Over the past half decade, women’s college basketball has taken a different shape. Gone are the days where you could automatically fill out your bracket for a UConn win; now, the March Madness landscape is more competitive.
Still, there are always a handful of teams that stand out as favorites come March. This season, there are four big contenders that are genuine threats to cut the net in Tampa: UConn, South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA. Honorable mentions go out to Notre Dame, USC, and LSU.
Notre Dame will be looking to make a deep run in March with the help of sophomore superstar Hannah Hidalgo. Hidalgo is one of the best guards in the country, averaging 24.6 points and 4 steals per game. The return of Olivia Miles, who was sidelined last year with an injury, and the steady presence of Sonia Citron allows Notre Dame to distribute the workload. However, the Fighting Irish have lost too many games to teams they should be beating comfortably. Losses to TCU, unranked Utah, NC State, FSU and Duke have exposed Notre Dame’s weaknesses, and it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to win a title despite their success in the regular season.
USC, who made the Elite Eight last year before losing to UConn, are ranked fourth in the AP Poll. Juju Watkins and Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen are one of the best backcourt-frontcourt duos in the nation. However, their offensive dominance could be a potential warning sign. No Trojan other than Watkins or Iriafen has scored more than 20 points in a game. When USC went out of the tournament last year, Watkins and WNBA player McKenzie Forbes combined for 53 points. The rest of the team had 20 points combined. It’s likely that depth will continue to be a limiting factor on USC’s success.
LSU won the NCAA tournament two years ago and reached the Elite Eight last season, where Caitlyn Clark’s Iowa ended their season. They’ve lost two starters since (Angel Reese went into the WNBA and Hailey Van Lith transferred to TCU), but they look to be a more complete team this year. LSU’s defense will probably prevent them from winning a championship (they’re 46th in defensive rating and 170th in points allowed per game) but keep an eye on them throughout the tournament. Kim Mulkey is always able to coach her team to make a run in March.
Now to a real favorite: Texas. The Longhorns have only lost twice this year – once to current number one ranked Notre Dame, and once to reigning champions South Carolina – making them 9-2 against ranked opponents. Texas is first place in an extremely competitive SEC that’s properly preparing them for the dog-eat-dog nature of the NCAA tournament. They’re one of the most well-rounded teams in the country, excelling on both sides of the ball. Even though Madison Booker is their star player, Texas don’t over-rely on her the way USC do with Watkins, making them a real contender this March.
Another SEC team, the South Carolina Gamecocks are looking to go back-to-back and win their third title in four years. South Carolina have only lost thrice this season, but those are disappointing numbers by their standards: prior to 2024-25, they had a regular season record of 64 games unbeaten. The biggest difference this season is SC’s lack of size inside the paint, an area where they used to easily dominate thanks to Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso. Still, South Carolina are led by one of, if not the best coaches in the country, Dawn Stanley, who led them to an SEC Championship this season. You can never write them off.
UCLA went twenty-three games unbeaten before twice losing to conference rival USC. They’ve responded brilliantly after Charisma Osborne entered the WNBA draft; Lauren Betts is averaging just under 20 points per game, and Kiki Rice is averaging 13. The most imposing thing about the Bruins is their height: of the thirteen players on their roster, nine of them are over six feet. Their physicality around the rim will make them a sizable threat as the tournament goes on and teams start to peter out.
The last serious contender in the Women’s NCAA tournament is UConn. A perennial contender, the Huskies have the most titles (men’s or women’s) in March Madness history, but they haven’t won since 2016, when they completed their historic “four-peat.” Still, they’ve reached the Final Four six times in the past seven years and did so last year with a roster depleted by injuries. Now, with the return of lights-out shooter Azzi Fudd and projected number one pick Paige Bueckers, plus the addition of number one recruit Sarah Strong, Connecticut has a lethal offense and steady defense. If they can stay healthy over the next month-and-a-half, UConn will have a chance to return to their winning ways.
Whatever the outcome is of this year’s Women’s March Madness, it’s guaranteed to be an exciting tournament.
