunately for Holy Cross, that distance comes in just under 400 miles. The NCAA will reimburse schools for charter flights of 400 miles or more, so the Crusaders’ trip does not make the cut.

With a snowstorm expected in Massachusetts, the team could not find enough space on commercial flights, so the Crusaders may have to turn to a train or a bus, Stadium analyst Jeff Goodman reported.

Complete results from the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

First Four Results and Scores

• Wednesday, March 15:
  • Mississippi State 70, Illinois 56
  • Sacred Heart 57, Southern 47

• Thursday, March 16:
  • St. John’s 66, Purdue 64
  • Tennessee Tech 79, Monmouth 69

First Round Results and Scores

• Friday, March 17:
  • No. 8 South Florida 67, No. 9 Marquette 65 (OT)
  • No. 7 Arizona 75, No. 10 West Virginia 62
  • No. 10 Georgia 66, No. 7 Florida State 54
  • No. 1 South Carolina 72, No. 16 Norfolk State 40
  • No. 2 Maryland 93, No. 15 Holy Cross 61
  • No. 6 Michigan 71, No. 11 UNLV 59
  • No. 3 Notre Dame 82, No. 14 Southern Utah 56
  • No. 2 Iowa 95, No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana 43
  • No. 3 LSU 73, No. 14 Hawaii 50
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech 58, No. 14 Chattanooga 33
  • No. 11 Mississippi State 81, No. 6 Creighton 66
  • No. 1 Stanford 92, No. 16 Sacred Heart 49
  • No. 2 Utah 103, No. 15 Gardner-Webb 77
  • No. 9 South Dakota State 62, No. 8 USC 57 (OT)
  • No. 10 Princeton 64, No. 7 NC State 63
  • No. 8 Ole Miss 71, No. 9 Gonzaga 48

• Saturday, March 18:
  • No. 1 Indiana 77, No. 16 Tennessee Tech 47
  • No. 4 Tennessee 95, No. 13 Saint Louis 50
  • No. 3 Ohio State 80, No. 14 James Madison 66
  • No. 9 Miami 62, No. 8 Oklahoma State 61
  • No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 74, No. 5 Washington State 63
  • No. 2 UConn 95, No. 15 Vermont 52
  • No. 12 Toledo 80, No. 5 Iowa State 73
  • No. 6 North Carolina 61, No. 11 St. John’s 59
  • No. 4 Villanova 76, No. 13 Cleveland State 59
  • No. 7 Baylor 78, No. 10 Alabama 74
  • No. 6 Colorado 82, No. 11 Middle Tennessee 60
  • No. 5 Louisville 83, No. 12 Drake 81
  • No. 5 Oklahoma 85, No. 12 Portland 63
  • No. 3 Duke 89, No. 14 Iona 49
  • No. 4 Texas 79, No. 13 East Carolina 40
  • No. 4 UCLA 67, No. 13 Sacramento State 45

Second Round Results and Scores

• Sunday, March 19:
  • No. 1 South Carolina 76, No. 8 South Florida 45
  • No. 2 Iowa 74, No. 10 Georgia 66
  • No. 3 Notre Dame 53, No. 11 Mississippi State 48
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech 72, No. 9 South Dakota State 60
  • No. 2 Maryland 77, No. 7 Arizona 64
  • No. 2 Utah 63, No. 10 Princeton 56
  • No. 3 LSU 66, No. 6 Michigan 42
  • No. 8 Ole Miss 54, No. 1 Stanford 49

• Monday, March 20:
  • No. 3 Ohio State 71, No. 6 North Carolina 69
  • No. 4 Tennessee 94, No. 12 Toledo 47
  • No. 5 Louisville 73, No. 4 Texas 51
  • No. 4 Villanova 76, No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 57
  • No. 9 Miami 70 No. 1 Indiana 68
  • No. 6 Colorado 61, No. 3 Duke 53 (OT)
  • No. 2 UConn 77, No. 7 Baylor 58
  • No. 4 UCLA 82, No. 5 Oklahoma 73

Sweet 16 Results and Scores

• Friday, March 24: 
  • No. 9 Miami (Fla.) 70, No. 4 Villanova 65
  • No. 3 LSU 66, No. 2 Utah 63
  • No. 2 Iowa 87, No. 6 Colorado 77
  • No. 5 Louisville 72, No. 8 Ole Miss 62

• Saturday, March 25:
  • No. 2 Maryland 76, No. 3 Notre Dame 59
  • No.1 South Carolina 59, No. 4 UCLA 43
  • No. 3 Ohio State 73, No. 2 UConn 61
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech 73, No 4 Tennessee 64

Elite Eight Results and Scores

• Sunday, March 26:
  • No. 3 LSU 54, No. 9 Miami 42
  • No. 2 Iowa 97, No. 5 Louisville 83

• Monday, March 27:
  • No. 1 South Carolina 86, No. 2 Maryland 75
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech 84, No. 3 Ohio State 74

Final Four Results and Scores

• Friday, March 31
  • No. 3 LSU 79, No. 1 Virginia Tech 72
  • No. 2 Iowa 77, No. 1 South Carolina 73
• Sunday, April 2
  • No. 3 LSU 102, No. 2 Iowa 85