March Madness is back for its second weekend of action, with the Sweet 16 tipping off a stacked slate to determine the 2026 Final Four contenders — with top seeds primed to collide throughout the bracket.
No. 2 seed LSU faces No. 3 Duke in Friday's nightcap, with the bounce-back Blue Devils looking to avenge their early December 93-77 loss to the Tigers.
"They're not the same team, we're not the same team," said Duke senior Ashlon Jackson. "That is a great team, great coach, great players. I would love to see our development over the months that it's been since we played them."
Both Duke and LSU have blown through the first two rounds of the tournament on 20- and 56-point average margins of victory, respectively, as Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson and Tigers boss Kim Mulkey crank up the postseason heat.
"I've gotten to the Elite Eight [every year] since I got to LSU," said Tigers guard Mikaylah Williams, who arrived in Baton Rouge just after the team won the 2023 national title. "It would be lovely for me to get past the Elite Eight and make it to the Final Four. We're almost there."
Despite Duke's recent surge, Las Vegas is currently leaning toward the SEC titans, favoring LSU by 8.5 points over the ACC underdogs.
How to watch Duke vs. LSU in the Sweet 16
The No. 2 Tigers will tip off against the No. 3 Blue Devils at 10 PM ET on Friday, airing live on ESPN.
In the 44-year history of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, only three No. 3 seeds have won a national title — with the rest of the March Madness champions representing No. 1 or No. 2 seeds.
This year's crop of third-seeded challengers is aiming to break the mold even further by adding their names to that elite list.
No. 3-seeds Duke, Louisville, TCU, and Ohio State all earned first-round hosting duties following strong conference tournament runs, and each team now looks to turn their late-season momentum into deep March Madness campaigns.
"We don't get to control the length of our adversity…. You get to control who you are in it," Duke head coach Kara Lawson said ahead of her team's 2026 ACC tournament win.
Mirroring NCAA women's basketball history's trio of No. 3 champions — UNC (1994), Tennessee (1997), and LSU (2023) — this year's batch has its own dangerous qualities.
Duke showcases a strong commitment to defense and Louisville has honed their ability to stretch the floor while TCU and Ohio State have exhibited stellar guard play from the point of attack all season long.
How to Watch the NCAA's No. 3 seeds in Women's March Madness
Duke tips off the first round of the 2025/26 NCAA women's basketball tournament against No. 14 Charleston at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, airing live on ESPN2, with TCU taking on No. 14 UC San Diego 30 minutes later on ESPN.
No. 3-seeds Ohio State and Louisville will similarly kick off Saturday's first-round slate, as the Buckeyes take on No. 14 Howard at 11:30 AM ET on ESPN2 before the Cardinals face No. 14 Vermont at 12 PM ET on ESPN.
Duke captured its second consecutive ACC tournament championship with Sunday's 70-65 overtime victory over Louisville. The No. 13 Blue Devils overcame a late deficit to defeat the No. 12 Cardinals in the first overtime title game in 17 years.
Duke's Taina Mair earned tournament MVP honors with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Delaney Thomas put up 19 points of her own. Riley Nelson finished with 12 points plus the game-winner.
Louisville led 60-58 with seconds remaining in regulation, before Thomas converted a layup with four seconds left to tie the game at 60. Mair then blocked a Louisville shot at the buzzer to force the game into overtime.
Duke seized control in the extra period, as Thomas gave the Blue Devils the lead for good with another layup. Nelson then buried a corner 3-pointer with six seconds remaining to seal the victory. The shot came as the shot clock expired.
Imari Berry led Louisville with 18 points, while Mackenly Randolph recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds over 45 minutes of playing time.
Duke finished the season 24-8 overall and 16-2 in conference play. The Blue Devils started the season 3-6 before turning things around under coach Kara Lawson, going on to win 21 of their final 23 games heading into Selection Sunday on March 15th.
Ending on a 27-7 over all record, Louisville now awaits its NCAA Tournament seeding.
The 2026 ACC Tournament also named its all-tournament first team, with Mair, Nelson, Berry, Randolph, and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo making the cut. Duke's Toby Fournier, Delaney Thomas, and Ashlon Jackson earned second-team honors alongside Louisville's Laura Ziegler and Syracuse's Uche Izoje.
The ACC saw some fireworks over the weekend, as the conference's two top-ranked basketball squads stumbled in their regular-season finales.
First, 2025/26 ACC regular-season champions No. 12 Duke fell to rival No. 21 North Carolina 74-69 on Sunday, after two Blue Devil starters — forwards Toby Fournier and Delaney Thomas — fouled out of the game.
The No. 10 Louisville Cardinals also struggled in a 65-62 loss to unranked Notre Dame, with star guard Hannah Hidalgo dominating with 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals to help continue the Fighting Irish's late-season surge.
With only three ACC teams in the AP Top 25 Poll, Sunday's results indicate a wide-open field heading into this week's conference tournament.
Clemson and Virginia both earned ranked wins just over one week ago, while Notre Dame now enters the postseason on a five-game winning streak.
"We are a team that, no matter what, we're going to get to work the next day," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey told reporters. "The sense of urgency went to an all-time high in February."
How to watch the 2026 ACC women's basketball tournament
While the conference's top seeds — No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 UNC, and No. 4 NC State — earned byes into Friday's quarterfinal round, the 2026 ACC tournament will tip off with teams fighting to extend their seasons at 11 AM ET on Wednesday, airing live on the ACC Network.
UConn women's basketball and Duke announced a three-game series starting in November 2026, with the college basketball giants releasing details about the marquee matchups this week.
The series is set to tip off in Boston's TD Garden starting November 26th, 2026, marking the first regular-season meeting between the two programs since 2022. UConn will then visit Duke in Durham during the 2027/28 NCAA season before Duke travels to Connecticut for the 2028/29 regular-season finale.
"Boston is a city that lives and breathes championship basketball," said TD Garden president and Boston Bruins EVP/COO Glen Thornborough. "Hosting these two powerhouse programs gives fans the chance to experience the very best of the women's game on one of basketball's most iconic stages."
UConn last faced Duke in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where the Huskies defeated the Blue Devils 53-45.
The teams rank among the winningest in women's college basketball history, with UConn tallying 1,322 victories while Duke's accumulated 1,075 — combining for a total of 2,397.
The news comes as Duke rides significant momentum into Champ Week, claiming the ACC regular-season title for the first time in 13 years this week. The Blue Devils subsequently clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC women's basketball tournament, tipping off March 4th.
For its part, Big East regular-season champion UConn continues building an already-legendary program with high-profile non-conference scheduling.
The upcoming series gives fans more opportunities to watch elite women's basketball, with both programs consistently competing for national championships while developing future professionals.
Where to watch UConn women's basketball this weekend
UConn will cap its regular-season run agains St. Johns on Sunday at 7:30 PM ET, live on TNT.
The NCAA women's basketball regular season ends on Sunday, with the weekend delivering a stacked lineup despite most conferences already crowning the champions of their 2025/26 campaigns.
No. 3 South Carolina won their fifth straight SEC title on Thursday night, joining No. 1 UConn (Big East), No. 2 UCLA (Big Ten), No. 11 TCU (Big 12), and No. 12 Duke (ACC) as the major conferences' top regular-season finishers heading into Champ Week.
"They knew [the title] was at stake," Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said after her team's 112-71 win over Missouri. "We've been mentioning just wanting it outright and doing it on our home court in front of the fans that really have supported us to the nth degree."
Titles aside, the season isn't quite over yet, as Sunday rivalries serve as postseason appetizers for teams banking on deep playoff runs.
Duke tips off Sunday's NCAA slate against in-state nemesis No. 21 UNC, before TCU battles fellow Texas standout No. 18 Baylor and UCLA takes on SoCal neighbor USC.
"It's been amazing to watch the program grow," said Bruins guard Gabriela Jaquez. "That's a reason we all came here, is to do things UCLA has never done before."
How to watch Sunday's NCAA women's basketball rivalries
No. 12 Duke will visit No. 21 North Carolina at 12 PM ET before No. 11 TCU hosts No. 18 Baylor at 4 PM ET, both airing live on ESPN.
Then at 6 PM ET, No. 2 UCLA will close out their season at USC, with live coverage on FS1.
Duke is racing up the NCAA women's basketball Top 25, rising six spots to No. 11 in Monday's AP Poll after extending their winning streak to 15 games.
Buoyed by Thursday's upset win over No. 9 Louisville, the Blue Devils also claimed the ACC's top spot last week, climbing the conference standings after flipping the script on what was a concerning 3-6 season start.
"Now we're just locked in on getting better," Duke head coach Kara Lawson said, after the Blue Devils turned their early-season struggles into one of the NCAA's hottest runs. "In my experience, when you do that consistently, you get consistent results."
Elsewhere in Monday's AP Poll, UConn remained the unanimous No. 1, tallying all 31 first-place votes after a week that saw the Huskies defeat DePaul by 46 points and Butler by 32.
UConn has now won 20 straight games by at least 25 points — the longest 25-point margin-of-victory streak by any Division I team in more than 25 years.
No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 Texas also held steady behind the Huskies, with the Bruins remaining undefeated in Big Ten play after eking out a narrow win over No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.
On the other hand, No. 15 Iowa experienced the poll's biggest stumble, dropping five spots after suffering a three-game losing streak.
How to watch Duke basketball in action
The No. 11 Blue Devils will next face in-state rival No. 21 UNC, with the Tar Heels visiting Durham at 1 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.
2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 14
1. UConn (25-0, Big East)
2. UCLA (23-1, Big Ten)
3. South Carolina (24-2, SEC)
4. Texas (23-2, SEC)
5. Vanderbilt (23-2, SEC)
6. LSU (22-3, SEC)
7. Michigan (20-4, Big Ten)
8. Ohio State (22-3, Big Ten)
9. Louisville (22-4, ACC)
10. Oklahoma (17-6, SEC)
11. Duke (18-6, ACC)
12. Baylor (21-4, Big 12)
13. Michigan State (20-4, Big Ten)
14. Ole Miss (19-5, SEC)
15. Iowa (18-5, Big Ten)
16. Texas Tech (22-3, Big 12)
17. TCU (21-4, Big 12)
18. Kentucky (18-7, SEC)
19. West Virginia (20-5, Big 12)
20. Maryland (19-6, Big Ten)
21. North Carolina (20-5, ACC)
22. Tennessee (15-6, SEC)
23. Alabama (20-5, SEC)
24. Princeton (19-2, Ivy)
25. Washington (18-6, Big Ten)
The ACC women's basketball title race is heating up, as No. 17 Duke earned a one-game conference lead by upsetting No. 6 Louisville 59-58 on Thursday night.
The Blue Devils' defense clinched the win while Duke sophomore forward Toby Fournier led all scorers with 15 points and nine rebounds on the night — with a missed free throw from Louisville sophomore guard Imari Berry sealing the deal in the game's final seconds.
"They were physical and we shied away a little bit from it instead of just going into them and drawing fouls," Cardinal senior forward Laura Ziegler said postgame.
After a slow season start, Duke has blazed through the ACC, with the Blue Devils now riding a 14-game winning streak to an undefeated conference record.
As for the Cardinals, Thursday's loss broke Louisville's own 14-game winning streak just days after the team reached their highest AP Poll ranking in four years.
That said, Louisville has an arguably lighter slate across their final six regular-season games than the Blue Devils, with the Cards fiercest foe coming from their Sunday clash with ACC third-place team Syracuse.
Meanwhile, Duke's final docket includes intrastate foe and fourth-place ACC squad NC State, as well as a pair of games against rival No. 25 UNC — though the Blue Devils are banking on ending on an upswing.
"Our goal has always been to be the team that grows the most during the season," said Duke head coach Kara Lawson. "And if each individual buys into that and the team buys into that, we will like where we are at the end of the year."
How to watch Duke and Louisville in ACC basketball action this weekend
Both Louisville and Duke will continue their ACC schedules on Sunday, with the No. 6 Cardinals taking on Syracuse at 12 PM ET before the No. 17 Blue Devils host SMU at 2 PM ET.
Both conference clashes will air live on The CW.
A major winter storm moving from New Mexico to New England has caused significant changes to the women’s college basketball calendar this weekend, with several teams adjusting their schedules ahead of predicted snow and ice.
Top-ranked UConn moved its game against Seton Hall from Sunday to Saturday afternoon. No. 14 Baylor postponed its matchup against Houston until Tuesday. Other programs, including No. 20 Princeton, Cincinnati, and Rice, moved their Saturday start times earlier to avoid deteriorating road conditions.
Elsewhere, North Carolina Central postponed two scheduled women's games in Durham, while the Sun Belt Conference proactively rescheduled its entire women's basketball slate from Thursday through Saturday. Similar adjustments occurred in the Big South, where the USC Upstate at Longwood game was moved from Saturday to Friday.
And the storm isn't just impacting college basketball. In the SEC, the top 15 swimming and diving dual meet between No. 9 Tennessee and No. 14 Georgia moved from Saturday to Friday, while No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Georgia pushed up Friday's gymnastics meet from 6 PM ET to 2:45 PM ET.
Athletic departments across the country continue to monitor weather updates for further potential disruptions caused by the winter storm.
How to watch women's college basketball games impacted by the winter storm
Eastern Kentucky vs. North Florida has moved to 11 AM ET on Saturday, live on ESPN+.
No. 1 UConn vs. Seton Hall has moved from Sunday to 12 PM ET on Saturday, live on NBC Sports.
No. 20 Princeton vs. Brown has moved to 12 PM ET on Saturday, live on ESPN+.
Cincinnati vs. Arizona State has moved to 2 PM ET to 12 PM ET on Saturday, live on ESPN+.
Jacksonville State vs. UTEP has moved to 1 PM ET on Saturday, live on ESPN+.
No. 21 Duke vs. Pitt has moved from Sunday to Saturday at 4 PM ET, live on ACC Network.
Boston College vs. No. 8 Louisville has moved from 2 PM ET to 11 AM ET on Sunday, live on ACC Network.
Houston vs. No 14 Baylor has moved from Sunday to 7 PM ET on Tuesday, live on ESPN+.
The early 2025/26 NCAA basketball season will heat up over the long holiday weekend, with No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 UCLA, and Duke tipping off the high-stakes action in the 2025 Players Era Championship in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The non-conference mini tournament will see the Longhorns take on the Bruins in the season's first Top-5 matchup, with the Gamecocks playing the Blue Devils in Wednesday's second semifinal.
The four teams will then rotate opponents on Thursday evening, when Wednesday's two winners battle for the championship prior to a second tilt to determine the third-place team — a switch that guarantees a Top-5 matchup for the Gamecocks before the week is over.
While there were hopes that preseason-No. 7 Duke would also be in the Top 10 this week, upset losses to No. 15 Baylor, No. 21 West Virginia, and unranked South Florida have seen the Blue Devils fall out of the AP Top 25 entirely.
"We just need to be more consistent," said Duke head coach Kara Lawson. "It's supposed to be hard, and our schedule is unrelenting…. You have to handle it, and you have to take your licks, and you have to keep fighting."
How to watch the 2025 Players Era Championship this week
The four NCAA titans will take the 2025 Players Era Championship court on Wednesday, with No. 3 Texas facing No. 4 UCLA at 2 PM ET before Duke takes on No. 2 South Carolina at 4:30 PM ET.
Thursday's title game will tip off at 8 PM ET, followed by the third-place matchup at 10:30 PM ET.
All tilts will air live on truTV and HBO Max.