No. 2 seed TCU rode their Cinderella story to their very first Elite Eight berth on Saturday, ousting one-time Women's March Madness favorite No. 3 seed Notre Dame 71-62 behind a 26-point performance from transfer guard Hailey Van Lith.
While chalky on paper, the victory was indeed a bracket-buster, setting the Horned Frogs up for tonight’s showdown against No. 1 seed Texas after the Longhorns’ 67-59 Sweet 16 win over No. 5 seed Tennessee.
“Hailey’s a dog,” said TCU senior Madison Conner of Van Lith, who set the school’s single-season scoring record en route to her fifth Elite Eight appearance. “Regardless of if it’s on the offensive end or on the defensive end, she’s going to do anything it takes to win.”
“Going into this game, I was really just going to go and have no regrets,” said Van Lith. “I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself to necessarily win. I was going to go out there and have fun and play with the joy that God gave me.”
USC faces UConn in highly anticipated Elite Eight rematch
Tonight’s blockbuster Elite Eight rematch between No. 1 seed USC and No. 2 seed UConn will look different without injured superstar JuJu Watkins. But the Trojans aren’t done fighting.
USC lost Watkins to a season-ending ACL tear in the tournament’s second round. Nevertheless, a determined USC took down No. 5 seed Kansas State 67-61 in Saturday’s Sweet 16 clash. Freshmen Avery Howell and Kennedy Smith combined for 37 points on the night.
“With Ju going down, obviously it was a bit of adversity that we had to face,” Smith said after the game. “But just having her in our presence — we talked to her before the game and she was still rooting us on, things of that nature — [we're] just keeping her in our hearts and minds and playing for her as well as for each other.”
USC will subsequently have their hands full. Leading the Huskies to the Elite Eight, UConn star Paige Bueckers is fresh off a career-high 40-point Sweet 16 performance against Oklahoma.
“You try not to think about the stakes or the pressure or getting to the Final Four,” Bueckers said ahead of tonight's rematch. “Obviously that's there, so you try not to think about it and just go out and play every single game the same way like it's your last, like it's the most important 40 minutes of your life... We just want the season to keep going as long as possible. So leaving nothing up to chance, giving it our all for that 40 minutes to play for another 40 is our team mindset.”
Where to watch Women's March Madness games tonight
TCU tips off against Texas tonight at 7 PM ET before UConn takes on USC at 9 PM ET. Both games will air live across ESPN platforms.
No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina prevailed on Sunday, punching their tickets to the Final Four and putting a bow on a wild NCAA tournament weekend that nonetheless ended in chalk.
After surviving a surging No. 4 seed Maryland offense 71-67 on Friday, the Gamecocks took down No. 2 seed Duke 54-50 in Sunday’s Elite Eight, building a watertight defense to silence the Blue Devils.
Coming off Friday’s strong 76-62 win over No. 5 seed Ole Miss, the Bruins went on to blank No. 3 seed LSU 72-65, holding off the Tigers despite All-American center Lauren Betts’s early foul trouble.
“The game was lost in the second quarter,” said LSU coach Kim Mulkey. “That’s where the game was lost. We didn’t capitalize on Betts being off the floor.”
South Carolina, UCLA bring different strengths to Final Four
With both teams having topped this season’s AP Poll rankings, UCLA and South Carolina pose different physical threats fueled by similar mental resilience.
The Gamecocks will make their fifth straight Final Four appearance. As such, the reigning champs are managing to keep the repeat dream alive despite some shaky starts.
“We know that every night is going to be a battle, and we know that they’re going to come for us,” said senior Te-Hina PaoPao.
On the flip side, next weekend will mark UCLA’s first-ever NCAA Final Four.
“All season we’ve talked about how our talent is our floor and our character is our ceiling,” guard Kiki Rice said. “And to just be the tougher team every single day out there on the court is really the difference.”
Subsequently, maintaining poise down the stretch could be the key to winning this year’s NCAA title.
How to watch Women's March Madness Final Four games
UCLA tips off the Final Four at 7 PM ET on Friday, April 4th, before South Carolina takes the court at 9:30 PM ET. Both games will air live across ESPN platforms.
The Madness returns today, as the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 putsthe season’s most prolific performers to the test in a series of top-seeded showdowns.
This year’s third round is all Top 5 seeds, with blockbuster matchups expected to bring the heat well before the Final Four.
NCAA tournament history sets teams up for success
With the Cinderellas now silenced, many teams still in contention enter the Sweet 16 armed with a history of NCAA tournament success.
No. 1 seed South Carolina tips off against No. 4 seed Maryland today, as the Gamecocks vie for their fifth straight Elite Eight after winning two national titles in the last four years.
Up-and-down No. 3 seed LSU makes a play for their third straight Elite Eight berth tonight — not to mention an attempted repeat of their 2023 championship win.
No. 1 seed Texas looks to advance to their fourth Elite Eight in the five years tomorrow, hunting a return to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Later, No. 2 seed UConn aims for their fourth Final Four bid in the last five seasons, coming as close as 2022’s title game before reaching the semis last year.
Both rookies and vets feel the Sweet 16 heat
Experience can go a long way when the spotlight gets a little brighter, but pressure also mounts as blue-chip programs face the chopping board.
One notable first-time Sweet 16 matchup is this afternoon’s clash between in-state rivals No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 seed North Carolina, with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
Tomorrow, No. 3 seed Notre Dame meets No. 2 seed TCU, as the Irish fight to regain their regular-season dominance while the Horned Frogs try to extend their underdog campaign with their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.
And with razor-thin margins across the board, confidence will play a key role in making it to the competition’s coveted fourth round. “We're a bunch of fighters, and we respond when we’re challenged,” Notre Dame senior Sonia Citron said after last Sunday’s 76-55 win over Michigan.
Sizing up Elite Eight contenders
While not exactly upset territory, Sunday’s Elite Eight will likely feature tense battles between teams looking to hang onto late-season consistency and those running on turnaround momentum.
After losing to eventual conference champion Duke in the ACC semifinal, a refreshed No. 3 seed Notre Dame heads into tomorrow’s Sweet 16 hot off of winning their first two NCAA tournament games by an average of 36.5 points.
After injuries derailed their SEC tournament dreams, No. 3 seed LSU has similarly picked up the pace, putting together two consecutive 100+ point games in the NCAA tournament’s first two rounds.
No. 5 seed Kansas State wouldn’t normally be an issue for No. 1 seed USC, but after losing superstar JuJu Watkins to an ACL tear on Monday, the Trojans might have to rally to get the job done.
And while “underdog” is a stretch, the greatest momentum shift might belong to No. 2 seed UConn, with Bueckers and co. firing on all cylinders despite dropping several ranked matchups this season.
Where to watch NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games this weekend
The Sweet 16 tips off today at 2:30 PM ET, with all games airing across ESPN platforms.
After Saturday’s Sweet 16 finale determines the field, the Elite Eight tips off on Sunday at 1 PM ET, with live coverage across ESPN platforms.
USC star sophomore JuJu Watkins suffered a serious injury in the No. 1-seed Trojans’ second-round March Madness win over No. 9-seed Mississippi State on Monday, putting a dismal stamp on the final day of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first weekend.
After taking contact from two defenders midway through the first quarter, a visibly distraught Watkins crumbled to the court with a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee. The season's second-leading Division I scorer will soon undergo surgery before beginning rehabilitation.
"I'd be lying if I told you I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu lying on the floor and crying," said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. "This is a human game, so I obviously tried my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot."
The arena mirrored Gottlieb's reaction, a testament to Watkins's impact on the USC community.
"You cannot tell me the energy of that crowd, and how sort of angry they were with the other team, and how much fire they showed for our team, is so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to the city," added Gottlieb. "And you just want to give it all back."
A National Player of the Year frontrunner, Watkins’s injury will reverberate throughout USC’s tournament run, as the Trojans stare down a potential Elite Eight rematch with surging No. 2-seed UConn.
Trojans step up after Watkins injury
After seeing their teammate carried off the court, USC regrouped in a big way, converting their early 13-2 lead into a 96-59 blowout victory over the Bulldogs to clinch a spot in the Sweet 16.
In light of the Watkins injury, star transfer forward Kiki Iriafen took charge, putting up a season-high 36 points and nearly notching a double-double by adding nine rebounds to her stat sheet.
Also taking up Watkins' mantle were a pair of freshmen guards, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, who came off the bench to add 18 and 13 points, respectively.
The added emotional tenacity the Trojans displayed was not lost on Gottlieb, who thanked her team in a post-game locker room address.
"I will never forget this game for as long as I live," the USC coach told her players. "You guys did something really special today."
"I have to say it with a calm face and tell you how incredibly proud I am of the way you stepped up for one another...it was a tidal wave of a team."
Top NCAA tournament seeds dominate Sweet 16 berths
Ultimately, losing Watkins is a devastating blow not just to USC, but to college basketball at large, radically reshaping the competitive landscape as March Madness gears up for next weekend's Sweet 16 round.
Monday's final buzzer officially set that field, locking in every team seeded No. 3 and above, plus one No. 4 seed and a trio of No. 5 seeds.
In a day void of upsets, seven of Monday's games averaged a wide 28-point margin of victory. The lone outlier was Maryland's bombshell victory, as the Terps booked their Sweet 16 spot in an instant classic game against No. 5-seed Alabama.
After the Terrapins rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to push the game into overtime, Tide fifth-year guard Sarah Ashlee Barker forced double-overtime with a trio of free throws.
Though the Terps ultimately emerged with the 111-108 victory, Barker set records, notching a career-high 45 points — the most by any SEC athlete and the fourth-most by any Division I player in March Madness history.
"It didn't go our way but, at the end of the day, I'm gonna walk out and hold [my] head high," said Barker about the game that capped her NCAA career. "If you're a women's basketball fan, or anybody that loves basketball, I think that every single person could say that that was one of the best games they've ever watched."
With games between the NCAA's best stacking next weekend's Sweet 16 slate, this year's March Madness tournament is could see even more blockbuster clashes.
If change has been the driving force behind the 2024/25 women’s college basketball season, the Iowa Hawkeyes never took their foot off the gas pedal.
After four seasons spent watching 2024 graduate Caitlin Clark become one of the most impactful players of all time, Iowa has leaned hard into reinvention this year. It's a plan the No. 6 seed will hope pays off as they continue their NCAA tournament run on Monday after a dominant first-round 92-57 victory over Murray State.
Iowa’s rise to college basketball greatness is known. Clark, a home state hero, decides to build something unique with the Hawkeyes rather than heading to a blue-chip school. She then rewrites the very concept of a successful college career, breaking every scoring record that crosses her path while leading her team to two straight Final Four appearances.
With Clark, the team built a reputation for tough defense, logo threes, raucous crowds, and an elite competitive edge that electrified fans around the country. Clark may have been the headline, but Iowa created the platform.
“I think that for our team in particular, people do fall in love with the personalities of the women, and they want to support them, and they want to get behind them,” recently retired Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder told Just Women’s Sports last month.
According to Bluder, Iowa’s winning roots run deep. Before Clark, the Hawkeyes rallied around another homegrown talent: 2019 National Player of the Year Megan Gustafson.
“We don't have any pro sports, so the Hawks are a big deal here. Our players are treated like professional players.” Bluder attested. “We've had women's basketball in the state for over 100 years. And not everybody can say that.”
Iowa basketball roots run deep
Basketball heritage is woven into Iowa’s culture as it carries through much of the Midwest. But what the Hawkeyes felt entering 2024/25 wasn’t a just tide shift. It was the kind of shakeup that could cause even the most beloved program to buckle under the pressure.
Last summer, Clark transitioned from Iowa superstar to the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year. And her teammate Kate Martin surprised the world by deploying her college strengths at the professional level.
And it wasn’t just the players that left — the Hawkeyes also lost their longtime leader.
Bluder now sits on the sidelines, after amassing more Iowa wins than any other head coach in university history. She guided the Hawkeyes to 18 NCAA tournament appearances, only tallying one losing season over her 24 years. Beyond the X’s and O’s, Bluder was known for investing deeply in her players, exemplified by recruiting Clark and guiding her through her transformative college career.
Bluder shifts focus to the sidelines
The legendary coach has taken a step back from the day-to-day elements of women’s basketball, but she remains engaged with the sport. She currently serves as an advocate for technologically informed advances in basketball scouting and performance with companies like GameChanger. And she's always available to speak to reporters and communities alike on the subject of college basketball.
Even with distance, Bluder’s take on this season’s squad are as sharp as they ever were. “This is a team that lost four starters and the world's best players,” she said. “Let's not forget that when we're trying to compare.”
Bouncing back from the loss of a luminary head coach is never easy. And the Hawkeyes subsequently hit some bumps in the road this season, their first under longtime assistant and now head coach Jan Jansen. The reconstructed group began the season 8-0 before a skid that saw them lose seven of their next 11 games. Suddenly, a team not accustomed to losing had to find their patience.
“People can be a little bit unforgiving, and they're naive,” added Bluder. “Because this is a young team.”
Finding their way in the post-Clark era
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Hawkeyes finally finding their spark coincided with a visit from their most celebrated alum. It was early February when Iowa retired Caitlin Clark’s jersey, at an event planned around the unranked side’s high-profile matchup with JuJu Watkins and the top-ranked USC Trojans.
Rather than looking like also-rans up against the new wave of basketball wunderkinds, Iowa came to play. The Hawkeyes downed USC 76-69, officially becoming a bracket buster in the making. At once, wading through all that mid-season turmoil began to feel like working towards something, not against it.
“I’m just trying to stay steady,” Jensen said after that February victory. “Obviously a top four win is huge. I’m incredibly proud of them and I intend to build on it.”
Bluder agreed.
“I told her after the game, ‘Jan, this is your first top five win,’” she said, surrounded by fellow spectators like David Letterman and other celebrity fans. They watched from the stands as Iowa chipped away at a new team identity, one centered on transfer senior Lucy Olsen’s explosive shooting and the stabilizing interior presence of former Clark and Martin compatriot Hannah Stuelke.
“It just clicked that game, like, ‘This is what we brought you here to do,’” Olsen told The Athletic late last week, reflecting back on her team’s game-changing win.
Iowa paves a path to March Madness
Going into this weekend’s NCAA tournament, Iowa’s results have been there. They’ve won 10 of their last 13 games, with all three of those losses decided by single-digit margins against ranked opponents. That includes a near-upset of No.1 overall seed UCLA in late February, with Olsen averaging over 21 points since the victory over USC. And while the Hawkeyes’ corner of the bracket might be tough, they’ve managed to make some noise.
And momentum appears to be on Iowa’s side as they gear up for this afternoon’s second-round clash with No. 3 seed Oklahoma. The team recorded a tournament program-record 28 assists against Murray State — no small feat considering the Clark era's free-flowing basketball. All 12 Iowa players to feature last game scored at least two points, with five players registering double-digits.
The Hawkeyes will be eager to keep the good vibes going. But perhaps more importantly, they’re having fun playing the patented style that made so many fans fall in love with Iowa basketball.
"It's fun to score obviously, but being able to make the extra pass... that just shows how special this team is,” said Iowa freshman Taylor Stremlow after Saturday’s win. “How much we love to share the ball, and support each other."
Now aligned, the future is bright for Iowa
Resisting the temptation to let their season tank in favor of a lengthy rebuild, Iowa is achieving something far more difficult and by many degrees more interesting. They’re holding their own in an increasingly difficult Big Ten, leveraging their talent and potentially rewriting their legacy should they make it to the Sweet 16 — or beyond.
Of course, Bluder is keeping her eye on Iowa’s future. She’s already excited about next year’s recruiting class, saying she’s looking forward to five-star prospect Addy Deal joining the team. And the Hawkeyes announced they’ll be holding onto senior floor general Kylie Feuerbach for one more season.
“If recruits feel how great the atmosphere is in Iowa, in Carver [Hawkeye Arena], they're going to want to come back,” Bluder noted. True to her word, fan engagement hasn’t waned in the post-Clark era. The team averaging at-capacity attendance throughout the 2024/25 season.
A Cinderella March Madness run hangs in the balance
Iowa women’s basketball has been nothing short of a dream for a state so deeply entrenched in the sport. But things change, and the Hawkeyes are shifting their focus to a new dream: creating a level of success that extends far beyond a single figure.
Regardless of whether they’re able to extend their Cinderella run or if their March Madness campaign comes to an end this afternoon, Iowa’s 2024/25 season was a hard-fought step in the right direction.
“Everybody asks me if I knew this was going to happen,” Bluder said of the legacy that lives on in this new team. “Of course, I didn't know it was going to happen. I hoped it was going to happen, but you never know for sure. We just had a belief.”
As the 2025 NCAA tournament tips off this week, few Women's March Madness teams have had a more remarkable run than No. 1 overall seed UCLA.
The Bruins only lost two regular-season games this year, a streak that led to a Big Ten conference tournament title, and, eventually, top-ranked entry into this weekend’s tournament start. By securing the first No. 1 overall seed in program history, this group of UCLA players has already proven themselves the most successful in school history — with additional hardware firmly on the horizon.
But junior Kiki Rice has preferred to keep things in perspective, as she told Just Women’s Sports in the quiet days between the regular season’s end and the postseason's launch.
“The reality is we lost two games the entire year, and that's a pretty good record: 27-2,” she said matter-of-factly. “I think most people would be pretty happy with that.”
UCLA did, however, launch their Big Ten tournament campaign with unfinished business, having fallen twice to crosstown rival USC to cede the regular-season conference title. While they got their revenge in the Big Ten tournament title game, UCLA head coach Cori Close wasn’t shy about wanting to meet the Trojans one more time — at the NCAA Final Four in Tampa.
A Final Four battle would give UCLA the ability to draw even with JuJu Watkins and the Trojans this season, claiming the biggest bragging rights of all. But Rice knows that once-in-a-lifetime opportunities start with everyday consistency.
“It’s about resetting, and how we can move on, get better, and learn,” she said. “How we individually can be better for our teammates and be better for our coach.”
All eyes on women's basketball — and UCLA
As the profile of women’s basketball rises at an exponential rate year after year, many college programs have benefited from the broader spotlight. But winning remains one of the best promotional tools available, and UCLA doubled down on that prospect, signing star transfer Lauren Betts last season in a move that culminated in back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances.
This year, though, the Bruins want more. And as the team’s star power continues to emerge, anything seems possible.
Rice has been one of those stars. Literally — she starred in ESPN’s 2024 docuseries Full Court Press, giving fans a chance to see behind the curtain into what makes the 21-year-old tick. And while Betts pulls defensive focus on the court, Rice can make the offense sing. She leads the team in assists and steals per game, carrying a heavy load when games get tough.
As a young player making a name for herself, Rice enjoys the off-court attention. But she’s not immune to the pressure that accompanies greater scrutiny.
“It’s been a lot,” she reflects. “But it's also been something that me, and I think the rest of my teammates, we wanted. It's part of being in women's sports at this time, where it's really growing so much.”
She described the national attention as a welcome change. With attendance, TV viewership, brand deals, and other KPIs on the rise, the Bruins know it’s time to seize the moment.
“This is what we deserve,” Rice said resolutely. “Let's take advantage of it, and be thankful for it.”
Rice embraces the spotlight on and off the court
But if success on the court fuels exposure off the court, Rice understands the importance of balancing the bigger picture with remaining focused on the task at hand. And that mindset especially rings true in the era of blockbuster NIL deals.
“I want to take advantage of all these opportunities,” she said. “But they take time, and that's time away from school, that's time away from personal relaxation and reset time. That's time away from being in the gym.”
Rice has garnered attention from countless brands over the course of her college career. That includes signing with Jordan Brand as their first-ever NIL contract in 2022. Since that milestone, she’s gone on to work with major players in the women’s sports ad space like Buick, Dove, Neutrogena, and Beats by Dre, among others.
“I've definitely gotten more used to it,” she continued. “But I wouldn't say it's always easy”
March Madness AT&T ad highlights UCLA stars
Today’s student-athletes are expected to keep up with their studies and stay fit on the court, while also participating in the larger sports cultural conversation via brand partnerships and media appearances. That’s why fans will see Rice’s face throughout the tournament — and not just sweating it out in UCLA blue and gold.
When the game cuts to commercial, you might spot Rice starring in a new AT&T TV ad alongside Betts, promoting the sport both Bruins love to play. She even got a chance to flex a few comedy muscles onscreen, saying that her experience in front of the camera was nothing but positive.
“To be part of such a high quality production and film that commercial, I had a great time doing it,” she said, adding that Betts has been a friend she can lean on when the balancing act that is modern-day college sports gets too stressful.
“I feel like she kind of understands, and is going through something very similar,” Rice says of her teammate and AT&T co-star.
Getting UCLA tournament ready from the inside-out
She also credits her family as a major source of support, even if they're many miles away on the East Coast, where Rice became one of the country's top high school prospects. And over the years, she’s taken personal responsibility in creating her own stability. She learned from experience the cadence required to not let fatigue set in at the end of a grueling basketball season.
Rice especially prioritizes taking care of her body, as March’s schedule sees games in quick succession. But she also grounds herself in the moment, viewing March Madness as not just a point of pressure, but one of opportunity.
“We've been talking about the NCAA tournament and Big Ten tournament all season long,” said Rice. “It's just like we talk about in practice: We have a new new season ahead of us, two new seasons coming up.”
But for all Rice’s individual and collective achievements so far, when the Bruins tip off against Southern University on Saturday, the pursuit of greatness begins anew. From falling just short of a regular-season title to edging out USC in the Big Ten tournament, Rice is eager to put a winning stamp on an already historic UCLA season.
“At the end of the day, we're just trying to win,” she said. “We don’t have that long, so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Former Tennessee basketball coach Kellie Harper is on the move to Missouri, with the school naming Harper as the program's fifth-ever head coach on Tuesday.
"I am incredibly honored to be the next head coach at Mizzou," Harper said in the school's announcement. "Missouri is a special place, and I know firsthand the passion and pride that surrounds this program... The foundation is in place for success — and I can't wait to get started."
Harper replaces previous Tigers boss Robin Pingeton, who resigned last month after 15 seasons. She subsequently stepped away after the team finished last in the SEC for two consecutive seasons.
In her five seasons leading the Vols, Harper earned a 108-52 overall record. She parted ways with Tennessee after last year’s second-round NCAA tournament flameout.
Even so, Harper's 53-24 overall conference record at Tennessee trailed only four-time NCAA title-winning coach Kim Mulkey (LSU) and three-time national champion leader Dawn Staley (South Carolina) in SEC winning percentage.
"Kellie is a proven winner and dynamic leader who understands the 'Will to Win' necessary to succeed at the sport's highest level," said Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch.
Harper brings exceptional resume to Missouri
Harper earned three straight NCAA championships as a player under legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Then, she began building a playoff-heavy resume as a coach.
In her 20 years leading DI teams, Harper led them to 16 postseason berths, including nine trips to March Madness. She remains one of just two NCAA coaches to ever take four different programs to the tournament.
Before taking the Vols to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens in 2022 and 2023, Harper's first trip to thaat NCAA tournament round came with Missouri State in 2019. That's when she took a Cinderella team on a run to cap her six-year tenure with the Bears.
It's that title-hunting experience that Missouri is hoping to harness, as the Tigers haven't made the March Madness cut since 2019 — the year that the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury drafted Mizzou's all-time leading scorer Sophie Cunningham.
"I am thrilled," said the Missouri alum and new Indiana Fever guard. "I have so much respect for coach Harper, and I can't wait to support her and our Tigers however I can."
Securing a Women’s March Madness ad spot has never been tougher, with Disney and ESPN reporting a 200% year-over-year rise in total ad sales, with an impressive 95% of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's overall inventory already sold.
Ads for April 6th's championship game completely sold out over three months ago, as brand interest surges alongside women's college basketball's skyrocketing viewership.
With some of the championship spots topping $1 million, Disney Advertising now puts those seven-figure March Madness ad rates on par with the cost of advertising during the NBA Finals or College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Brands race to buy ad space in women's sports
Revenue and impact generated by women’s basketball advertising has been on the rise all season, fueling the race to buy into one of the year's biggest sports moments.
While 45 new brands hopped on the March Madness train this year, previous brands returned with even bigger budgets, increasing their 2025 spending by an average of 81%.
"We actually had to strategically fight to not sell out sooner," Disney Advertising VP of revenue and yield management Jacqueline Dobies told AdWeek. "We intentionally wanted to carve out space for as many of our brands as possible and be as inclusive as possible for this particular property."
"If we would have taken every single dollar and unit we had been offered, we would have sold out before the upfront was even over."
As advertisers continue to elbow their way into the space, expect the March Madness uptick to spill over into future events across women’s sports — especially as brands who are late to the party scramble to buy in.
"A lot of years ago, the question was: 'How do we convince brands to buy women’s sports?'" noted Dobies. "That’s not the conversation anymore. It’s: 'How do we make space for everybody?'"
While NCAA basketball's Power Four conference tournaments wrapped up on Sunday, teams from mid-major Division I leagues are still battling for invites to the Big Dance, where they'll aim to upset top March Madness contenders.
Already harnessing upset momentum is former Pac-12 squad Oregon State, who won the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament as the No. 4 seed on Tuesday.
After conference realignment saw most of the starters from last season's Elite Eight team transfer to Power Four programs, Oregon State finished the 2024/25 regular-season at 16-15 (12-8 in WCC play).
This week, however, the Beavers found another gear, tearing through their tournament and upsetting the two WCC regular-season co-champions along the way.
Oregon State paves a path to NCAA tournament underdog
First, Oregon State narrowly defeated top-seeded Gonzaga 63-61 in Monday's semifinals, before beating back-to-back defending champion No. 2-seed Portland 59-46 in Tuesday's tournament finale — only the fourth loss suffered by the Pilots all season.
Oregon State's unlikely March Madness bid is the program's 13th overall, and the ninth in the NCAA tournament's last 11 editions.
"I'm just so happy and so proud of this team," said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. "For this group to cover the ground that they did this year, from day one until now, is absolutely remarkable. It's one of the most special things I've been a part of."
The Beavers’ surge, however, holds consequences for both Portland and Gonzaga, whose slim chances of making Sunday's bracket now rest with the NCAA selection committee.
While Portland is a more recent contender on the national stage, Gonzaga hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since 2016, with the Bulldogs appearing in all but two brackets since their 2007 March Madness debut.
NCAA underdogs looks to spur chaos in March Madness
Should they make the cut, at-large underdogs Portland and Gonzaga would join Oregon State and other smaller conference champions in trying to bust brackets by upsetting top contenders in the first few rounds of the NCAA's competition.
Other mid-major standouts are already considered likely members of the 68-team national pool, with current projections listing Fairfield University (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and new No. 24-ranked South Dakota State (Summit League) claiming seeds as high as No. 9.
Projections also show that the Ivy League is on the precipice of sending a full trio of upset-hungry teams to the NCAA tournament.
While regular-season champion Columbia is expected to claim a national No. 11 seed after Saturday's conference tournament final, strong seasons from both Princeton and Harvard have the pair currently snagging one of the final four at-large bracket spots.
Atlantic 10 tournament victors George Mason could also pose a threat to Power Four contenders, with the Patriots clinching their first-ever NCAA tournament berth on Sunday despite ceding the regular-season conference title to Richmond.
Though it’s not always wise to bet against heavyweights in the NCAA tournament's opening rounds, emerging college basketball underdogs are embracing the spotlight — and welcoming the opportunity to shake things up after Selection Sunday.
Former perennial contender Stanford basketball's 36-season NCAA tournament streak are likely over, as the unranked Cardinal fell out of the ACC tournament in the first round on Wednesday.
No. 14-seed Clemson delivered the 63-46 tournament-ending blow to No. 11-seed Stanford, who shot just 31.5% from the field to score their fewest points of the season.
"We’re not going to let this one game define us or who we are," said head coach Kate Paye. "We’re hopeful we get to continue to play, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be here today."
March Madness chances dim with Stanford loss
While the NCAA basketball committee will have the final say on March 16th's Selection Sunday, the loss is a statistical death knell for Stanford's March Madness hopes, as the Cardinal drops to an underwhelming 16-14 record with Wednesday's loss.
Stanford has featured in every edition of the NCAA tournament since failing to advance in the 1986/87 season, racking up three national championships and 15 Final Four berths in that time.
The Cardinal holds the second-longest streak of appearances in the Big Dance, trailing only eight-time champion Tennessee, who have featured in every one of the NCAA's 42 tournaments.
The dramatic drop-off comes during a season of significant change for the Cardinal, who saw star Cameron Brink graduate into the WNBA, legendary head coach Tara VanDerveer retire after 38 seasons at the helm, and standout forward Kiki Iriafen transfer to USC last spring.
Even more, the dissolution of the Pac-12 had Stanford joining the ACC in last summer's conference realignment fray.
Rebuilds shape NCAA as top teams become 2024/25 underdogs
While the Cardinal experienced arguably the biggest upheaval since last season, they're far from the only top NCAA program enduring a rebuilding era.
After losing a handful of 2023/24 standouts, Stanford’s former Pac-12 foe Oregon State — who now competes in the West Coast Conference — faces slim national prospects after going unranked all season despite last year’s Elite Eight finish.
Similarly, back-to-back Final Four contenders Iowa also finds itself on shaky ground, taking the No. 11 seed in the steep Big Ten tournament as they strive to rebuild in the post-Caitlin Clark era.
All in all, the 2024/25 NCAA bracket will likely look a little different than in years past, as former March Madness shoo-ins struggle to find their footing amid graduating stars, heightened transfer portal activity, and conference realignment growing pains.
Iowa eyes bracket-busting March Madness run
Of all the rebuilding programs, Iowa is potentially the team most poised to make some noise during March Madness, with the Hawkeyes snagging some key ranked wins already this season — including last month’s upset of No. 2 USC.
With Clark’s alma mater aiming to bust brackets in the Big Dance, the Hawkeyes will use Wednesday's big 81-54 win over No. 14-seed Wisconsin to fuel them in Thursday's second round of the Big Ten tournament, where they'll face No. 6-seed Michigan State.
Earlier this season, Iowa fell in a slim 68-66 December loss to MSU, and the teams enter Thursday's matchup with nearly identical season records.
How to watch Thursday's NCAA conference tournament games
The unranked Hawkeyes will tip off against the No. 24-ranked Spartans at 9 PM ET. Live coverage will air on Fox Sports.