March Madness: How to watch the women’s NCAA Tournament and what to watch for

Women’s basketball has not slowed down at all this season as March Madness arrives.

A year ago, the women’s NCAA championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.

The question was whether some fans would step away as Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and other standouts headed to the WNBA. Instead, the women’s game has featured a compelling bunch of stars all over again, from Paige Bueckers at UConn to JuJu Watkins at USC, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and Madison Booker of Texas.

The season has been must-watch viewing for another reason, too: Parity. So far, four teams have held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, tying the mark for the most ever. That makes the tournament winner anyone’s guess.

How can I watch the tournament?

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.

Who are the favorites?

The top three betting favorites as March approaches are (in order): UConn, defending champion South Carolina and UCLA, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Who is playing?

There are 32 automatic bids that go to conference champions and they are combined with 36 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. We all find out on Selection Sunday, March 16, when bracket matchups are unveiled.

When are the games?

The First Four matchups (March 19-20) and first- and second-round games (March 21-24) are on campus, with sites announced March 16. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) will see games in two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 4, with the championship game on Sunday, April 6.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness