Can’t decide on a champion when you fill out your NCAA women’s bracket? One of these six contenders is probably a good bet.
UCLA
There’s just one contender with only two losses on its résumé entering March Madness: UCLA. The Bruins (30-2) were the last undefeated team standing, not losing until mid-February. The only team to beat UCLA was fellow title contender USC, which did it twice in the regular season. The Bruins went on to avenge those losses in the Big Ten championship game.
Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 national player of the year candidate, has been a force in the paint for the Bruins and the crux of UCLA’s success. She is averaging 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds and poses a matchup nightmare for even the best teams in the country. Flanked by a talented group of guards, headlined by point guard Kiki Rice, Betts helped UCLA stand atop the rankings for most of the season.
The Bruins’ history of postseason success predates NCAA women’s basketball: They won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championship in 1978. They have already reached new heights this year with their first 30-win season. They’ll look to follow that up with a program-first Final Four berth and NCAA title.
South Carolina
South Carolina has been an annual national title favorite in recent years. This time last year, the Gamecocks were undefeated — a streak they carried into April, when they lifted their third national championship trophy. South Carolina (30-3) isn’t the overwhelming favorite this time, but the Gamecocks remain in the mix to win it all again.
South Carolina is anchored not by a single superstar but by its depth. Eight players average more than 19 minutes. Both of the Gamecocks’ leading scorers, freshman Joyce Edwards and electric sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, come off the bench. No player averages more than 14 points, but seven average at least six, which is tied for the most players on one roster in the nation (among players who appeared in at least 25 games). It all adds up to the Gamecocks averaging 41.5 bench points, by far the most in the country.
The Gamecocks also rank first in Her Hoop Stats’ defensive rating (which adjusts points allowed per 100 possessions for strength of schedule) for the fourth season in a row. While this year’s squad doesn’t feature the dominance in the lane of recent South Carolina teams, it makes up for that with versatility in its frontcourt and its guards’ ability to lock down opponents one-on-one.
USC
The biggest star in women’s college basketball hails from Los Angeles. JuJu Watkins already has led USC to 28 wins and the Big Ten regular season title this year.
Watkins is at her best when the lights are brightest, as evidenced by her standout performances in all three games against UCLA this season, in which she averaged more than 30 points. While her scoring is her most heralded trait, Watkins’s ability to affect the game on both ends is crucial to the Trojans’ success.
What separates this year’s Trojans (28-3) from last year’s squad is the elite talent surrounding Watkins. Most notably, the addition of Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen gives USC an undeniable presence in the post, and guard Talia von Oelhoffen from Oregon State replaces the experience in the backcourt the Trojans lost from last year’s Elite Eight squad. Add in the top recruiting class in the nation, and there is less pressure on Watkins to do it all, even though she is capable of carrying USC to a title if she needs to.
Connecticut
After suffering from a string of injuries that devastated the roster over the past few seasons, Connecticut (31-3) enters this postseason with its stars healthy and depth it hasn’t had in quite some time. While that depth will prove beneficial, the Huskies’ three stars make them title contenders.
In the backcourt, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd will be on the floor together during March Madness for the first time since the Huskies’ 2022 run to the national title game. Bueckers’s efficiency and ability to create on the offensive end combined with Fudd’s prolific three-point shooting lead the most efficient offense in the country. The Huskies’ 1.03 points per play is the best mark nationally.
Sarah Strong could be the X-factor for Connecticut. Despite being a freshman, Strong isn’t rattled by the weight of the moment in big games and delivers consistency on both ends that could be the difference as the Huskies seek their first title since 2016.
Texas
If it’s true that defense wins championships, Texas (31-3) has a great shot to lift the trophy in April. The Longhorns have built their success on the defensive end, allowing 70 or more points just four times — and just twice since the start of the new year.
Texas’s size sets it apart — every player in its core rotation except for point guard Rori Harmon is over 6 feet. That’s hard for teams to match up with, and it allows the Longhorns to disrupt opponents’ ability to find success in the lane or on the glass. Even at 5-6, Harmon is a large part of the defensive success with her speed and ability to fluster opposing guards and disrupt passing lanes.
That size advantage allows Texas to be among the nation’s top teams despite ranking last in three-point rate nationally, with fewer than 15 percent of the Longhorns’ scoring attempts coming from beyond the arc. The Longhorns average just over three made three-pointers per game. While the lack of three-point shooting could be problematic in the NCAA tournament, Texas proved throughout the season that its dominance in the lane makes it a national title contender.
Notre Dame
Among all the talent on this list of title contenders, the best backcourt may be in South Bend, Indiana. Hannah Hidalgo, who is among the favorites for national player of the year honors, continued to light up the ACC as a sophomore after her impressive freshman season. She is now joined by Olivia Miles, one of the best point guards in the country, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. And the unsung hero of the group, Sonia Citron, gives Notre Dame a three-headed guard attack. The trio has accounted for more than 60 percent of the Fighting Irish’s points.
Notre Dame (26-5) boasts more wins over the other title contenders than anyone else — it earned victories over USC, Texas and Connecticut in the regular season. However, the Irish have struggled recently and dropped three of their past five games, which cost them the outright ACC regular season title and an ACC tournament championship. Before this latest stretch, Notre Dame had not lost since November. With almost two weeks off between the ACC tournament and the start of the NCAA tournament, there should be plenty of time for the Irish to right the ship and make a push to end the season with the most important trophy.
