Preview of Sweet 16 for women
With the Sweet 16 upon us, USA Today Sports' Tony Anderson previews some of the top matchups we're most looking forward to.
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The women's NCAA Tournament heads into the Sweet 16 with four games on Friday, including two top seeds. unbeaten South Carolina Faces No. 4 Indiana Before number 1 Texas Square with the number 4 Gonzaga. Number 2 Notre Dame He starts the day against No. 3 Oregon. Cameron Brink and No. 2 Stanford Face number 3 North Carolina State During peak times.
Women's March Madness Games are broadcast and streamed across ESPN's family of channels. USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest news, scores, analysis and more all day long. Follow along.
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March Madness matches for women today
Here is the complete schedule of women's NCAA Tournament games on Friday.
How to watch NCAA women's tournament games
ESPN will broadcast all four Sweet 16 games on Friday.
Hanna Hidalgo's number one fan
A lot of people paid a lot of money to watch Caitlin Clarke play this season. There are a few players you would return the favor to.
“I would probably say JuJu now. That's the guy I would pay and go see,” Clark said, referring to USC freshman JuJu Watkins.
“But also Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame,” Clark said. “I think it's been tremendous. I think Hannah has flown under the radar a little bit.” -Nancy Armour
Oregon has the advantage in size, depth, rebounding and points in the paint.
Where he struggles is taking care of the ball.
Notre Dame, despite a poor shooting performance, stayed in this game and fell behind 32-31 at halftime. The Fighting Irish went just 12 of 33 (36.4%) from the field, but they scored 14 points off Oregon State's 12 turnovers. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has only committed one turnover.
Another area where the Irish have a clear advantage is: increasing pace. Notre Dame shut down Oregon State in transition while scoring 12 points at the break.
Oregon State forward Raegan Beers leads all scorers with 12 points on six-of-seven shooting and added seven rebounds. Notre Dame got 11 points from guard Sonia Citron and nine from forward Maddie Westbild. — Lorenzo Reyes
The Beavers switched to a pick-and-roll with star second-year forward Raegan Beers to create mismatches and get Beers clean looks at the basket.
The Fighting Irish struggled to contain the Bears' presence, allowing them to make easy entry passes and get into early trouble. Notre Dame tried to double the Bears, but the offense's problems forced the Irish to play more conservatively on defense.
The Bears have eight early points on four of five shots and five rebounds, three of which were offensive. Oregon State has a huge six-to-one advantage in offensive rebounds and has a 12:4 advantage on the boards overall.
Oregon State led 17-15 in the second quarter.
Notre Dame forward Maddie Westbild leads the Irish with seven points. – Lorenzo Reyes
The Sweet 16 is officially underway — sort of.
No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Oregon arrived in Albany for Game 1 of the regional semifinals, though events slowed down almost as quickly as they started. A shot clock issue immediately halted play just 32 seconds into the game.
Oregon State won the tip but missed its first field goal attempt before officials stopped play due to a clock issue. – Lorenzo Reyes
Who is Oregon State's cool mascot, you ask? It's Benny the Beaver. But wait…there's also Bernice Beaver, who did it He recently came out of retirement.
Are you looking for the location of the Oregon State vs. Notre Dame game? If you thought it was at the Times Union Center, you were wrong — sort of. The Albany venue hosting the Sweet 16 was called the Times Union Center, but it was Renamed MVP Arena In January 2022.
16 sweet predictions
Today the craze is back, and gaming is even more fun from now on – that's our expectation at least. It feels like we're about to have some tough fights or overtime battles. Maybe both. This round of the women's NCAA Tournament has just about everything you could want, from powerhouses dancing deep for the umpteenth time to programs trying to make the second weekend a regular destination. There are brilliant seniors, outstanding freshmen and everything in between. Here are some bold predictions for the first round of the Sweet 16, which ends Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET. — Lindsey Schnell
USA TODAY sports experts Nancy Armor and Lindsey Schnell are split on who will win this Sweet 16 matchup. Armor says Notre Dame will win while Schnell will take Oregon State to victory.
Notre Dame vs. Oregon State: What to watch out for
The Irish are practically playing on fumes at this point, having lost another player (forward Kylie Watson) to a season-ending injury right before the NCAA Tournament. They have an amazing freshman guard in Hannah Hidalgo, who has yet to play well as a freshman. Will that come at some point?
The Beavers, picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 this season, have the always-coveted interior offense and, by the numbers, are the second-best defensive team remaining in the tournament, behind only South Carolina. They were rolling in mid-February before sophomore Raegan Beers broke her nose and missed a few games, halting their momentum. Can they return to this level of play? Read more about Notre Dame vs. Oregon State. — Lindsey Schnell
Freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo led the Fighting Irish to a 55-51 victory over the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the ACC Championship game to secure Notre Dame's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Hidalgo, who had 22 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in the win, was named the 2024 ACC Tournament Player of the Year and was named to the all-tournament first team.
The ACC Tournament accolades are just the tip of the iceberg for Hidalgo, whose impressive freshman campaign also earned her national recognition. Here's everything you need to know about the new student.
National Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Championship schedule
Here it is Grading board Today's Sweet 16 schedule is at NCAA Women's Championship.
Notre Dame is the favorite to defeat Oregon State in Friday's March Madness game, according to BetMGM college basketball odds.
Will Notre Dame's injuries finally catch up with them?
You should be impressed by the second-seeded Irish, who lost goalkeeper Olivia Miles to a season-ending injury last year. Everyone knew she wouldn't be ready to go at the start of the season and freshman Hannah Hidalgo would have to step in. But was anyone expecting Hidalgo to play as an All-American? But that wasn't Notre Dame's only injury problem. Guard Cass Prosper missed most of the season, not playing since November, and the Irish lost forward Kaylee Watson to a torn ACL during the ACC Tournament. At some point, those injuries will catch up with the Irish — and we think that will happen in their Sweet 16 game against Oregon State. — Lindsey Schnell
ALBANY, N.Y. — Molly Davis was at Iowa State's practice on Friday, wearing workout gear and a compression brace. But she only stretched and did not run or participate in training during the portion open to the media.
“Molly is doubtful for tomorrow,” Bluder said afterward. “I really thought she would come back by now. She really did. I have no idea how long it will take for her to fully heal, but we won't take her out when it's unsafe for her to be in there.”
Read more from Nancy Amour.
Women's March Madness players to watch today
- Notre Dame G Hannah Hidalgo (23.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.6 spg), the most disruptive on-ball defender in the country who can get to the rim whenever she wants
- indiana f Mackenzie Holmes (20.0 ppg, 66.7% FG), power in the paint
- USC G Mckenzie Forbes (13.5 ppg, 3.3 apg), who only makes big shots in big moments
- NC State guard Sania Rivers (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.9 rpg), whose athleticism is usually good for at least one highlight per game
- Twins Gonzaga Gs Kayleigh (11.9 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Kaylynne Truong (11.6 ppg, 5.9 apg), whose stats are almost identical, are like that.
- South Carolina GT Hina Paopao (47.1% from 3), most impactful transfer in 2023-24
- Oregon State G Talia von Olhofen (10.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.7 apg), one of the best defensive guards in the country who hit one of the biggest shots of the regular season.
- Stanford F Cameron Brink (17.8 ppg, 12.0 rpg), the projected No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is a handful on both ends of the floor.
— Lindsey Schnell
NCAA Women's March Madness Bracket.
You can find the full March Madness class for women is here.
Women's basketball needs the faces of the future to be black. Enter JoJo Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo
It's understandable why JuJu Watkins, a front-runner for National Freshman of the Year, elicits a reaction every time she's on the floor. The 6-foot-2 rookie from the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles has a silky smooth jacket, veteran balance, and a combination of skill, power and body control rarely seen.
With Kaitlyn Clarke heading to the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she is projected to go No. 1 overall, Watkins, the nation's second-leading scorer this season behind Clarke, is in a position to become the face of women's basketball. She will be joined by Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, another this year's nominee.
It's not lost on any of the game's influencers: Both players are black. And in a game made by black women, it's important that the faces of the future look like the faces of the past. Read Lindsay Schnell's full feature here.
As shocking as it was for anyone to see the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, it was especially so for Angel Reese. The LSU star is a Baltimore native, and said her aunt drove over the Key Bridge every day to get to work.
“And we drove past her to get to her house,” Reese said Friday. “So I'm not sure what path she's on now or whether she's been able to go to work since then, but my prayers go out to everyone who hasn't been found yet and those who have been found and are still suffering from injuries.” “.
The bridge collapsed early Tuesday after a cargo ship collided with it and lost its power. The ship was able to proceed by radio, allowing traffic on the bridge to be stopped, but eight buildings fell into the river. Two were rescued, but six died. Four workers are still missing.
“I'm praying for Baltimore right now, and I hope everything gets resolved,” Reese said. — Nancy Armour
the UCLA BruinsYour body clocks will be really off. UCLA, the No. 2 seed in the Albany Regional II, already would have had to deal with a three-hour time change. Then the Bruins' flight was delayed, causing them to arrive in Albany, New York, more than two hours later than scheduled on Thursday. UCLA was the first to conduct media interviews Friday morning as well.
“I've got some red eyes and stuff like that,” said coach Corey Close, whose team faces No. 3. LSU on saturday. “But the reality is we're playing in the Sweet 16. We have a chance to do amazing things. So I'm not going to let two and a half hours get in the way of that.”
“I think it's a fact, and if you focus on things that are out of your control, as Coach Wooden would say, it will negatively impact the things that are within your control,” she said, referring to the legendary UCLA coach. John Wooden. “This is part of sports and life, the stronger the team wins, and I won't let something like travel get in my way.”
Its players agreed.
“Just a little bit of adversity,” Lauren Bates said. “We'll be fine.” — Nancy Armour
Replanting the Sweet 16 into the women's NCAA Tournament
There wasn't much craziness in the first two rounds of the women's tournament. Does the lack of disruptive movements mean chaos is coming in the next four days? One can only hope — unless you're rooting for the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. In this case, you'll probably be crossing your fingers that everything will get chalky. We can argue at a different time if it's fun or not. For now, let's reorganize the tournament based on the remaining teams. — Lindsey Schnell
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