WNBA star Caitlin Clark and the Fever will hit the airwaves sooner than expected this year, with multiple sources reporting that ESPN will televise a preseason game between Indiana and the Brazil national team on May 4th.
The broadcast boost will reportedly make the Fever vs. Brazil matchup the WNBA's first-ever nationally televised exhibition game, a move that comes after a 2024 preseason battle between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky earned more than two million streams — from a fan's cellphone.
WNBA teams follow in the Indiana Fever's preseason footsteps
The May matchup will mark the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year's return to Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with the Fever set to play in front of a sold-out crowd at Clark's alma mater.
Indiana isn't the only team taking a trip down memory lane this preseason, with several teams bringing exhibition games to university arenas before the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16th.
Two days before facing the Fever, Brazil will clash with the Sky at Chicago star Angel Reese's collegiate home of LSU — an arena also familiar to new Sky recruit Hailey Van Lith.
Also on May 2nd, Notre Dame will host legendary alums Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Jackie Young when the Las Vegas Aces play the Dallas Wings at South Bend's Purcell Pavilion.
Less than a day after Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles shocked the women’s basketball world by opting to enter the transfer portal rather than declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Irish’s transfer fall-out has continued.
Sophomore guard Emma Risch and freshman forward Kate Koval have also entered the portal, with Koval — who started in 10 games this season — leading the Irish in blocks.
Between transfer moves and graduating seniors, sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo remains Notre Dame’s only returning starter — a sharp turn for an Irish squad ranked No. 1 in the country just six weeks ago.
Other top NCAA programs see transfer portal movement
Notre Dame isn’t the only top-tier program experiencing a roster shakeup after exiting the 2025 NCAA tournament.
LSU sophomore forward Sa'myah Smith entered the transfer portal after the Tigers’ season ended in Sunday’s Elite Eight. USC sophomore guard Aaliyah Gayles subsequently followed suit after the Trojans fell to UConn on Monday.
Schools like TCU have become national contenders via the transfer portal, with the Horned Frogs recruiting both Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince ahead of their first-ever Elite Eight run. Former Kentucky center Clara Silva is the latest transfer to commit to TCU, as the team comes off their best tournament finish in school history.
The modern era of NCAA roster-building is upon us, with top players taking the reigns as ambitious teams scramble to fill offseason gaps.
Notre Dame standout Olivia Miles will forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft, instead opting to stay in the NCAA for her final year of college eligibility. But she reportedly will not for the Fighting Irish.
Miles is set to enter the transfer portal, posted ESPN’s Shams Chariana on Monday, moving on from Notre Dame after back-to-back Sweet 16 exits.
"Notre Dame's Olivia Miles — the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month — will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN," the journalist posted on X. "The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft."
Miles shakes up the 2025 WNBA draft
Miles will certainly have her choice of top-ranked NCAA programs. But the projected No. 2 draft pick’s decision also has major implications on both the 2025 WNBA Draft and the 2026 draft lottery.
The junior started all 34 games this season for Notre Dame. She averaged a career-high 15.4 points per game while maintaining 48.3% effectiveness from the field.
"I love college. I think I've outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It's comfortable, a place where you have security," the star guard told ESPN after Saturday's loss.
With UConn’s Paige Bueckers sitting comfortably at No. 1, expected Top 5 pro recruits USC’s Kiki Iriafen, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao, and fellow Irish Sonia Citron could all see a rankings boost.
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.
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.
With the March Madness No. 1 seeds evenly split between the Big Ten and SEC, April’s Final Four becoming a conference tournament championship rematch doubleheader is very much on the table.
The quadrants led by SEC tournament finalists South Carolina and Texas share one side of the bracket, meaning the Gamecocks and Longhorns could meet before the 2024/25 NCAA championship game in an all-conference semifinal.
Similarly, crosstown rivals UCLA and USC top the other two quadrants, putting the LA teams on course for all-Big Ten semifinal.
Both conference pairs have already faced off three times this season, with South Carolina holding a 2-1 2024/25 record over Texas and USC riding into the Big Dance with the same record over UCLA.
Other top teams hunt rematches with NCAA No. 1 seeds
Before the No. 1 seeds lock in on any all-conference semis, however, they must advance past other elite contenders — some of whom have recent beef with the quadrant queens.
No. 3 seed Notre Dame — the only team to fail to snag a No. 1 March Madness spot after reaching the AP Poll's top ranking this season — awaits a possible 2024/25 rematch with Texas in the Elite Eight round, with the Irish eyeing a second season victory over the Longhorns after toppling Texas 80-70 in December.
As for No. 1-seed USC, the Trojans sit on a collision course with No. 2 UConn, setting up what could be a second-straight Elite Eight battle between the pair. The Huskies won last year's encounter 80-73 behind 28 points from superstar Paige Bueckers, before falling to eventual tournament runners-up Iowa in the 2023/24 Final Four.
That said, USC already defeated UConn once this season, with sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins putting up 25 points in the the Trojans' narrow 72-70 December win.
For these potential non-conference games, the rematches are somewhat by design, as top programs try to stack their schedules with the NCAA's best teams each season, both to challenge their rosters and to build their NCAA tournament resumes.
"If you play a good enough schedule, you're always going to run into somebody you've already seen," explained legendary UConn head coach Geno Auriemma earlier this week.
While bracket busters could impede an all No. 1-seed Final Four, no team seeded lower than No. 3 has ever won an NCAA championship, meaning at least a few of these top-tier rematches are likely in the coming weeks.
How to watch the Women's March Madness tournament first round
No. 6-seed Michigan and First Four winner No. 11-seed Iowa State open the tournament, tipping off March Madness at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN2.
The first top seed to take the court in Friday's 16-game slate is South Carolina, who will face No. 16-seed Tennessee Tech at 4 PM ET before UCLA closes out the night against First Four winner No. 16-seed Southern at 10 PM ET.
Both No. 1-seed games will air live on ESPN.
The 2024/25 NCAA basketball tournament bracket is officially locked in, as Selection Sunday saw March Madness favorites, underdogs, and a few surprises claim their tickets to the Big Dance.
After winning the Big Ten tournament one week prior, UCLA not only earned the NCAA competition's overall top spot, but the Bruins claimed their first-ever No. 1 seed in program history.
Sitting atop the three other quadrants are SEC tournament title-winners and NCAA defending champions South Carolina as well as conference runners-up Texas and USC, giving both the SEC and Big Ten two of the tournament's top contenders.
Chasing the four top teams as No. 2 seeds are Big 12 tournament champs TCU, ACC tournament winners Duke, ACC runners-up NC State, and Big East champions UConn, whose late-season momentum wasn't quite enough to life the Huskies above a second-spot bid.
In a season that saw a record-tying four teams reach No. 1 in the AP Poll, three (UCLA, South Carolina, and Texas) claimed NCAA No. 1 seeds, with once-No. 1 ranked Notre Dame falling out of top-seed contention after losing three of their last five games.
The Irish will now tip off their March Madness campaign as a No. 3 seed alongside 2022/23 NCAA champs LSU, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
Snagging the tournament's last hosting spots are the No. 4 seeds, meaning Ohio State, Kentucky, Baylor, and Maryland will all have home-court advantage through the competition’s first two rounds.
Coaches question NCAA committee's seeding decisions
While some teams were thrilled with their placements, a tinge of disappointment overshadowed other top contenders’ watch parties.
"I never thought I'd be a No. 1 seed and feel disrespected," said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb after learning the NCAA committee awarded the Trojans the last top seed, ranking them fourth overall.
"It's not an arrogance of any kind, I think that there's a lot of really good teams...but I would love to ask [this committee] some questions."
Head coach Dawn Staley had a similar reaction to South Carolina's positioning, saying "I'm a little bit surprised."
"I'd like to get some feedback on how they came to that conclusion," said Staley. "We put together, manufactured, a schedule that — if done right — should produce the overall No. 1 seed."
The NCAA committee broke down their determination of the Gamecocks on ESPN, explaining that South Carolina’s head-to-head November loss to UCLA plus last month's 29-point nonconference defeat at the hands of UConn played major roles in the decision.
Despite the disappointment, Gottlieb says her team is ready to take care of business.
"You've gotta play the first game in front of you and earn your way from there, and that's what we'll do."
Big Ten makes NCAA March Madness bracket history
With 12 teams booking spots in the Big Dance, the Big Ten not only earned the season’s most NCAA tournament bids, it also smashed the Division I record for the most programs in a single conference to make a March Madness bracket.
With a conference-record 10 teams, the SEC closely followed the Big Ten, while eight ACC squads and seven Big 12 programs round out the Power Four's 37 total berths.
Also experiencing a record-setting Selection Sunday was the Ivy League, which saw three teams sneak into the competition for the first time in the eight-program conference's history.
After upsetting their way through last weekend's conference competition, Ivy League tournament champions Harvard secured a No. 10 seed on Sunday, while both Columbia and Princeton have a shot at snagging a No. 11 seed as contenders in the NCAA's First Four games.
Dancing for the first time are six teams, with Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Mason, Grand Canyon, UC San Diego, and William & Mary all set to make their NCAA tournament debuts later this week.
To be the best, teams must beat the best, and the talent concentrated at the top of the NCAA bracket — regardless of seeding — is guaranteed to make for some tough competition.
How to watch the First Four March Madness games
While the the official first round of the 2024/25 NCAA basketball tournament doesn't begin until Friday, the March Madness action will tip off with the First Four round on Wednesday, when eight teams will battle for the final four spots in the 64-team bracket.
Stepping into Wednesday's spotlight are Princeton and Iowa State, who will take the court at 7 PM ET before UC San Diego takes on Southern at 9 PM ET.
Then on Thursday, Washington will face Columbia at 7 PM ET, with William & Mary's match against High Point wrapping up the First Four round at 9 PM ET.
The Huskies' Thursday clash with the Lions will air live on ESPN2, with the other three First Four games earning live coverage on ESPNU.
Print complete NCAA Women's March Madness bracket
Three Top 10 NCAA basketball teams suffered big upset losses on Thursday, shifting late-season momentum to the sport's underdogs ahead of next week’s conference tournaments.
No. 3 Notre Dame fell 86-81 to No. 24 Florida State, marking the Irish's second straight loss since reaching No. 1 in the AP Poll on February 17th.
"Just really frustrated with our performance defensively tonight," Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey after last night’s game. "I didn’t think that we were locked in for four quarters."
No. 7 LSU and No. 8 UNC also saw tough results, with the Tigers falling in a narrow 88-85 overtime battle to No. 20 Alabama while the Tar Heels stumbled 68-53 to in-state rival No. 16 Duke.
Even No. 1 Texas faced some adversity, eking out a 68-64 win after unranked Mississippi State pushed the Longhorns to the brink.
All in all, as the hyper-competitive 2024/25 women's college basketball season draws to a close, building exhaustion, waning focus, and minutes management are inducing game-changing upsets — putting the country’s top teams firmly on notice.
Conference titles on the line in final NCAA games
While most of Thursday's upsets affect seedings further down conference tables, Notre Dame's loss puts the Irish in danger of losing the ACC tournament’s No. 1 seed right at the finish line.
Notre Dame now sits alongside No. 9 NC State atop the conference table, with the Wolfpack holding a potential tie-breaking head-to-head advantage over the Irish. The only way Notre Dame can now book the top ACC tournament spot is with a win over No. 25 Louisville plus an NC State loss against unranked SMU this Sunday.
Even more, Notre Dame could now lose their projected top-seeded entry into the 2025 NCAA tournament.
Along with the ACC trophy, regular-season titles in the SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten will now come down to weekend finales. The Big East's No. 5 UConn stands alone as the only major conference team to have already secured their title.
Similar to the ACC, the No. 1 SEC seed relies on a pair of Sunday games featuring the conference's two top contenders: No. 1 Texas and No. 6 South Carolina.
The Big 12 and Big Ten, however, finish the season with table leaders meeting in winner-take-all finals this weekend. The Big Ten title will be decided in Saturday's clash between No. 4 USC and No. 2 UCLA, before No. 10 TCU and No. 17 Baylor will battle for the Big 12 trophy on Sunday.
In the pair's first rounds earlier this season, USC and TCU emerged with wins over their respective conference foes.
How to watch top women's college basketball games this weekend
The country's best NCAA teams are all aiming to take care of conference business this weekend, pushing for top seeds and eyeing deep postseason runs.
Saturday's spotlight belongs to No. 4 USC and No. 2 UCLA, with the crosstown rivales' rematch determining the Big Ten title. USC tips off against UCLA at 9 PM ET, live on Fox Sports.
Then, Notre Dame kicks off ESPN's Sunday coverage with a decisive game against No. 25 Louisville at 12 PM ET.
Sunday's DI finale belongs to the Big 12, where No. 10 TCU takes on No. 17 Baylor at 6:30 PM ET, airing live on FS1.
For the first time in 21 years, Texas basketball is the No. 1 team in the nation, with the AP Poll minting the Longhorns as the fourth top-ranked NCAA team of the season on Monday.
"I'm so happy for my kids, they’ve earned where they are today," Texas head coach Vic Schaefer told the AP ahead of his team’s resounding 57-26 win over unranked Georgia on Monday. "There's so much parity in the game right now."
The Longhorns’ leap comes after then-No. 1 Notre Dame’s double-overtime loss to NC State on Sunday, a result that sent the Irish falling to No. 3 in the rankings. The Wolfpack, on the other hand, earned one of the week's biggest boosts due to the marquee win, jumping four spots to No. 9.
After spending 12 weeks at No. 1 before now-No. 4 USC snapped a school-record 23-game unbeaten streak earlier this month, UCLA also benefitted from Notre Dame’s slip-up, rising one spot to sit at No. 2.
Along with reigning champion No. 6 South Carolina, who began the 2024/25 NCAA season as the No. 1 team, there have now been four squads atop this season's AP Polls. There have never been more than four to reach that summit in the survey’s history.
Small shifts litter Monday's AP Top 25
Similar to the minor changes in the Top 3, the Poll’s remaining 22 teams saw mostly incremental shifts as the final 2024/25 NCAA regular-season weekend looms.
ACC standouts No. 24 Florida State and No. 25 Louisville re-entered the rankings this week after snagging upset victories over then-No. 20 Georgia Tech and then-No. 11 Duke, respectively. As a result, the now-unranked Yellow Jackets joined Illinois in exiting this week's poll.
The Blue Devils saw the biggest drop after their loss to the Cardinals, falling five spots to No. 16, while last week's upset loss to unranked Indiana sent Ohio State down four spots this week to No. 12.
How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball games this week
With most major regular-season conference titles boiling down to this final week of play, some of the fiercest matchups are on deck this week.
The top two teams in three major conferences will fight for trophies and postseason seeding this week, with the Big East's No. 5 UConn hosting No. 22 Creighton at 7 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on CBS Sports Network.
Then on Saturday, a No. 4 USC vs. No. 2 UCLA rematch will decide the Big Ten at 9 PM ET, with live coverage on Fox.
Sunday will see the Big 12 crown their season champion after No. 17 Baylor battles No. 10 TCU for the honor at 6:30 PM ET, airing live on FS1.
AP College Basketball Top 25: Week 17
1. Texas (27-2, SEC)
2. UCLA (26-1, Big Ten)
3. Notre Dame (24-3, ACC)
4. USC (25-2, Big Ten)
5. UConn (26-3, Big East)
6. South Carolina (25-3, SEC)
7. LSU (27-2, SEC)
8. North Carolina (25-4, ACC)
9. NC State (22-5, ACC)
10. TCU (26-3, Big 12)
11. Tennessee (21-6, SEC)
12. Ohio State (23-4, Big Ten)
13. Oklahoma (21-6, SEC)
14. Kansas State (25-5, Big 12)
15. Kentucky (21-5, SEC)
16. Duke (21-7, ACC)
17. Baylor (25-5, Big 12)
18. West Virginia (21-6, Big 12)
19. Maryland (21-6, Big Ten)
20. Alabama (22-6, SEC)
21. Oklahoma State (22-5, Big 12)
22. Creighton (23-4, Big East)
23. Michigan State (20-7, Big Ten)
24. Florida State (22-6, ACC)
25. Louisville (19-8, ACC)
For the second straight week, NCAA basketball saw its No. 1 team humbled, as top-ranked Notre Dame fell to No. 13 NC State in Sunday's 104-95 double-overtime thriller.
NC State’s guards led the pack, with sophomore Zoe Brooks topping the scoresheet with a 33-point, 10-rebound double-double. Wolfpack seniors backed her up with Aziaha James contributing 20 points and star Saniya Rivers posting a near triple-double.
"We just kept fighting. We wanted to win this game really bad, and we did everything we could to win," Brooks told reporters after the game.
NC State breaks 19-game Notre Dame winning streak
As for the Irish, senior guard Sonia Citron played hero at the end of regulation, draining a clutch three-pointer to force the first overtime period.
Unfortunately, however, Notre Dame couldn’t execute at the end to hold off the Wolfpack’s upset campaign. Despite sophomore star Hannah Hidalgo finishing the game with a team-leading 26 points, she began to fade down the stretch, eventually fouling out without a single overtime score contribution.
The loss snapped Notre Dame's 19-game winning streak, and will likely cost the Irish their No. 1 spot in this week’s AP Poll as a result — setting the stage for a possible fourth top-ranked team this season.
Parity takes the spotlight as NCAA basketball season wraps up
The last time four different DI women's basketball teams laid claim to the No. 1 spot in a single season was during the 2020/21 NCAA campaign. That's when South Carolina, Louisville, UConn, and eventual champions Stanford each spent time atop the AP Poll.
No season has featured more than four total No. 1 teams since the 1976 inception of the AP Top 25.
That said, the NCAA’s biggest defining factor this season has undoubtedly been parity, making each game — and poll spot — anyone's to grab.
With the win-or-go-home reality of March fast approaching, a number of talented teams are able to pull off upsets at any given time. Therefore, there's almost zero room for error left for title contenders, as a single mishap will send even top squads packing once the Madness tips off.