\u2699\ufe0f How it works<\/h3>\n
Thanks to a <\/strong>TikTok heard \u2019round the world<\/strong><\/a> and the power of public outrage<\/strong>, the women\u2019s tourney now follows the same format as the men\u2019s.<\/p>\n Sixty-eight Division I (DI) women\u2019s squads<\/strong> heard their names called on Selection Sunday and were ranked one through 68 before being divided into four regions: Greenville 1, Greenville 2, Seattle 3 and Seattle 4, with teams ranked one through four grabbing the No. 1 seeds in each region. Teams ranked five through eight became the No. 2 seeds, and so on.<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s First Four matchups will determine the final seeds<\/strong>. After No. 11 seed Mississippi State and No. 16 Sacred Heart clinched their spots in the final 64-team bracket with last night\u2019s wins, St. John\u2019s faces Purdue and Monmouth takes on Tennessee Tech for the remaining 11 and 16 spots tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. ET, respectively.<\/p>\n Then the <\/strong>official<\/strong><\/em> Madness begins <\/strong>in the form of 63 single-elimination matchups (consisting of four 10-minute quarters with a 30-second shot clock) tipping off tomorrow and culminating in the championship game on Sunday, April 2nd. Ball \u2019til you fall, baby.<\/p>\n South Carolina (Greenville 1): <\/strong>The No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year, the undefeated reigning champs look poised to repeat. Consensus No. 1 WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston is still dazzling despite often being triple-teamed<\/a>, but the Gamecocks\u2019 depth, highlighted by leading scorer Zia Cooke, has been most impressive. Watch out, world.<\/p>\n Indiana (Greenville 2): <\/strong>The Hoosiers earned a No. 1 seed for the first time in program history by dominating the loaded Big Ten conference<\/a>\u2019s regular season. The veteran leadership of top-10 scorer Mackenzie Holmes and fifth-year Grace Berger will surely help this squad navigate the Madness.<\/p>\n Virginia Tech (Seattle 3): <\/strong>How \u2019bout them Hokies? Virginia Tech hoisted their first-ever ACC<\/a> Tournament title earlier this month, earning a No. 1 seed and a prime opportunity to avenge last year\u2019s unexpected first-round exit.<\/p>\n Stanford (Seattle 4): <\/strong>The 2021 champion Cardinal stumbled down the stretch, losing their regular-season finale and suffering an early exit from the Pac-12<\/a> Tournament. That said, they boast plenty of star power \u2014 hi, Cameron Brink and top WNBA prospect Haley Jones \u2014 not to mention the winningest NCAA women\u2019s coach of all time, Tara VanDerveer.<\/p>\n SOURCE: DAVID BERDING\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n No. 2 Iowa (Seattle 4): <\/strong>Two words: Caitlin. Clark. The Player of the Year favorite lives for big moments and puts up big numbers. Case in point? She notched four triple-doubles<\/a> this season \u2014 one of which came in Iowa\u2019s Big Ten title victory. And with fifth-year Monika Czinano\u2019s veteran presence down low, the Hawkeyes are flying high entering the Madness.<\/p>\n No. 2 UConn (Seattle 3): <\/strong>Last year\u2019s runners-up overcame a myriad of injuries this season \u2014 including to superstar Paige Bueckers (pronounced BECK-ers) \u2014 to earn a third straight Big East \u2019ship. With Azzi Fudd back on the floor after missing much of the season with a knee injury, expect more March Magic from these perennial contenders.<\/p>\n No. 3 LSU (Greenville 2): <\/strong>The HC Kim Mulkey\u2013led Tigers\u2019 first loss didn\u2019t come until mid-February, but it\u2019s still TBD how they\u2019ll fare against stronger competition. Nevertheless, transfer student Angel Reese is making history even when down a shoe<\/a>, and SEC Freshman of the Year Flau\u2019jae Johnson has all sorts of talent<\/a>.<\/p>\n No. 2 Maryland (Greenville 1): <\/strong>The Terps fully embraced the slow and steady mentality, overcoming early stumbles to finish third in the loaded Big Ten\u2019s regular season. Their biggest star? Expected No. 2 WNBA draft pick Diamond Miller, who\u2019s averaging nearly 20 points per game. Shine bright like a\u2026<\/p>\n SOURCE: PRINCETON WBB\/TWITTER<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n No. 10 Princeton (Greenville 2): <\/strong>The Tigers are no strangers to busting brackets. Last season, they upset always strong Kentucky and nearly knocked off Indiana in the Big Dance. Plus, they\u2019re entering their second straight national tournament with massive momentum \u2014 Princeton boasts a 15-game win streak. A Cinderella story<\/a>\u2026just feels right.<\/p>\n No. 9 South Dakota State (Seattle 3):<\/strong> The reigning women\u2019s National Invitation Tournament champs (aka WNIT, a tourney for squads who don\u2019t make March Madness), the Jackrabbits were perfect in conference play this season. And similar to Princeton, they\u2019re feeling caliente with 21 straight wins.<\/p>\n No. 11 Middle Tennessee (Seattle 4): <\/strong>Despite playing in the not-so-stacked Conference USA<\/a>, the Lady Raiders still garnered national attention. Perhaps most importantly, this squad is strong on defense, limiting opponents to just under 57 points per game.<\/p>\n No. 5 Washington State (Greenville 2): <\/strong>When Shania Twain is rooting for you<\/a>, you know you\u2019ve made it. The Cougs\u2019 Cinderella story is already underway after becoming the first-ever No. 7 seed to win the Pac-12 Tournament behind junior Charlisse Leger-Walker\u2019s magical performance. Let\u2019s go, girls.<\/p>\n SOURCE: MITCHELL LEFF\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Maddy Siegrist, No. 4 Villanova (Greenville 2): <\/strong>The nation\u2019s leading scorer, Siegrist has been a double-double<\/a> machine for the Big East Tournament\u2019s runners-up. The Player of the Year candidate already lifted the Wildcats to their best-ever ranking (No. 10), and now she will try to take them to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003. What team?!<\/p>\n Alissa Pili, No. 2 Utah (Greenville 2): <\/strong>Transfer student Pili\u2019s enjoying a breakout first season with the Utes, netting over 20 points per game to earn Pac-12 Player of the Year in the highly competitive conference. That outburst helped transform Utah into Pac-12 regular-season co-champs \u2014 a sign of what\u2019s to come on the big stage.<\/p>\n Ashley Joens, No. 5 Iowa State (Seattle 3): <\/strong>Only 14 women\u2019s D1 players have scored 3,000 career points, and Joens is one of them. And she reached the milestone mark while upsetting Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament semis en route to the Cyclones\u2019 first conference title since 2001. Batten down the hatches.<\/p>\n Olivia Miles, No. 3 Notre Dame (Greenville 1): <\/strong>The sophomore standout is one of the best passers in the country and the centerpiece of a squad that\u2019s struggled since she suffered a knee injury in their regular-season finale. Her status is still TBD, but if<\/em> she\u2019s back on the floor, the Irish will certainly put up a real fight.<\/p>\n SOURCE: ANDY LYONS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Stock up on snacks, fluff your couch cushions and <\/strong>ready your bracket<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>\u2014 the weekend is loaded with non-stop first and second round hoops. It all tips off tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET when No. 9 Marquette faces No. 8 South Florida, with all tourney action airing on ESPN networks in the U.S. and TSN networks in Canada. Hoop to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1\ufe0f\u20e3 The No. 1 seeds<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udc4a The contenders<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udc0e The dark horses<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udcaa (More) players to watch<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udcfa Tune in<\/h3>\n
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