The women's NCAA Tournament is today with 16 first-round games. Top seeds South Carolina and Texas won their games this afternoon. Other notable matchups today: Angel Reese and LSU opened their March Madness slate at home with a late-afternoon win over Rice, and Cameron Brink and Stanford are one of two nightcaps.
Women’s March Madness games are airing and streaming across ESPN’s family of channels. USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest NCAA women's tournament scores, highlights, upsets and more all day. Follow along.
More:Men’s March Madness live updates
You can find the complete women's March Madness bracket here.
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Here’s the full scoreboard for all of the women's March Madness first-round games Friday.
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC carry games in the first and second rounds, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. ESPN will air Final Four games. ABC will air the national championship game. You can stream all the games in the ESPN app by logging in with your TV provider. Here's how to watch women's March Madness like a pro.
It’s going to be a battle of the bigs when Stanford and Iowa State play Sunday.
The second-seeded Cardinal easily dispatched 15th-seeded Norfolk State on Friday night, 79-50. Norfolk State was able to stay close through the first quarter, but couldn’t contain Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen over the last three quarters.
Stanford’s bigs combined for 34 points, 24 rebounds and six assists. That’s still fewer than the 40 that Audi Crooks dropped on Maryland as the Cyclones stormed back from a 20-point deficit. The 40-point game was just shy of Tonya Burns’ single-game record of 42 for Iowa State.
Crooks, a freshman, also had 12 rebounds.
Stanford was led by Elena Bosgana, who had 18 points. Brink and Iriafen had 17 each, which Brink adding 15 rebounds for her 20th double-double of the season and Iriafen pulling down nine boards. Hannah Jump had 13 points to go with her four assists.
Diamond Johnson led Norfolk State with 19 points and also had seven rebounds. Kierra Wheeler was the Spartans’ only other player in double figures, adding 17 points and eight boards. — Nancy Armour
Just when you think this game might get interesting … TAMU has forced turnovers and had plenty of opportunities, but the Aggies’ inability to capitalize on those opportunities is why they’re trailing Nebraska 48-38 heading into the fourth quarter. TAMU is shooting 14-of-45 from the field. Yikes.Meanwhile, Nebraska hit four 3s in the third to create some separation. — Lindsay Schnell
Norfolk State might not get the win, but the Spartans will always have Diamond Johnson’s circus shot.
Late in the third quarter, Johnson got Cameron Brink to bite on a fake, then drove the baseline. But she was off-balance and was practically falling out of bounds as she put up a floater. No matter. The shot with 1:47 left in the third, was good and even Brink could only smile.
It was, let’s be honest, the lone highlight in the quarter for 15th-seeded Norfolk State, which trails 58-37 going into the fourth quarter. The Spartans are shooting 36%, led by Johnson’s 15 points and 12 from Kierra Wheeler. But it’s no match for second-seeded Stanford, which has four players in double figures, including a double-double by Cameron Brink (13 points, 11 rebounds) and a near one by Kiki Iriafen (17 points, eight rebounds.) — Nancy Armour
A long drought for A&M midway through the second quarter — the Aggies hit just 1-of-11 field goals in a stretch — helped Nebraska build a 27-20 lead at halftime. Each team’s leading scorer has eight points: Janiah Barker for the Aggies, and Logan Nissley for the Huskers. The winner of this advances to play Oregon State on its home floor Sunday.
Also how’s this for weird: Texas A&M has hit four 3s, and Nebraska has just two.
Cameron Brink is doing Cameron Brink things
With not even two minutes gone in the third quarter, the All-American has a bucket and a board, giving her a double-double for the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. That’s helped Stanford open a 19-point lead, 40-21, on Norfolk State, its largest of the game.
It is Brink's 20th double-double of the season, tying her for sixth-most in the NCAA this season
Kiki Iriafen had 10 points in the second quarter as Stanford pulled away from Norfolk State to take a 32-19 lead at halftime.
The Spartans had been a little too close to comfort for the second-seeded Cardinal, trailing by just three at the end of the first quarter after Diamond Johnson’s driving layup. But Iriafen was unstoppable in the second quarter, going four of six from the floor, including a layup just before the halftime buzzer. She also had three rebounds.
Norfolk State is still hustling, but it can’t compete when it’s shooting 29% while Stanford is hitting almost 45% of its shots. — Nancy Armour
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Something interesting that sixth-seeded Nebraska and 11th-seeded Texas A&M have in common: Both have a former Oregon player on their roster.
Endyia Rogers, a 5-foot-7 guard originally from Dallas, is playing for the Aggies this year as a grad student after spending two season at Oregon (and before that, two seasons at USC). A three-time All-Pac-12 selection, Rogers averages 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists for A&M.
At Nebraska, senior guard Jaz Shelley, an Australia native, transferred to Lincoln after two years with Oregon. Shelley averages 13.7 points and 5.6 assists for the Huskers. There’s an argument to be made that one of these former Ducks is the key to her team advancing to the second round.
At the end of the first, Nebraska leads 14-12. Nebraska, which typically shoots more than 25 3s a game — 21st most in Division I — is 0-for-4 from long-distance so far.
— Lindsay Schnell
Well, Norfolk State seems to now have Stanford's full attention. The Cardinal have opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run that prompted the Spartans to call a timeout after just over 2 ½ minutes had been played. Stanford now leads, 24-12, with Kiki Iriafen now up to nine points and Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump adding six each. — Steve Berkowitz
Here's a quick look at the upcoming last game of the day: Nebraska vs. Texas A&M.
If that sounds familiar, it should. Earlier tonight in the NCAA men's tournament, Nebraska also met Texas A&M, with the Aggies winning 98-83 after scoring 58 points in the first half. Adding further intrigue to these matchups, on March 13, Texas A&M announced that it had hired Trev Alberts away from Nebraska to become its new athletics director. — Steve Berkowitz
n a bit of an early surprise, 15th-seeded Norfolk State is giving Stanford a tough time through one quarter at Stanford. The Cardinal lead, 15-12, But they committed six turnovers during the quarter, letting the Spartans stay close despite being out-shot and out-rebounded during the quarter. While Stanford's leading scorer this season, forward Kiki Iriafen scored five points in the quarter, she also had three turnovers. — Steve Berkowitz
CORVALLIS, Oregon — Oregon State sophomore Raegan Beers scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just three quarters of play, while Dominika Paurova (17) and Timea Gardiner (12) also scored in double figures. Beers went down with a rolled ankle at the end of the third quarter and did not return, but said after the game that she "just stepped wrong" and will be ready for Sunday.
Oregon State shot 55% from the field and held EWU to just 30%. The Beavers also dominated the boards, 45-26.
Eastern Washington’s Jamie Loera led all scorers with 21 points, but it took her 23 shots to get there.
Earlier Friday, No. 11 Middle Tennessee completed an 18-point comeback to upset No. 6 Louisville and tie for the third-largest comeback in NCAA women’s tournament history.
Iowa State took it even further. The No. 7 Cyclones erased a 20-point deficit in the second quarter to defeat No. 10 Maryland, 93-86. The comeback win is the second largest in women’s March Madness history.
Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks led the charge with a career-high 40 points and 12 rebounds (18-of-20 FG, 4-of-8 FT) in her first March Madness tournament, the most scored in a debut. Senior Emily Ryan had a double-double of her own (18 points, 14 assists).
“Coach (Bill Fennelly) just said if this is how you want to go out, it’s up to you,” Crooks said afterwards about Fennelly's halftime speech. “We knew right then and there we wanted to turn it around.”
Maryland junior Allie Kubek led the Terrapins with a career-high 29 points off the bench and was nearly perfect, shooting 10-of-12 from the field, 7-of-8 from three and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, but it was not enough. Junior Shyanne Sellers racked up 19 points and seven rebounds, but was limited in the game due to foul trouble (four).
CORVALLIS, Oregon — Oregon State is rolling, up 56-39 on Eastern Washington at the end of the third quarter, but there’s trouble afoot: the Beavers All-America post Raegan Beers went down awkwardly at the end of the period clutching her right ankle, in obvious pain. After a couple minutes she managed to walk off the floor without help, but it’s unknown if she’ll be able to return in the fourth. Beers has 19 points and nine rebounds so far tonight. – Lindsay Schnell
LSU sure doesn’t look like championship material.
The third-seeded Tigers had to hang on for dear life in their 70-60 win against Rice, a team so unassuming it was seeded 10th in the American Athletic Conference tournament. Don’t be fooled by the final score. This game was a lot closer than that, and the Tigers won’t be long for the NCAA Tournament unless they get things cleaned up quick.
It’s impossible to sugarcoat this one. LSU had more turnovers, a season-high 24, than it did field goals (21). And most of the miscues were self-inflicted. The Tigers were outscored in the paint 24-20. Angel Reese, the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s title game, was held to a season-low 10 points and one field goal, though she did have 19 rebounds.
About the only good thing you could say is that LSU did win. Which, Mulkey noted, is the sole objective at this time of year. “I’m going to try to keep my composure as a coach, don’t blow it out of proportion,” Mulkey said in her post-game interview on ESPN. “We all have bad games. … Maybe they got it out of their system.”
Or maybe they simply don’t have what it takes this year. Read Nancy Armour's column here.
Both teams shot above 50% and had the exact same number of turnovers (19). The biggest difference was Colorado’s total domination on the glass. The Buffaloes outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-18, getting plenty of extra possessions with 15 offensive boards.
Center Aaronette Vonleh led Colorado on the glass and scoreboard with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Drake’s Katie Dinnebier led all scorers with 24 points.
Colorado will square off with No. 4 Kansas State on Sunday in a second-round matchup.
No. 7 Iowa State was trailing by double digits at halftime, but the Cyclones outscored the No. 10 Terrapins 30-14 in the third quarter to tie it up at 66. Iowa State trailed by as many as 20 points before storming back. If the Cyclones are able to win, it will mark one of the largest comebacks in NCAA women’s tournament history.
Junior Allie Kubek leads the Terrapins with 24 points off the bench (6-of-7 from three), while Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks is nearing a double-double (29 points, nine rebounds).
CORVALLIS, Oregon — Have a birthday, Dominika Paurova.
The 6-foot-1 freshman guard from Czech Republic is celebrating twice Friday: It’s her 19th birthday, and her parents are watching her in person for the first time in college. Clearly, both of these things have given her a lift, because she’s got 13 points in 14 minutes off the bench for the third-seeded Beavers, who are up 39-27 against Eastern Washington at halftime. Paurova also has three assists. Raegan Beers, Oregon State’s All-American in the paint, leads all scorers with 18 points. – Lindsay Schnell
No. 10 Maryland has a 16-point lead over No. 7 Iowa State heading into halftime, thanks to Terrapins junior Allie Kubek’s 3-point performance. She has not missed a shot yet! Kubek, who has 19 points, knocked down five 3-pointers and is 6-of-6 from the field.
Maryland is without a key piece of their offense. Lavender Briggs, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last month, averaged 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.
CORVALLIS, Oregon — Don’t be fooled by what you see on TV, which is empty chairs behind the visitors bench and empty bleachers across from the home bench. Those areas are reserved for Texas A&M and Nebraska fans. Gill Coliseum is full to the rafters tonight, as Beavers fans pack the gym to watch No. 3 seed Oregon State take on 14th-seeded Eastern Washington.
At the end of the first, EWU leads 18-15. The Eagles have already scored 10 points off eight Oregon State turnovers. EWU guard Jamie Loera leads all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
This absolutely has the feel of a postseason game — the intensity and physicality has been turned up to 11.
One cool thing about this year’s version of the NCAA Tournament is that it features a few teams that no one thought would get to this point. Oregon State, picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12, is in that group (so is Rice, which gave LSU all it could handle earlier Friday, and Southern Cal, which earned one of the top seeds in the Portland region and tips Saturday). — Lindsay Schnell
The No. 5 Buffaloes are heading into halftime with a 46-41 lead. Colorado led by as many as 12 in the second quarter before Drake closed the first half on a 17-10 run.
Colorado junior Aaronette Vonleh almost has a double-double with 14 points and seven rebounds, while senior Maddie Nolan added eight points.
Bulldogs junior Katie Dinnebier has a game-high 18 points. Drake has 11 turnovers, which Colorado has converted into 17 points.
Things were all tied up at halftime, but No. 8 Alabama outscored No. 9 Florida State 23-11 in the third quarter. The Seminoles’ O'Mariah Gordon knocked down a three to pull within two, 74-72, with 2:20 left, but Alabama closed the game on an 8-2 run to win, 82-74.
The Crimson Tide were without senior Sarah Ashlee Barker much of the game due to foul trouble. (She fouled out with Alabama leading 70-65 with 4:42 remaining.) Freshman Essence Cody had a double-double, scoring a career-high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Aaliyah Nye and sophomore Karly Weathers added 18 points each.
Florida State sophomore Ta’Niya Latson had 25 points and five assists, while junior Makayla Timpson had 14 points, four rebounds and two blocks.
Alabama moves on to face No. 1 Texas.
No. 4 Kansas State cruised to a 78-65 victory over No. 13 Portland behind a 22-point performance from senior Gabby Gregory and a near double-double from senior Ayoka Lee (21 points, nine rebounds).
The Wildcats led by as many as 20 before the Pilots cut the lead to nine with 3:25 remaining. But two key threes from Gregory and Zyanna Walker iced the game for Kansas State. Portland junior Maisie Burnham finished with a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds.
Kansas State moves on to face the winner of No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Drake.
Reigan Richardson’s 25 points helped propel No. 7 Duke past a balanced attack from No. 11 Richmond, 72-61.
The Spiders kept the pressure on the Blue Devils, leading 26-23 after the first quarter and 37-28 at halftime. Richardson’s 3-pointer at 4:47 of the third quarter gave Duke the lead for good at 42-21.
Ashlon Jackson added 14 for Duke and Kennedy Brown had 10. Grace Townsend powered the Spiders with 18 points; Addie Budnik had 17; and Maggie Doogan chipped in 15.
Duke moves on to play No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday.
It’s even in Austin. Alabama and Florida State are tied at 40 at halftime.
Crimson Tide senior Sarah Ashlee Barker was held to four first-half points due to foul trouble. She picked up two fouls in the first quarter and sat the entire second quarter. Senior Aaliyah Nye led Alabama with 11 points and three rebounds. The Crimson Tide are shooting 53.3% from the field and 5-of-10 from three.
Florida State junior Makayla Timpson has a game-high 14 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Ta’Niya Latson added 10 points. The Seminoles are shooting 47.2% from the field and are 4-of-5 from three.
Alabama needs to protect the ball better in the second half after surrendering 11 first-half turnovers, compared to Florida State’s three.
Well that wasn’t exactly the blowout most anticipated.
Four LSU players scored in double figures, led by 15 from Aneesah Morrow, and the defending champion Tigers had to play their starters almost the entire game, as 14th-seeded Rice pushed LSU to the brink before falling 70-60 in Baton Rouge. Morrow also snagged seven rebounds.
The Tigers shot 22-of-31 from the free throw line to pull away late. LSU dominated the glass, outrebounding Rice 42-29; Angel Reese had 19 boards. LSU was sloppy with the ball though, turning it over 24 times, which led to 16 points for the Owls. Suffice it to say if LSU is going to win its second consecutive title, which no team has done since 2016, the Tigers will have to play much, much better.
Destiny Jackson led Rice with 15. Sophomore Flau’jae Johnson and freshman Mikaylah Williams both chipped in 14 apiece for LSU.
LSU advances to play 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee, which upset sixth-seeded Louisville earlier Friday.
No Elizabeth Kitley, no problem for Virginia Tech … yet. The No. 4 Hokies routed No. 13 Marshall, 92-49.
Virginia Tech, which led by as many as 47 points, shot 53.8% from the field and 10-of-23 from the line. Senior Georgia Amoore was held to nine points due to foul trouble, but junior Matilda Ekh exploded for 21 points and three rebounds. Center Clara Strack added 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks, while senior Olivia Summiel had a game-high 14 rebounds.
Marshall senior Abby Beeman, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds, was the only Thundering Herd player in double digits. The team shot 24.4% from the field and 6-of-41 from the three-point line.
Virginia Tech will face the winner of No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt.
When you’re trying to pull away, it helps to hit six of your last eight shots.
That’s exactly what LSU did late in the third quarter, which helped the Tigers to a 53-42 advantage. Also helpful: Angel Reese, the defending Most Outstanding Player, recording her 13th straight double-double (10 points, 18 rebounds). They ended the period on a 13-4 run.
Another major stat in LSU’s favor: The Tigers have shot 23 free throws, connecting on 16 (70%). Meanwhile, Rice hasn’t been to the foul line once.
Let’s be clear about something: Rice really has no business being here. Or so the naysayers thought.
The 10th (10th!) seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament, Rice earned an automatic bid when it beat ninth-seeded East Carolina in the title game. Given that seeding and a surprise championship, no one would have been surprised if the Owls had walked into the home of the defending champs and been so wide-eyed, LSU blew them out from the jump.
But Rice clearly has other plans.
The Owls held LSU without a field goal in the last 3:45 of the first half, and hit a couple key shots to pull within three, 30-27, at halftime. LSU guard Aneesah Morrow, the super transfer from DePaul, leads all scorers with 10 points. Morrow also has three rebounds.
Meanwhile, Emily Klaczek has nine points for Rice, all on 3s.
The Owls have forced the Tigers into 13 turnovers, and scored 11 points off those turnovers. How long can Rice keep this up?
No. 16 seed Drexel was no match for No. 1 seed Texas, which dominated the Dragons in an 82-42 wire-to-wire victory where the Longhorns led by as many as 45 points.
Senior Shaylee Gonzales had a game-high 21 points, three steals and two assists, while senior Taylor Jones added 18 points, two rebounds and one assist. Freshman Madison Booker was close to a double-double with eight points and 14 assists.
Drexel junior Amaris Baker was the only Dragon in double digits with 10 points and one assist.
The Longhorns outscored the Dragons 44-16 in the paint. Texas shot 43.7% from the field and 5-of-10 from three, while Drexel shot 35.3% from the field and 3-of-14 from three. The Dragons had 21 turnovers and only converted 3-of-6 free throws, compared to Texas going 15-of-21 from the line.
Texas will face the winner of No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Florida State.
It’s been a rough day for the Marshall Thundering Herd — and it’s still early in the third quarter.
Aside from the fact that Marshall, known for shooting a ton of 3s, isn’t hitting from outside today (the Herd is shooting just 14% at 3-of-22), guard Ashley Tudor fouled out with 6:34 to play in the third. It’s rough when you’ve recorded more fouls (five) than minutes (four). She went 0-for-1 from the field.
The junior guard doesn’t contribute much, averaging just 2.5 points and 2.2 rebounds, but losing a fresh body is a big blow, especially when you need contributions from everyone to get back in this game. Virginia Tech leads Marshall 60-31 with 5:40 to play in the third.
As Caitlin Clark prepares for her last March Madness, she sounds relaxed and comfortable with where she and her team are situated. Clark and the No. 1 seed Hawkeyes open against Holy Cross on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
Clark, who will graduate this spring, is trying to keep perspective.
“You can't be too worried about when it's going to end or how it's going to end,” Clark said. “You've just got to enjoy the moments … and don't let them pass you by.”
The all-time leading scorer in Division I, she declared for the WNBA draft last month and is expected to go No. 1 to the Indiana Fever.
“It’s honestly gone really fast, and obviously this last year has been really crazy. … just getting to enjoy these last few months of basketball with my best friends has been really fun.”
MORE:See which celebrity NCAA brackets have Hawkeyes winning
So what are the chances Iowa makes it back to the championship game?
“I have four other people on the court with me at the same time, and I can rely on them. I'm going to need them if we want to reach our goals in March. It can't just be me.”
Where does MTSU's comeback rank in women's NCAA Tournament history? The top of the list of largest comebacks in women's NCAA Tournament history, according to ESPN.
– Daily (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) News Journal
The flip side to all the fun of March Madness is heartbreak, and it was on full display in Louisville’s postgame news conference.
Senior Merissah Russell broke down in tears as she apologized to the coaching staff and fans for the Cardinals’ 71-69 upset loss to 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee State. It’s Louisville’s first loss in the first round since 2006 and the first under head coach Jeff Walz.
“This hurts,” Russell said, beginning to cry. “We know the culture here, we know the standards here and this isn’t it. … It’s not who we are.
“I feel like a failure,” she added as Walz reached over and rubbed her back to try and comfort her.
Louisville led by 18 in the first half. But the Cardinals have struggled to put games away all season and this was no different. They were outscored 15-10 in the second quarter and doubled up – 24-12 – in the third.
They still had a chance to win, but Russell’s last-second 3-pointer clanged off the rim.
Though Walz said after the game he takes responsibility for the loss, Russell wasn’t having it. Nor does she want to hear criticism of him.
“We’re coming back because of him,” Russell said. “We’re going to go further in the tournament next year because of him.”
No. 4 seed Virginia Tech opened its first-round matchup against No. 13 Marshall on a 13-0 run. The Thundering Herd cut the lead to single digits before the Hokies went on a 10-0 run to close the half. Virginia Tech leads by 17 at halftime.
The Hokies have dominated the Thundering Herd in the paint, outscoring them 16-8. Marshall has resorted to shooting from beyond the arc, but only knocked down 3-of-19 threes in the first half.
Virginia Tech center Clara Strack has a team-high 14 points, two rebounds and two blocks, while senior Cayla King added seven points, three rebounds and two steals. Senior Georgia Amoore, who found herself in early foul trouble and sat the entire second quarter, was held to four points.
Marshall senior Mahogany Matthew scored seven points, and had one block and one steal. Sophomore Meredith Maier has six points and two rebounds. No Thundering Herd player is in double digits. They are shooting 27% from the field, while Virginia Tech is shooting 59.1% from the field and 4-of-9 from three.
The Hokies are without center Elizabeth Kitley, a three-time ACC player of the year, the entire tournament after she suffered a knee injury in the regular-season finale at Virginia.
After making one of the largest comebacks in NCAA women’s tournament history with its upset of Louisville, the No. 11 seed MTSU Blue Raiders will face the winner of No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 Rice in the second round of the Albany 2 region bracket. LSU is the defending NCAA champion.
No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee completed a double-digit comeback to upset No. 6 seed Louisville on Friday, tying the third-largest comeback in women’s tournament history.
It came down to the final seconds. Louisville’s Sydney Taylor hit a three-point shot with 4 seconds remaining to cut MTSU’s lead to 71-69. Blue Raiders Ta'Mia Scott missed both free throws that would have iced the game and the Blue Raiders rebounded the ball with 3 seconds left. Cardinals’ Merissah Russell heaved up a half-court shot that narrowly missed, hitting the backboard and the rim as time expired.
The Blue Raiders trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half before outscoring the Cardinals 44-31 in the second half.
MTSU senior Savannah Wheeler had 22 points — 20 in the second half — two rebounds and two steals. Senior Jalynn Gregory had a game-high 24 points, four assists and three rebounds. Middle Tennessee shot 39.2% from the field and 8-for-23 from three.
The win marks the Blue Raiders’ first in the tournament since 2007. It also marks the first March Madness first-round loss suffered by Louisville head coach Jeff Walz, who entered Friday’s matchup 14-0 in opening-round games.
Cardinals forward Olivia Cochran had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Nina Rickards had 12 points and five rebounds. The team shot 39.7% from the field and 6-of-19 from three.
Louisville is the only team in the country to have played in each of the past five Elite Eights. The Cardinals have advanced to the round of 16 in six consecutive seasons and the round of eight in each of the past five seasons.
Louisville trails Middle Tennessee State 64-60 with a minute left to play. Louisville entered the day 14-0 in NCAA tournament first-round games under coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals have advanced to the round of 16 in six consecutive seasons and is the only team in the country to have played in each of the past five Elite Eights.
But Louisville skidded into the NCAA tournament. It lost six of its last 11 games, and barely got by Boston College in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. After that game, coach Jeff Walz joked he was going to go to a bar before getting back to work. "Hopefully it will make this game look a lot better when I watch it on film, blurry possibly," he said.
The Cardinals lost to Notre Dame the following day, committing 20 turnovers for a second consecutive game. "We've got to care. The ball has to matter. Every possession matters," Walz said after that game. "We're going to work for a week and a half on just grinding that in and instilling that into them."
Middle Tennessee State now has all of the momentum — and a lead against Louisville. Again, the Cardinals led this game 38-20.
11th-seeded Middle Tennessee State will take a 51-50 lead to the fourth quarter against No. 6 seed Louisville, which is having all kinds of fouling problems. In the third quarter, the Blue Raiders made 5 of 7 field goals (4 of 4 three-pointers) and 10 of a whopping 13 free throw attempts. And MTSU's top player, guard Savannah Wheeler, who has just two points in the first half, now has 16 points.
No. 10 seed Richmond leads No. 7 Duke, 26-23, at the end of the first quarter. The Spiders shot the ball at a stunning identical clip: 5 for 7 from three point range, 5 for 7 from two-point range. That's 71.4% and a totally different deal from what happened when teams met earlier this season. After one quarter of that game, Duke led 18-9; it went on to win 83-53.
Te-Hina Paopao had some very special fans in attendance for South Carolina’s first-round game.
Her father, Paul, was watching her play in person for the first time since she transferred to South Carolina. Her parents don’t like to travel, and their home is clear across the country in Oceanside, California.
Family is big for Paopao, and ESPN showed a clip of her emotional reunion with her father ahead of the game. Also making the trip was her adorable niece, who is also named Te-Hina. - Nancy Armour
Middle Tennessee State, which trailed Louisville by 38-20 with four minutes left in the second quarter but closed the first half on a 7-0 run, has continued to close on the Cardinals early in the third quarter.
Louisville's lead is down to 44-40 with four minutes left in the third quarter. MTSU has made 3 of 3 three-pointers in the third quarter. - Steve Berkowitz
COLUMBIA, S.C. − Sophomore forward Chloe Kitts tied a career high with 21 points and went 9-for-9 from the field, leading South Carolina women's basketball to an easy 91-39 opening win over Presbyterian at Colonial Life Arena.
Despite missing senior center Kamilla Cardoso and junior guard Bree Hall, the shorthanded No. 1 Gamecocks (33-0) dispatched the No. 16 Blue Hose (21-15).
Hall did not play for precautionary reasons, according to the school. Cardoso was serving a one-game suspension for her role in a fight against LSU in the SEC Tournament championship.
Freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 17 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers to help the Gamecocks. Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 and made four 3-pointers. – The Greenville News
Larry David, who co-created Seinfeld and whose show "Curb Your Enthusiasm," highlights his cringe-worthy antics, is not a fan of March Madness. During an interview with Rich Eisen on Thursday, David said he had enough teams to track – he’s a fan of New York’s Knicks and Rangers.
"This is insane, I don't know anything!" David said on a recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" when asked if he fills out a bracket.
"How much can I follow sports? I’m supposed to know who’s on Drake? It’s crazy! … I can't follow all these teams, how do people do it?" David asks incredulously. "I can't name one college player. Not one. I can't give you one name!"
To which Eisen responded, "Well, I'm sure you've seen Caitlin Clark." David said, "Yes! That's the only one. She's the only one." - Heather Tucker
Again, all things are relative if you're a No. 16 seed trying to deal with playing No. 1 seed and undefeated South Carolina on its home floor. So while Presbyterian trails 38-20 midway through the second quarter, keep in mind that Presbyterian scored a total of 29 points against the Gamecocks in a game earlier this season. On the other hand — in further evidence of South Carolina's depth, the Gamecocks' reserves have scored 19 points themselves.
South Carolina looking comfortable in building a 15-8 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter. For Presbyterian, this is a significant improvement over what happened in the teams' meeting earlier this season. At the same point in that game, South Carolina led 23-7.
With less than a minute left in the first half, MTSU's leading scorer, Savannah Wheeler finally gets her first basket of the game. It's part of a 7-0 run that has gotten the Blue Raiders back to within 38-27.
With No. 1 seed South Carolina getting underway against Presbyterian, a reminder that these teams met earlier this season, on Dec. 16 in Columbia -- and the Gamecocks won, 99-29. Yes, it was 99-29.
Louisville has gotten off to a quick start against No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee State in a game being played in Baton Rouge. The Cardinals lead 35-20 midway through the second quarter. Louisville is shooting 53%, including 4 for 8 from three-point range. MTSU's Savannah Wheeler, who entered the game averaging 16.6 points per game, is scoreless so far on 0 for 6 shooting from the field.
Those watch Northwestern vs. Florida Atlantic got to see a major news announcement, when the CBS broadcast cut to Kate Middleton’s announcement she is receiving treatment for cancer.
The cut-in happened during a timeout in the action, and after the announcement aired, the broadcast went back to the game. Everything we know about the announcement here. - Jordan Mendoza
Looking ahead to next game in Columbus, Ohio: It's No. 7 seed Duke against No. 10 Richmond, which is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005 and coming off winning its first conference championship since 1991 in what was then known as the Colonial Athletic Association. These teams met in their season opener, on Nov. 6 at Duke. The Blue Devils won that game 83-53. Since then, however, the Spiders have gone 29-4,
Tim McGraw knows how to play to the crowd.
McGraw wore a Caitlin Clark jersey during his concert in Des Moines on Thursday night. Her black road jersey, to be specific. The country superstar also used an image of Clark as his backdrop at Wells Fargo Arena.
Read more from Nancy Armour, and see the pictures.
Ohio State continued to expand its lead over Maine, and ended up with a 80-57 victory. Up next for the Buckeyes will be either No. 7 seed Duke or No. 10 seed Richmond.
Ohio State's Jacy Sheldon put together 19 points (surpassing 2,000 for her career), four rebounds and four assists. Cotie McMahon added 13 points. Maine's Anne Simon — in the final game of a career that included two America East Conference player of the year awards — scored 25 points.
North Carolina's win gives Tar Heels coach Courtney Banghart the 350th victory of her career. It also gives her a $50,000 bonus — not for that milestone, but for reaching the tournament's round of 32. UNC will play South Carolina on Sunday. It's a rematch for the teams, which met on Nov. 30 in Chapel Hill with South Carolina winning, 65-58.
Deja Kelly makes the first of two free throws, then misses the second — but she gets the rebound and gets fouled again. She again goes 1 for 2, but UNC's Alyssa Ustby got another offensive rebound (UNC's 18th of the game) and the Tar Heels win 59-56.
After North Carolina's Deja Kelly made one of two free throws, Michigan State's Tory Ozment hit a layup and the Spartans keep closing in on the Tar Heels. That makes it an 11-1 run here by Michigan State, which had trailed by as many as 16 points.
After North Carolina's Lexi Donarski made two free throws, Michigan State's Theryn Hallock hit a three-pointer -- and the Spartans are now within 57-56 with 5.4 seconds to play.
Maine regrouped at halftime and played Ohio State nearly even in the third quarter. But the Buckeyes lead 66-54 heading to the fourth quarter — and they exceeded 20 points in each of the first three.
Well, just when it appeared that North Carolina had matters in hand against Michigan State, the Spartans have put together a 7-0 run to get within 54-49 with 48.2 seconds left.
And with a steal and score by DeeDee Hagemann, Michigan State is within 54-51 with 30.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. — Steve Berkowitz
North Carolina has gradually added to its lead over Michigan State as the fourth quarter has progressed. The Tar Heels lead 54-44 with two minutes to play as senior guard Alyssa Ustby has taken charge, totaling 16 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Earlier this season, against Syracuse, Ustby picked up the first triple-double in UNC. That feat came amid an increase in women's speed of play that USA TODAY Sports' Lindsay Schnell reports on here.
Looking ahead to the third game of the day in the women's tournament: It's No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee playing No. 6 Louisville in Baton Rouge.
These teams actually are familiar with each other. MTSU routed Louisville, 67-49, in a regular-season game early in December in Murfreesboro.
The Cardinals regrouped to make a run to the NCAA tournament final eight — the fifth consecutive season in which they accomplished that feat. Louisville also will be looking to make it 15-0 in first-round games under coach Jeff Walz, and make it seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA round of 16.
Should they win, a former Cardinal is likely waiting for them in the second round: Hailey Van Lith, who earned All-American honors last year for Louisville before transferring to LSU in the offseason.
It’s going to be a busy weekend for Tammy Brown.
Brown has two daughters playing in March Madness this year: Teonni Key is a sophomore guard/forward for eighth-seeded North Carolina, currently up 48-37 on ninth-seeded Michigan State in the fourth quarter. And Tamari, a senior for the sixth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols.
Tennessee takes on 11th-seeded Green Bay, with tip scheduled for 12 p.m. ET Saturday. Can Tammy get there in time? Read more. - Lindsay Schnell
Michigan State and North Carolina played to a stalemate in the third quarter of their game. North Carolina won the quarter 9-8, but neither team scored during the final 2:50. For the quarter, Michigan State made 3 of 12 shots, North Carolina 4 of 18. The Tar Heels will take a 44-35 lead to the fourth quarter.
Trailing 40-22 late the second quarter, Maine had an even worse development in the final minute of the second quarter when second-leading scorer Adrianna Smith stepped on a Ohio State player's foot and appeared to badly roll an ankle. She came into the game averaging 16.6 points per game. She had to be helped off the court. For one final bit of adversity, Ohio State hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to extend its lead to 43-24. For the second quarter, the Buckeyes outscored Maine, 21-8.
Ohio State grad student guard Jacy Sheldon just surpassed 2,000 points for her career with a layup she converted into a three-point play. She is the eighth Ohio State player to reach 2,000 points for her career.
No one in the gym is more excited about this milestone than Jacy's sister, Emmy, who is a big part of Ohio State's program.
Just over halfway through the second quarter, Ohio State has started to gain control of its game against Maine. The margin was 22-16 after one quarter. It's now 35-18, as Maine has racked up 12 turnovers, equaling its season average. Three of Maine's starters now have two fouls, including leading scorer Anne Simon.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark is tipping off in her final March Madness at 3 p.m. Saturday. Clark and Iowa begin their bid to return to the NCAA women's national championship game as the No. 1 Hawkeyes take on No. 16 Holy Cross, which blew out UT Martin in the the First Four on Thursday. This is the first time Iowa has received a No. 1 seed in the tournament since 1992. — Cydney Henderson
While Maine certainly faces an uphill proposition against Ohio State, the Black Bears have a steady and tournament-experienced hand with coach Amy Vachon. Vachon, who attended Maine, participated in four NCAA tournaments as a player and has taken the school to two previous NCAA tournament appearances as a coach. Part of playing experience included being the point guard for a team that beat Stanford in a first round game in 1999 — Maine's only NCAA tournament win.
After one quarter, 15th-seeded Maine is hanging in against Ohio State in Columbus. The Black Bears are with 22-16, as they shot 6 for 9 from the field, including 4 for 6 from three-point range. But a potential sign: Maine committed its eighth turnover at the start of the second quarter, and its ninth shortly after. Ohio State has two turnovers so far.
Maine has averaged 12 turnovers per game this season. The team's high this year was 22, twice: vs. LaSalle (Nov. 9) and New Hampshire (Jan. 11). Ohio State averages 13.5 turnovers per game, but its opponents this season have averaged 21.2.
Michigan State managed to cut its 16-point, mid-second-quarter deficit to eight points late in the quarter, but then with 36.8 seconds left in the half, leading scorer Julia Ayrault committed her third foul. The Spartans scored again just before the buzzer to make it 35-27, but their top two scorers will begin the third quarter with three fouls apiece. Moira Joiner committed her third early in the second quarter.
Michigan State managed to get its offense going a bit against North Carolina, but then three minutes into the second quarter, the team's second-leading scorer, guard Moira Joiner, committed her third foul. That meant the Spartans' top two scorers, Joiner and Julia Ayrault, both were in foul trouble with more than half of the quarter remaining.
Joiner sat out for about two minutes, then returned. But North Carolina extended its lead to 30-14, prompting Spartans coach Robyn Fralick to call for a timeout with just over four minutes left before halftime.
The first quarter of North Carolina-Michigan State could not have gone much better for the Tar Heels — or much worse for the Spartans. Michigan State trailed 23-7 before scoring the final three point of the quarter. Amid that was a 16-2 run for North Carolina, which ended the quarter 10 of 19 from the field while Michigan State shot 3 of 10. The differential in shot attempts was largely due to Michigan State committing seven turnovers in the quarter. — Steve Berkowitz
Alyssa Ustby is the epitome of a do-everything player for North Carolina. After just one quarter the 6-foot-1 guard already has eight points, five rebounds, two assists and one block as UNC leads Michigan State 23-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Earlier this season, the senior recorded the program’s first-ever triple-double in an upset win over Syracuse (at the time, UNC was not ranked, but ‘Cuse was). Afterward, UNC coach Courtney Banghart told reporters that she and Ustby had a frank conversation early in the ACC season during which Banghart emphasized that good players have to play well in big games. Clearly, Ustby took those words to heart against Syracuse and today against Michigan State. Also of note: Banghart said that triple-double record came, in part, because of how much faster the women’s game is getting. — Lindsay Schnell
North Carolina has jumped out to 15-5 lead on Michigan State, and all of the Tar Heels' points have come on layups. Making matters worse for the Spartans, their leading scorer, grad student Julia Ayrault has already committed her second foul. — Steve Berkowitz
North Carolina has been inconsistent all season, but the way they look the first four minutes against Michigan State is reinforcing to me that when they want to be, they're a top 20 team. — Lindsay Schnell
Don’t be fooled by the seeds here for No. 8 North Carolina and No. 9 Michigan State. Either of these teams could make life difficult for top-ranked South Carolina — once they get past each other. The game is airing and streaming now on ESPN2. — Lindsay Schnell
Here is the complete NCAA women's tournament schedule for Friday's first-round games.
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
ESPNews
It's funny that Courtney Bangart, the UNC women's basketball coach, wound up at arguably the most dominant women's soccer school in the country. She was originally supposed to play soccer at Dartmouth. Then the Dartmouth coach got the job at Stanford, called Bangart and said she was welcome to come to Stanford with him if she wanted, presumably on some sort of scholarship because Stanford had athletic scholarships, whereas the Ivy League doesn't. She was so in love with Dartmouth that instead she called the Dartmouth basketball coach and asked if she could play basketball instead. That kicked off her hoops career at the collegiate level, but she still has soccer in her veins, because whenever she talks about taking a player one-on-one she says one-v-one like they do in soccer. — Lindsay Schnell
Today's game between No. 8 seed North Carolina and No. 9 Michigan State makes for an interesting event for Michigan State President Kevin Guskiewicz. He began the job in East Lansing on March 4 — after being North Carolina's chancellor since 2019 and a member of the UNC faculty since 1995. And Guskiewicz is no stranger to sports. He's a renown researcher on concussions in sports and has been involved in the NCAA and NFL setting guidelines concerning the treatment of players who suffer a concussion. — Steve Berkowitz
Here are the players in action this afternoon in the NCAA women's tournament.
— Lindsay Schnell
Iowa star Caitlin Clark is tipping off in her final March Madness at 3 p.m. Saturday. Clark and Iowa begin their bid to return to the NCAA women's national championship game as the No. 1 Hawkeyes take on No. 16 Holy Cross, which blew out UT Martin in the the First Four on Thursday. This is the first time Iowa has received a No. 1 seed in the tournament since 1992. — Cydney Henderson
Shortly after Alyssa Ustby recorded the first triple-double in North Carolina women’s basketball history in early January, coach Courtney Banghart was asked: Why are so many records being broken lately in women’s college basketball? What’s different about now compared to, say, 10 years ago?
“The game is so fast,” Banghart said, shaking her head in awe. “There’s so many possessions — the stats guys might know that better than me — but the talent level and speed of play is remarkable. I’ve been in this game a long time and (players today) can all do so much with the ball. There’s just more versatility as well as athleticism, and that leads to more possessions and more impact on the game.”
As the women’s tournament tips off Friday, more eyeballs are on the game than ever. Much of that attention can be directly attributed to Caitlin Clark, the Iowa superstar who has spent her four-year career shattering records (and TV ratings). Read Lindsay Schnell's full story.
Here's the complete schedule.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for all 16 games:
USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour picked No. 12 Vanderbilt to upset No. 5 Baylor, No. 11 MIddle Tennessee to upset No. 6 Louisville and No. 10 Maryland to upset No. 7 Iowa State. Check out all of Nancy Armour’s picks here.
The Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark is poised for another Final Four run after her landmark season where she broke Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record. LSU's Angel Reese, Stanford's Cameron Brink, Connecticut's Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao are hoping to stand in the way of her first national title.
A quick reminder that like in 2023, the women’s tournament will have two “super” regionals, meaning there will be four Sweet 16 and two Elite Eight games at each site. This change was made in an effort to draw more fans, and worked well last year. Given the star power in the game this season — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers — you can expect more of the same.
First round
Second round
| Round | Locations | Venues | Dates |
| Sweet 16 | Portland | Moda Center | March 29-30 |
| Sweet 16 | Albany, N.Y. | Times Union Center | March 29-30 |
| Elite Eight | Portland | Moda Center | March 31-April 1 |
| Elite Eight | Albany, N.Y. | Times Union Center | March 31-April 1 |
| Final Four | Cleveland | Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse | April 5 |
| National championship | Cleveland | Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse | April 7 |
Here is the women's schedule:
So, you’re going to watch women’s March Madness. Is this your first time? If so, welcome. The women’s game is growing at a rapid rate, and we’re happy to have you here. You’ve picked a great time to join the party, given the star power of players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who are playing in their last March Madness. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of young superstars in the game too, from JuJu Watkins (Southern Cal) to Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)to Madison Booker (Texas) and a whole host of others.
Filling out men’s brackets has always been par for the course but this year, nearly every bracket competition has seen a significant uptick in people filling out women’s brackets. There’s no question the women’s tournament is going to shine this year — maybe even outshine the men’s — and we’re here to help you enjoy it. So let’s talk semantics, so you can have the best women’s tournament viewing experience possible. — Lindsay Schnell
Last year's NCAA Tournament featured the most-watched Final Four in the sport's history when Iowa handed South Carolina a rare loss and then lost a nail-biter to LSU in the championship.
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