March Madness games today: Ranking eight Women's NCAA Tournament games for Monday
· Yahoo Sports
The fourth day of the Women's NCAA Tournament gets underway Monday with matchups across the country. Eight games will be held across eight sites as we finish up the round of 32. The winners of Monday’s games will advance to the Sweet 16.
Eight teams have already punched their tickets to the regional round by winning second-round games. North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, Duke, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and TCU were winners on Sunday.
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Only Minnesota had a brush with getting upset, narrowly defeating Ole Miss 65-63 thanks to a 13-foot jumper from Amaya Battle with 1.3 seconds left.
The times listed can vary slightly if preceding contests run long, but there should always be something happening throughout the afternoon and evening hours. Here’s the ranking of all the games and everything you need to know about how to watch Monday’s contests.
1. No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 4 West Virginia
Time/TV: 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Hope Coliseum in Morgantown is going to be rocking for this one. West Virginia is aiming to make the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history, and the first time since 1992. Kentucky is looking for its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016. These are two of the best defensive teams and two of the top rebounding teams in the country. Kentucky center Clara Strack, who is averaging 19.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks over her last five games, could be a big factor.
2. No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Ohio State
Time/TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
This is a matchup between two of the best guards in the country in Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge. Hidalgo — the ACC Player of the Year and unanimous first-team All-American by USA TODAY Sports — is third in the nation in scoring and first in steals, averaging 25.2 points and 5.5 steals per game. She is also fourth nationally in 3-pointers made per game with 8.3. Cambridge meanwhile is averaging 22.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game in a do-it-all role for the Buckeyes.
3. No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 2 Iowa
Time/TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Cavaliers are playing with house money. They were a bubble team entering the tournament and few expected them to make it this far. But by beating Arizona State and Georgia, Virginia is the second team to advance to the second round out of the First Four since the women’s tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2022. Iowa, meanwhile, is coming off a close call with 15-seed FDU. The Hawkeyes wound up winning by 10, but led by two points with about five minutes to play on Saturday. Iowa can’t afford to make the same mistakes against Virginia.
4. No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 3 Louisville
Time/TV: 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Alabama hasn’t made the Sweet 16 since 1998. To get there, the Crimson Tide will have to defeat the Cardinals on their home floor on Monday. Louisville has lost five games at home this season, but is coming off an impressive 20-point win over Vermont in the first round. Jeff Walz’s Cardinals rank in the top 15 in both offensive and defensive rating.
5. No. 9 Syracuse vs. No. 1 UConn
Time/TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
ACC Freshman of the Year Uche Izoje played well against a fellow elite post player on Saturday, tallying 23 points, seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in her matchup with Iowa State’s Audi Crooks. Now, she’ll go head-to-head with arguably the best player in the country, UConn’s Sarah Strong.
6. No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 UCLA
Time/TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Cowgirls were a sharp shooting team in their first-round matchup, making 52% of their attempts from the floor, 47% of their looks from 3-point land and 82% of their free throws on Saturday against Princeton. Doing that against UCLA will be a tougher task.
7. No. 9 USC vs. No. 1 South Carolina
Time/TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Gamecocks beat USC in Los Angeles earlier this season by 17 points. The Trojans got a miraculous overtime win over Clemson on Saturday, but it’s unlikely that Jazzy Davidson and her team will be able to pull off this upset over South Carolina.
8. No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt
Time/TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
After losing in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, it seems like Vanderbilt is back to playing like a contender. The Commodores defeated High Point by 41 points in the first round behind 30 points from the nation’s leading scorer, and SEC Player of the Year, Mikayla Blakes. The margin against Illinois won’t likely be that large, but it’s hard to imagine the Illini stifling Blakes and Aubrey Galvan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness games today: Ranking eight Women's NCAA Tournament games for Monday