The NCAA Tournament begins Wednesday with the First Four, and the first round tips off Friday.

Yet while select teams rose to the top during the regular season, some of these will lose out in the tournament. Upsets happen, in spite of high seeding and home-court advantage. It be March Madness otherwise.

Just Women’s Sports takes a look at which top-4 teams are the most vulnerable.

No. 3 LSU

LSU may have finished their season at 28-2. But while the Tigers ran  amok in the SEC during the regular season, they have weaknesses.

For one, they couldn’t manage to hang with the No. 1 team in the nation in their February matchup against South Carolina. The game proved a failed test for an LSU team with a nonconference schedule chock-full of tough opponents such as… (checks notes) Bellarmine and Mississippi Valley.

Then Tigers ran into a roadblock in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Tennessee, which exposed LSU’s vulnerabilities and mounted an improbable comeback to advance to the title game. LSU faces Hawai’i in the first-round, and the Rainbow Warriors could be a tough test. And if LSU advances to the second round, it could face No. 6 seed Michigan, a battle-tested team coming out of the Big Ten.

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No. 4 Tennessee

In all likelihood, Tennessee will advance past No. 13 seed Saint Louis in the first round. But after that, the Vols could run up against No. 5 seed Iowa State. The Cyclones are not only Big 12 tournament champions, but they also boast star player Ashley Joens – who any team in this tournament will find difficult to contain.

Tennessee has its own star in Rickea Jackson, making the possibility of this second-round matchup very enticing. Still, it makes Tennessee susceptible to an early exit.

No. 3 Duke

There’s no telling what kind of run Duke will have in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Some thought that December’s win over NC State was the Blue Devils’ coming out party. But the ACC remained chaotic throughout the season, and Duke received its share of bumps and bruises – in particular, their 58-37 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament might leave sour taste in the Blue Devils’ mouths as they prepare to face Iona in the first round.

But they’re also the team that put 68 points on Boston College while only allowing the Eagles to score 27. And they also beat Notre Dame back on Feb. 5. Their season-ending loss to UNC was redeemed by a win over the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament, which showcases how hot and cold this team can be – particularly as they approached the end of the season.

If the Blue Devils can bring their best in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, they’ll be hard to beat. But there’s no guaranteeing that an Iona or a Colorado won’t send Duke packing.

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Celeste Taylor and Duke lead the ACC, one of the most competitive conferences in the country. (Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports)

No. 3 Notre Dame

Notre Dame is one of the biggest question marks in this year’s NCAA Tournament, as there’s no telling when they’ll get star player Olivia Miles back from injury – if they do at all.

And if Irish advance past Southern Utah in the first round, they’ll likely face Creighton in the second round. Yes, that Creighton, the same team that upended Iowa in the Sweet 16 last year. The same Creighton who almost beat UConn in February and battled against other top-tier Big East teams like Villanova and Marquette. A Notre Dame team with Olivia Miles going up against Creighton could be one of the best second-round matchups of the tournament. Without Miles, though, the Irish could head home early.

No. 2 UConn

Can UConn stay healthy? That’s the biggest question facing the Huskies in this year’s NCAA Tournament. If they can, then a run to the Final Four isn’t improbable, even in a tough region. Baylor could prove more difficult than anticipated, and Ohio State is a battle-tested No. 3 seed who has also faced injury issues this season but is also once again healthy.

Having Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme back in the lineup helps the Huskies’ chances, and both looked good during the team’s Big East tournament title run. But as the story has been all season, there’s no telling what type of injury this team could face next.

CHICAGO — The last time Jackie Young and Skylar Diggins-Smith played on the same team was during a pick-up game when Young was getting recruited to Notre Dame.

Coach Muffet McGraw couldn’t watch the contest, because it was an unofficial practice session, but she remembers exactly what Young said when she came off the court.

“Jackie said, ‘Skylar yelled at me. I loved it,’” McGraw said with a laugh.

Young doesn’t recall the conversation, but doesn’t doubt that it happened.

“I was definitely fan-girling back then,” she said Friday from the Orange Carpet of the WNBA All-Star Game.

Young, who plays for the Aces, and Diggins-Smith, a guard for the Mercury, both grew up in Indiana, so they have long been familiar with one another.

“I’ve always watched Jackie,” Diggins-Smith said. “She set scoring records and made a lot of noise coming out of Indiana. I’ve followed her since she was young.”

The duo are two of four graduates representing Notre Dame in the 2022 All-Star Game this weekend, along with Jewell Loyd of the Storm and Arike Ogunbowale of the Wings.

This is the first time Notre Dame has had four players in the game.

“I think it’s great representation for Notre Dame, especially being so close to the university here in Chicago, with the school being an hour and a half down the road,” Diggins-Smith said. “So, hopefully we see some familiar faces, some Irish fans in the crowd.”

McGraw won’t be one of those faces. A trip to Philadelphia to visit family takes precedence for her, mostly because it was scheduled long before the All-Stars were announced.

“I’ll be watching on TV for sure,” she said. “I wish I could be there.”

The current slate of Notre Dame players in the WNBA starts with Diggins-Smith, who played for the Irish from 2009-13. She overlapped with Loyd, who played from 2012-15, and between the two, Notre Dame appeared in four national championship games. Then it was Ogunbowale and Young’s turn to pilot the program from 2015-19, leading the Fighting Irish to an NCAA title behind Ogunbowale’s heroics in 2018.

“We had a great run from 2011 to 2019,” McGraw said. “And we definitely established ourselves as one of the elite programs in the country.”

According to McGraw, that success started with Diggins-Smith, who helped set a standard of excellence within the Notre Dame program.

She came in with a different attitude, one that McGraw hadn’t seen before.

“She changed the culture,” McGraw said. “That’s when we really started to rise. The way that she competes every day at practice, the way that she values defense. She’s such a great passer, and she builds that chemistry to the point where the players trust her and love playing with her.”

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McGraw credits Skylar Diggins-Smith with helping change the competitive culture at Notre Dame. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Wings guard Marina Mabrey remembers noticing the competitive culture when watching her older sister, Michaela Mabrey, who was teammates with Diggins-Smith.

Marina embodied the same attitude when she played for the Irish alongside Young and Ogunbowale. She has since taken it into her pro career, and her fellow alums have done the same.

“I feel like we just learn how to be pros there,” Mabrey said. “Everyone plays so hard and makes plays for their teammates. I’m really proud of everyone from Notre Dame that is an All-Star this year. They deserve it.”

For McGraw, the success of Diggins-Smith, Lloyd, Young and Ogunbowale is no surprise. They play essentially the same way they did in college, but they all took on their WNBA careers a bit differently. Yet another testament to Notre Dame’s ability to produce pros.

“We all had different journeys, we all had different paths to get here,” Lloyd said. “It is pretty cool to see that, and I think it is just a credit to the mindset of coming into college and knowing the goals. College wasn’t the end for us.”

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Loyd and Ogunbowale faced each other in last year's WNBA All-Star Game. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

That’s why the program is a mainstay at the top of college basketball, and why new recruits continue to buy into the Notre Dame culture. The four WNBA All-Stars embody that upward trajectory, something McGraw prided herself on during her years at the helm.

“That’s what every kid wants,” she said. “They want to be able to see, ‘How are you going to help me get to the league?’ That’s the question most recruits ask. I think the way that we run our program definitely prepared them to be pros. I think that it was demanding — I was pretty tough on them — so I think they’re able to handle pretty much anything that gets thrown at them.”

Playing for Notre Dame is just the beginning.

After seeing her players scattered throughout the league, McGraw is thrilled that Diggins-Smith, Lloyd, Young and Ogunbowale will all be representing the same squad on Sunday. The four players are on Team Stewart, with Young making the start and the others serving as reserves.

“I’m saying their team is going to win,” McGraw said. “And it will be fun to see.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Arike Ogunbowale’s iconic buzzer-beater to seal Notre Dame’s national championship in 2018 almost didn’t happen. Ogunbowale, now a star with the Dallas Wings, tells Kelley O’Hara on the latest episode of The Players’ Pod that she considered leaving the program after her freshman year.

“Coming in, I was a top-five player, McDonald’s All-American, you obviously have all these expectations,” she says. “And then you get there, I am coming off the bench, some games not playing. I’m like, ‘What is this?'”

Instead of entering the transfer portal, though, Ogunbowale decided to commit herself fully to improving her game and earning playing time on coach Muffet McGraw’s team.

“It’s all about trusting the process, trusting yourself, and you just really got to put the work in,” Ogunbowale tells O’Hara.

The number of players opting to transfer in women’s college basketball has reached historic highs the past two offseasons since the NCAA allowed one-time transfers to play without sitting out a season. Ogunbowale has noticed the trend and reflected on her own college journey.

“I love that kids are able to transfer, do whatever they want, but a lot of times you just got to stick through,” Ogunbowale says. “I wanted to leave my freshman year, and if I would’ve left, you never know what would’ve happened. Like, I ended up winning a national championship my junior year that might not have happened anywhere else.”

Sticking it out, Ogunbowale became a starter her sophomore year and averaged 20.8 points per game on the way to leading the Fighting Irish to the NCAA title as a junior. She hit the game-winning shot in Notre Dame’s 2018 Final Four overtime win over UConn before following it up with more heroics against Mississippi State in the championship game.

“The whole year was crazy,” Ogunbowale recalls. “We had, like, four ACL tears so we really were going like six, seven deep the whole season, which honestly, looking back, it’s a blessing because you can make a mistake and coach can’t pull you out.”

The rollercoaster year culminated in an electrifying national championship game, where Ogunbowale sunk the game-winning shot for Notre Dame. The play was actually drawn up for another Notre Dame player to take the show, Ogunbowale says, but it broke down in the moment and the ball ended up in her hands.

“It turned out good, but those three seconds felt like a lifetime literally,” she says. “Anytime I see those shots, especially around March Madness, I obviously get tagged in them a lot … and I just sit and watch it. Like wow, it was crazy.”

Listen to the latest episode of The Players’ Pod for more from Ogunbowale on her basketball journey through college, the WNBA and overseas.

Friday marks the four-year anniversary of “The Shot,” the buzzer-beater with which Arike Ogunbowale sealed a title win for Notre Dame against Mississippi State.

Ogunbowale averaged 20.8 points per game that season, but two of her most important shots came in back-to-back games in the NCAA tournament. Against UConn in the Final Four, Ogunbowale nailed the go-ahead jumper to put the Irish up 91-89.

UConn’s desperation shot at the last second came up short, sending Notre Dame to the national championship.

In the national championship game, Ogunbowale delivered once again. After clawing back from a 15 point deficit, Notre Dame was tied with Mississippi State in the final seconds of regulation.

With three seconds left, Ogunbowale nailed a fade-away 3-pointer despite being well-defended. The shot won Notre Dame its first women’s basketball title since 2001.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Niele Ivey doesn’t like to waste time.

It took her four days after being named the new head coach of Notre Dame women’s basketball in August 2020 to land two of the top recruits in the nation. Those freshmen, guards Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, have quickly evolved into two of the top scorers and playmakers on the roster.

Then it took her one season to lead Notre Dame back to the Sweet 16, a place the program has become familiar with after two championships and four runner-up finishes under Muffet McGraw, Ivey’s former coach and predecessor.

And after Notre Dame’s heartbreaking 66-63 loss to NC State in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, Ivey said it wouldn’t take long for her to turn the page and begin preparing for next season.

“I’m excited to get back to work. Maybe I’ll take 24 hours off, and then I’m going to start watching film and get back to work because that’s what it is. This is a grind,” she said.

For nearly three quarters on Saturday, Notre Dame played like it didn’t want to waste any time, either. After going down 16-12 in the first quarter, Miles led the Fighting Irish on a 24-10 run in the second, scoring eight of her team-high 21 points during that stretch.

Notre Dame maintained its lead all the way into the fourth quarter, not letting NC State get within more than four points for nearly 15 minutes. Citron and Maddy Westbeld, the other two underclassmen in Notre Dame’s starting lineup, were key offensive catalysts, combining for 21 points and 13 steals in the game.

Notre Dame’s offense was so potent, five days after scoring 108 points in their win over Oklahoma, that NC State coach Wes Moore switched things up at the start of the fourth quarter. The Wolfpack started pressing Notre Dame higher up the floor, forcing Miles as the ball-handler into making tough decisions.

From there, NC State methodically clawed its way back into the game, exploiting Notre Dame’s 16 turnovers for 22 total points. Raina Perez sealed the comeback with under 30 seconds to go, stripping Dara Mabrey of the ball at halfcourt and hitting the layup at the other end to put NC State up 64-63. She then closed out the win with two made free throws.

“I could have done a way better job of getting my team more organized,” Miles said after the game. “I was kind of quiet because I was trying to figure it out for myself, figure out the spots that I can go and get the ball up the floor. That caused some of my team to create turnovers, and I take the blame for that.”

Ivey spoke before practice on Friday about Miles’ leadership being the next step in her career evolution. Being vocal isn’t something that comes naturally to the freshman, so she’s had to push herself into uncomfortable situations to help her team.

“Coach Ivey is a national champion point guard, so she’s seen the worst of it, and she knows and she helps me,” Miles said.

A game like Saturday’s, though demoralizing for the way it ended, only strengthens that bond between a coach and her star player.

From now until the start of preseason next fall, Ivey can mull over Miles’ performance and the fact her team was 30 seconds away from upsetting No. 1 seed NC State and advancing to the Elite Eight. But she won’t be thinking about it that way.

Niele Ivey doesn’t have time to dwell on the past when her present and future are so bright.

“I was told, oh, you’re going to need three to four years. Well, I needed one,” Ivey said. “I’m hoping that what we showed as a program and as a team, I hope that attracts even more talented players to want to play for this family.”

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

No. 1 seed NC State came back to defeat No. 5 seed Notre Dame 66-63 in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.

Raina Perez delivered the game-winner, stripping Dara Mabrey of the ball at halfcourt and converting the breakaway layup to give the Wolfpack a one-point lead with 16 seconds left.

NC State overcame a double-digit deficit, outscoring Notre Dame 20-10 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win down the stretch.

The Fighting Irish gave up seven of their 16 turnovers in the fourth, allowing NC State a window to mount their comeback.

Elissa Cunane led the Wolfpack in points with 16 while adding ten rebounds. Kai Crutchfield notched 14 rebounds and four steals, while Perez added seven points and four steals.

Notre Dame shot 50.9 percent as a team, with Oliva Miles contributing a game-high 21 points.

NC State’s late push, however, secured their place in the Elite Eight, where they will face off against the winner of No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Indiana.

 

The 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish knocked off No. 3 NC State 69-66 on Tuesday. It’s the first top-five win of Niele Ivey’s head coaching career.

It’s also Notre Dame’s first win at home against a top-five team since Arike Ogunbowale led the Irish past Louisville in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup during the 2018-19 season.

Ivey, who played college basketball for the Irish from 1997-2001, was named head coach of the team in 2020 after the retirement of Muffet McGraw.

“Oh my gosh, (it’s) euphoria for me,” Ivey said of the win. “That was an amazing win to be able to beat NC State, one of the best teams in the country. I’m just so proud of this group. It was a huge challenge.”

Notre Dame was up by as much as 12 with 7:35 remaining in the game. But the Wolfpack fought back, pulling to within two with 1:42 to go.

NC State, who is the third-ranked 3-point shooting team in the country at 39.9 percent, managed just 25 percent from beyond the arc on Tuesday. Notre Dame also managed to out rebound the Wolfpack 45-38, recording 18 second-chance points. The Irish matched a season low with eight turnovers against a team that is causing 15.6 per game.

Maya Dodson led the Irish with 20 points and 10 rebounds. She was joined by Olivia Miles who had 13 points and six rebounds.

Diamond Johnson had 16 points for the Wolfpack, while Elissa Cunane added 13 points and seven rebounds.

NC State will look to rebound against Florida State on Thursday, while the Irish are back in action against Virginia Tech.