Women’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA tournament
By Charlie Creme Updated: 11/19/2024 at 9:00 a.m. ET
The 2024-25 season is underway, and with it comes a few changes to the selection process. The demise of the Pac-12 drops the number of automatic bids to 31, which increases the at-large selections to 37. The 2025 NCAA tournament will look the same, with two regionals — Birmingham and Spokane — and the top four seeds in each region hosting first- and second-round games. The committee will give us a glimpse at those top-16 teams with in-season reveals on Feb. 16 and 26. Selection Sunday is March 16.
Bracket Watch
The top two lines remained the same for a second straight week as the best teams in the country faced few challenges. That is about to change. The No. 1 seeds might get a shakeup as Notre Dame plays at USC on Saturday and South Carolina heads west to play UCLA on Sunday. The Irish will elevate to the top line with a win over the Trojans in a game that not only pits the two best sophomores in the country in JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo, but also two of the nation’s best freshmen. Kennedy Smith is USC’s third-leading scorer, and Katie Koval is averaging a double-double for Notre Dame. This season, the Gamecocks are scheduled to play five of the other seven teams currently among the top eight seeds. It starts with the Bruins, who have won their four games by an average of 27.8 points per game despite still not having their full complement of players.
On the Bubble
68-Team Bracket
Region 1 Birmingham
Columbia
Chapel Hill
Columbus
Ames
Region 4 Spokane
Los Angeles
Waco
Norman
South Bend
Region 2 Birmingham
Storrs
Morgantown
College Park
Baton Rouge
Region 3 Spokane
Los Angeles
Durham
Manhattan
Austin
Conference Breakdown
Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock
