We’re in the thick of March Madness, the annual playoff tournament in college basketball. With just sixteen teams left, the competition is ratcheting up another tier and I for one cannot wait. It’s day one of the Sweet Sixteen (the other half of the teams play tomorrow) and given that the women’s tournament has had primetime channel slots all postseason, I’m here with an introductory guide to the games of the day. There has yet to be an upset on this side of the bracket, which is simultaneously surprising and entirely expected. I’m excited to see if some of these “lower” seeds (read: 3rd and 4th) can get the win.
Here’s all the best drama and storylines that you should be aware of heading into the weekend, broken down by who’s playing next.
Oregon State (3) vs Notre Dame (2)
Game Time: March 29th, 2:30pm EST
Players to Watch: Hannah Hidalgo and Raegan Beers
The Drama: Hidalgo was snubbed for the Naismith so if you want to be mad about something here you go!
Notre Dame is led by perhaps the best freshman in the nation (and most certainly the best freshman still playing now that Iowa State’s Audi Crooks has been eliminated) in Hannah Hidalgo. When the Naismith Finalists list was published, it was Hidalgo people felt was most snubbed. To even be considered in the running for that honor as a freshman is an incredible feat and I truly cannot wait to watch this 5’6″ guard grow as a player. She’s averaging 22.9 points as a freshman, and it’s only up from here.
On the more senior side of the equation, senior forward Maddy Westbeld and junior guard Sonia Citron are both scoring over 10 points per game. Westbeld is expected to be a second round draft pick for the WNBA this year to hopefully continue her playing career in the pros. These two upperclassmen have been the leading scorers for their team in the last two games of the tournament with Hidalgo consistently right behind them. I’d expect something similar versus Oregon State.
Speaking of the OSU Beavers, they are led by Raegan Beers and Timea Gardiner. Beers is averaging a double double, making her a force to be reckoned with inside. Gardiner is averaging 40% from three, meaning you can’t fade away from her too far. It was Talia von Oelhoffen who was the one to watch last game, however, shooting 5-11 from three. This is an incredibly young team who will probably make an even deeper run in the tournament next year, which is saying something considering where they’re at already.
Indiana (4) vs South Carolina (1)
Game Time: March 29th, 5pm
Players to Watch: Kamilla Cardoso and Mackenzie HOlmes
The Drama: Indiana only has one big scorer at a time—can they get everyone going? Is it even possible to stop this undefeated South Carolina team? Will Dawn Staley once again be the coolest dressed coach in basketball?
South Carolina are the odds-on favorites to win the tournament this year after having an incredible undefeated season. That said, they were also expected to win it in 2023 after last years undefeated season, and Iowa put an end to that. Tonight, Indiana is hoping to be the second midwestern team to deal South Carolina the fatal blow.
The Gamecocks are led by Kamilla Cardoso, a predicted top 5 draft pick and current All-American. She’s an absolute menace at 6’7″ and has only been held to single digits 3 times over the entire season. She missed the first round of the NCAA tournament after being ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct in the conference tournament, and her team did a good job of adjusting to the fact that she wasn’t there. What unsportsmanlike conduct, you ask? Well, Cardoso shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson after Johnson intentionally elbowed her teammate. South Carolina ended up winning in a close game, and I’m sure LSU is hoping to meet in the finals and avenge both the loss and the shove.
Aside from Cardoso, freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley and Oregon transfer senior Te-Hina Paopao have been absolutely incredible both in the tournament and in general. Fulwiley is averaging 18.5ppg in the tournament, and Paopao is averaging 13. This is a good team and it will be fun to watch them play.
For Indiana’s part, they had two players named WBCA All-Regional Finalists—Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia, who are averaging 20 and 16 points on the season respectively. They’re joined by Yarden Garzon, Sydney Parrish, and Chloe Moore-McNeil as starters who also average over 10 points per game. Mackenzie Holmes is coming off a huge game in the last round of the tournament where she scored 29 on 12-23 shooting. Scalia achieved a similar feat in round one—27 points on 9-16 shooting. Which one of them will be the big scorer in this game? Only time will tell!
NC State (3) vs Stanford (2)
Game Time: March 29th, 7:30pm
Players to Watch: Kiki Iriafen and Aziaha James
The Drama: I’m not sure if NC State has anyone who can guard Stanford’s posts. But will Stanford be able to guard North Carolina’s guards?
Cameron Brink is the player to watch in this game. The tall, lanky Stanford center is almost definitely the second pick in the WNBA draft this year and will be spending more time in California. She averages 17.5 points and 11.9 rebounds, and over 3 blocks per game. If that sounds intimidating to you, wait until you find out about Kiki Iriafen, the other starting Stanford big. She’s averaging 19.2 points per game, and11.1 rebounds. Plus, both of these players average less than 30 minutes per game. If you don’t know basketball, these are absurdly good stats.
These two are joined by Hannah Jump on the outside, a player I personally think is a bit underrated and adore watching, and Talana Lepolo, a sophomore who may not score a whole lot but passes extraordinarily well. I mentioned Iowa State’s Audi Crooks earlier. This is the team that shut her down and sent their team packing, let by 41 points by Kiki Iriafen after a 17 point performance the game before. If they can shut down Kiki, NC state might just have a chance.
The player drafted to stop her will likely be Madison Hayes, a 6’0″ tall senior. Offensively, This team is led by Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, both of whom have had solid tournament games. It’s going to be a tough battle for this team who starts four guards, but I’m excited to see how they do and wish them all the success.
Gonzaga (4) vs Texas (1)
Game Time: March 29th, 10pm
Players to Watch: Yvonne Ejim and Madison Booker
The Drama: Can Gonzaga’s bench actually contribute? How will anyone shut down both Booker and Moore?
Our final matchup of the day is on so incredibly late at night that I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to watch. Nonetheless, there are at least a few east coast fans out there ready to whoop and cheer for Gonzaga vs. Texas.
Texas being the one seed honestly shocked me since they weren’t a team I’d heard a ton about, but they’ve proven they’re deserving of that title so far in the tournament, winning by 40 and then 11 in their first two games. Against Alabama in the round of 32, Madison Booker and Aaliyah Moore both put up 21 and shot over 50% from the floor, making them the two to look out for against Gonzaga. If you’re like me and you spent way too much time in the pandemic on Youtube, you may also want to look out for Shaylee Gonzales, a former BYU athlete and Youtuber. She has since deleted all of her videos, but iykyk. Gonzales, Booker, Rori Harmon, and Taylor Jones all average over 10 points per game, with Moore close behind them at 9.8.
On the Gonzaga side, this team is led by Yvonne Ejim, a sure WNBA draft pick. She’s lead this team in the tournament and regular season, averaging 19.9 points overall and 21 in the tournament. She isn’t doing it alone either. Kayleigh Truong had 21 points last game and averages 12. Her twin, Kaylynne, averages 11.6. Bryanna Maxwell and Eliza Hollingsworth round out this starting lineup and average double figures.
One thing to note is that in the first two games of the tournament, despite winning both by fairly solid numbers, only 9 points came from the bench. This Gonzaga team is relying on their starters for just about everything. This puts them at odds with Texas, who has 25% of their points come from the bench and frequently plays 9 deep. It will be interesting to see whether Gonzaga can hang for the full 40 minutes or if they, like me, will be too tired come 11pm.
Who are you cheering for to win the NCAA tournament?
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