Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins will look to defend the Golden State from some Tigers (LSU), defenders (Duke), and Gophers (Minnesota).
Cue the music, sharpen your pencil, and let it fly … March Insanity is lastly right here.
The school basketball season is on tempo for an explosive conclusion, one set to a soundtrack of March maladies, mayhem, and, in fact, insanity, because the respective roads to Indianapolis and Phoenix have formally been paved with the 68-team brackets.
Ballislife has you coated at each checkpoint on the bracket with evaluation, ideas, and extra, listed beneath …
Ladies’s Sacramento 2 Regional
High Seed: UCLAFirst/Second Spherical Areas: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, NC), Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, CA), Pete Maravich Meeting Middle (Baton Rouge, LA), Williams Enviornment (Minneapolis, MN)Regional Remaining Location: Golden 1 Middle (Sacramento, CA)
Who’s In?
Lauren Betts provides two extra 🙌 @UCLAWBB
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/f58Ak6NEJS
— Massive Ten Ladies’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 8, 2026
1. UCLA Bruins
Head Coach: Cori Shut (fifteenth season, 352-144)How They Obtained Right here: Massive Ten championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2025
Few, if any, within the nation and past have loved 2026 greater than the Bruins, who’ve but to lose for the reason that calendar flip. On the forefront, in fact, is Lauren Betts: in a relative down yr for the longer term WNBA draft decide (she averaged almost 4 factors fewer in comparison with her double-decade-plus from final season), she nonetheless took dwelling All-American honors to pair with the Massive Ten’s Participant of the Yr and defensive queen titles. Betts maybe solely declined because of some sterling additions, similar to Gianna Kneepkens and a well-fostered Kiki Rice, who swiped the convention’s match MVP title from Betts.
Flau’jae Johnson cannot be stopped!
📺 ABC#NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/IpXXVwdsUH
— NCAA March Insanity (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 15, 2026
2. LSU Tigers (27-5)
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (fifth season, 143-25)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (SEC)Final NCAA Event Look: 2025
Reese has ceased her work in Baton Rouge, and it is all Greek to LaDazhia Williams now. However the Tigers nonetheless carry championship expertise left over from the famed 2023 championship run, specifically within the type of Flau’jae Johnson, who added outdoors capturing to her already-expansive repertoire at simply over 40 % with an additional level on the road. LSU even took some in from overseas within the type of MiLaysia Fulwiley, whose choice to go away South Carolina paid on the spot dividends for all events. Mix that with the lasting Tiger skills of Jada Richard and Mikaylah Williams, and it will be onerous to disclaim the Bayou Bengals championship entry.
TOBY FOURNIER WITH THE AND-1 🤩
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/xZ0cPrnWBn
— Duke Ladies’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) February 15, 2026
3. Duke Blue Devils (24-8)
Head Coach: Kara Lawson (sixth season, 121-49)How They Obtained Right here: ACC championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2025
Star-spangled redemption outlined the Blue Devils’ season: some had columns and tweets on the prepared when newly-crowned United States nationwide workforce coach Lawson oversaw a 3-6 begin to the season and a descent out of the polls however she was more than pleased to offer proof of her suitability via the night time, specifically with a 17-game profitable streak that stretched from Christmas to Presidents’ Day and obtained Duke again within the good graces of each the polls and the ACC honor roll.
A very good little bit of that was the supplemental two-way skills of Toby Fournier (17.3 factors, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 blocks), however extra skilled skills like Taina Mair and Delaney Thomas additionally made their respective presences felt at numerous clutch factors, similar to an ACC title recreation the place the previous tallied a double-double.
Two issues:
1. Sophie Hart double-doubled (17 PTS & 10 REB) tonight
2. She beat the 3Q buzzer with this @GopherWBB basket pic.twitter.com/jKFqiWLQzJ
— Massive Ten Ladies’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) December 2, 2025
4. Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-8)
Head Coach: Daybreak Plitzuweit (third season, 67-35)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive Ten)Final NCAA Event Look: 2018
The third time was the attraction for Plitzuweit, because the Gophers are usually not solely again on the bracket however the beloved “Barn” is internet hosting ladies’s match motion for the primary time since 2005. It is maybe a karmic reward for the Gophers’ golden loyalty, as every of their common starters carry in depth time in Minneapolis. Whereas they’ve made probably the most of this redemptive second likelihood, the Gophers have not been concerned with affording related alternatives: paced by the 6’5 Sophie Hart, Minnesota lets up the fifth-fewest offensive boards within the nation at simply over eight per recreation.
COTIE MCMAHON 😤
No. 17 @OleMissWBB has the Oxford crowd going wild on ESPN and the ESPN App 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hoP51XD4Dk
— SEC Community (@SECNetwork) February 20, 2026
5. Ole Miss Rebels (23-11)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin (eighth season, 148-106)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (SEC)Final NCAA Event Look: 2025
The McPhee-McCuin-led revolution continues in Oxford, which enjoys ladies’s bracket illustration for the fifth consecutive season, creating the longest streak since they appeared on the primary 11 between 1982 and 1992. The present guard has seen Shakira Austin, Marquesha Davis, and Madison Scott typed up on the WNBA Draft board during the last 4 years, and Ohio State switch Cotie McMahon figures to be subsequent in line after utilizing her overpowering body to get to the foul line.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs recorded her thirty first profession double-double yesterday in @BaylorWBB 99-43 win over Le Moyne on Sunday.
She ending with 26 factors on 12-of-13 capturing and 11 rebounds. Nonetheless some of the energetic matchup issues within the nation! pic.twitter.com/pJ0z6YEFyi
— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) November 17, 2025
6. Baylor Bears (24-8)
Head Coach: Nicki Collen (fifth season, 126-44)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive 12)Final NCAA Event Look: 2025
The Collen congratulations proceed to hold, because the Bears proceed to seem on the bracket and pile up postseason wins since their final nationwide title in 2019. It is mentioned that protection wins championships, and Baylor actually hopes that is the case: opponents shot lower than 26 % from deep in opposition to the Bears this season, an output little question helped by the lengthy attain of four-year Waco resident Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and her well-rounded double-double (10.7 factors, 10.1 rebounds).
AND 1️⃣ FOR SNUDDA COLLINS 😮💨#Big12WBB | 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/3K6SdCYMSI
— Massive 12 Convention (@Big12Conference) February 19, 2026
7. Texas Tech Purple Raiders (25-7)
Head Coach: Krista Gerlich (sixth season, 102-90)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive 12)Final NCAA Event Look: 2013
The Woman Raiders did not have to attend till March to steal an NCAA Event bid, and so they reached the quarter-century plateau in wins for the primary time since Marsha Sharp’s heyday in 2004. Whereas unable to maintain the momentum of a 19-0 begin (personified by a stunning Massive 12 Event loss to Kansas State in Kansas Metropolis), the Raiders reaped the advantages of selling in-conference switch Jalynn Bristow, the convention’s chief in blocks at 68. Depth could also be Lubbock’s best energy, as Ole Miss grad switch Snudda Collins was the workforce’s second-leading scorer regardless of not beginning a recreation this season.
Micah Grey and Jadyn Wooten mixed for 42 factors in @OSUWBB 83-52 win over Houston earlier immediately.
The Cowgirls managed the glass 44-31, pressured 22 turnovers, and had 23 assists on 34 made pictures. pic.twitter.com/6mal29J884
— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) January 4, 2026
8. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (23-9)
Head Coach: Jacie Hoyt (83-44, 4th season)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive 12)Final NCAA Event Look: 2025
The Cowgirls lived as much as their namesake by capturing away: they positioned fifteenth in scoring nationally, and nobody within the Massive 12 fired up extra threes than Micah Grey in her second Stillwater season. Regardless of some stable wins in opposition to match competitors, the Cowgirls endured a rollercoaster convention tour that ended by turning into one other sufferer of Kansas State’s near-Cinderella run. Although they have been March mainstays since Hoyt took over for Jim Littell, they’re nonetheless searching for their first win within the competitors in half a decade.
TIGERS EARN THE IVY WIN.
No. 25 @PrincetonWBB opened Ivy play with a 74–68 win at Penn, enhancing to 12–1 on the season. Olivia Hutcherson led the Tigers with 20 factors, whereas Madison St. Rose netted 15 factors, together with the 1,000th of her profession. 🌿🏀
pic.twitter.com/ROI5cSefLe
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) January 3, 2026
9. Princeton Tigers (26-3)
Head Coach: Carla Berube (seventh season, 147-27)How They Obtained Right here: Ivy League ChampionsLast NCAA Event Look: 2025
The Tigers proceed to roll beneath Berube, however returned to a few of their extra prestigious heights by ending the common season within the twenty third spot on the Related Press ballot and selecting up a single-digit seed for the second time within the final three years. With this system having picked up its sixth Ivy League title in eight stagings of the occasion, native expertise Madison St. Rose goes out in fashion after an damage worn out most of her junior yr, whereas Fadima Tall lived as much as her surname by breaking out for over seven boards a recreation.
Jasmine Bascoe and @novawbb are 11-1 of their final 12 video games and appear to be it early on this one 👀 pic.twitter.com/Dc8wWKFbAZ
— TNT Sports activities U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) January 11, 2026
10. Villanova Wildcats (25-7)
Head Coach: Denise Dillon (sixth season, 139-58)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive East)Final NCAA Event Look: 2024
Whereas it is onerous to make any kind of noticeable championship affect within the Massive East with the UConn-sized cloud overseeing every thing, the Wildcats survived some early stumbles to slip into the runner-up spot and are again on the bracket for the primary time since Maddy Siegrist’s ascension to the WNBA. Villanova earned a win over Massive 12 champion West Virginia in Morgantown as Jasmine Bascoe constructed on a incredible freshman season en path to turning into the highest Massive East scorer, whereas Brynn McCurry reached double-figures in scoring after lacking all of final season with an ACL ailment.
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-12)/Richmond Spiders (26-7)
Head Coach: Amy Williams (tenth season, 174-135)/Aaron Roussell (seventh season, 148-71)How They Obtained Right here: At-large (Massive Ten/Atlantic 10)Final NCAA Event Look: 2025/2025
Amidst the resurgence of the Husker males’s program, the ladies’s group has constructed a stable lineage beneath Williams, reaching the NCAA Event for the third consecutive season. However momentum, paced by the second-year Omaha native Britt Prince (over 17 factors and 4 assists/rebounds a exhibiting), was considerably derailed by a wrestle to defeat elite competitors, producing a 4-10 mark of their final B1G showings.
The Spiders are in an analogous spot: they fell in need of each the A-10’s common season and match titles, however the final stand of Maggie Doogan (the convention’s chief in factors and area aim share) was sufficient to wedge themselves into an at-large bid. Wednesday’s First 4 bout could carry extra than simply an invite to the 68 and might be defining for every program’s future.
For one closing time, the Gonzaga ladies are champions of the WCC. Lauren Whittaker was a monster. Allie Turner had an enormous second half. Paige Lofing made a game-changing three. Zags are again within the NCAA Event. Incredible basketball recreation. pic.twitter.com/EggtRhef5B
— Steven Karr (@SKarrG0) March 10, 2026
12. Gonzaga Bulldogs (24-9)
Head Coach: Lisa Fortier (twelfth season, 313-83)How They Obtained Right here: West Coast championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2024
After a one-year hiccup, the Bulldogs are again on the bracket for the ninth time in Fortier’s tenure. Youth in revolt outlined Gonzaga’s closing yr within the WCC earlier than it strikes on to the rebooted Pac-12, as New Zealand import Lauren Whittaker (she of a double-double per night time at over 19 factors and 10 rebounds, reaching such double-figure tallies 17 instances this yr) adopted in Courtney Vandersloot’s sneakers because the WCC Participant of the Yr, the primary freshman to earn the consideration since unique victory Sonya Carter in 1986.
Jenna Guyer is on 🔥 early!
She’s obtained 10 factors midway via the primary quarter.
GB 12, WSU 9 | 5:01 within the 1Q#RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/WO8x6mezlC
— Inexperienced Bay Ladies’s Basketball (@gbphoenixwbb) December 31, 2025
13. Inexperienced Bay Phoenix (25-8)
Head Coach: Kayla Karius (2nd season, 54-14)How They Obtained Right here: Horizon League championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2025
Following the respective dynasties arrange by Kevin Borseth and Matt Bollant, the previous South Dakota boss Karius has constructed a streak of her personal after taking the Phoenix to the Event in back-to-back seasons. Inexperienced Bay put up sturdy numbers within the weak Horizon League, as lasting senior Jenna Guyer, who helped oversee the transition from the retiring Borseth to Karius, swept each the convention’s Participant of the Yr and match MVP titles whereas filling the manufacturing a packed senior class, headlined by earlier Defensive Participant of the Yr Bailey Butler.
🏀 Ladies’s #CAAHoops Rookie of the Yr@cofcwbb’s Taryn Barbot led all first-year gamers and ranked fifth within the convention with 14.9 factors per recreation pic.twitter.com/uQ2pjegguo
— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) March 12, 2024
14. Charleston Cougars (27-5)
Head Coach: Robin Concord (seventh season, 122-80)How They Obtained Right here: CAA championsLast NCAA Event Look: First Look
Partaking in main March Insanity for the primary time since making the Division I ascension in 1991 after consecutive showings within the WNIT, the Cougars loved a breakout season that noticed them deal with enterprise on the high of almost each main CAA class. Charleston is led by twin sisters Taryn and Taylor Barbot, who’ve sheared the competitors with their shared prowess: Taryn led the league in factors, three-pointers, and steals, stored steadily fed by Taylor and her personal league-best 193 assists.
94 toes with Tatum Brown 🔥
📺: https://t.co/p5W0N7VUBK 📊: https://t.co/PBaCqPByQP
#RideTheWave | #JaxBasketball | #TheDestination pic.twitter.com/K8T9YmVnre
— Jacksonville Ladies’s Basketball (@JAX_WBB) March 5, 2026
15. Jacksonville Dolphins (24-8)
Head Coach: Particular Jennings (third season, 49-45)How They Obtained Right here: Atlantic Solar championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2016
The Dolphins made a splash in Jennings’ third season on the helm, rising from a seventh-place rating within the preseason ASUN ballot to put up the perfect win complete in program historical past, tied with the 2017-18 squad. Heading all the way down to the Bayou to face the mighty Tigers, Jacksonville will probably lean on the two-way work of Tatum Brown, one in all two Dolphins to succeed in double figures in scoring whereas main the convention with 74 steals.
#WACtopPlay Nominee – Dime by Filipa Barros to Khloe Lemon for the and 1! 🔥 Vote in our Ballot! pic.twitter.com/NlydCGPAHu
— The Western Athletic Convention (@WACsports) February 10, 2026
16. California Baptist Lancers (23-10)
Head Coach: Jarrod Olson (14th season, 319-126)How They Obtained Right here: WAC championsLast NCAA Event Look: 2024
The Lancers have repped the WAC in two of the final three NCAA Tournaments and have reached a bracket in 5 of the final six general postseasons, a stretch that features a Ladies’s Basketball Invitational title in 2023. CBU’s major hope in pulling off both an upset or at the least a canopy of a half-century unfold in opposition to UCLA probably lies in Filipa Barros, a multi-talented level guard who fell two factors in need of a triple-double within the closing WAC title recreation, the end result of a return to glory after an ankle damage restricted her to 2 video games throughout a 12-win tour.
All Area Workforce (Sacramento 2)
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Toby Fournier, Duke
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss
The Favourite: UCLA
Whereas this half of the California couple is very top-heavy—that is one the place the resurgent Blue Devils are a 3rd seed—working in opposition to a Bruins group that will not have to go away its time zone on the trail to a possible nationwide title looks as if a recipe for scratched out names on the bracket. Not solely have the Bruins dealt with enterprise, however they’ve performed so in emphatic trend: they’ve misplaced only one recreation by lower than 10 in 2026, again when Michigan performed them to a 3 on Feb. 8.
The Cautious: Ole Miss
Regardless of their continued prowess, the Rebels do are available considerably reeling after dropping their final 4 regular-season video games, although they did power their method into the SEC Event’s semifinal stage. The highway will get no simpler with sharpshooting, relentless Gonzaga, a gaggle that has racked up current match victories over main applications like Nebraska and Utah, looming on the horizon.
The Cinderella: Villanova
Maybe nobody might’ve envisioned the Wildcats working off their post-Maddy malaise after early losses to Fairfield and Princeton, however the skilled core of Bascoe and McCurry has meshed properly with the two-way newcomer Kennedy Henry. Formidable challenges await on the backside of the bracket, however the Wildcats used their time in absentia properly, reaching the WBIT’s closing 4 in every of the final two seasons.
NCAA Event Sacramento 2 Regional Schedule
Spherical
Date
Recreation/Rating
Location
Time (ET)
TV
First 4
Wednesday, March 18
(11) Richmond vs. (11) Nebraska
Durham, NC
7 p.m.
ESPN2
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(3) Duke vs. (14) Charleston
Durham, NC
11:30 a.m.
ESPN2
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(6) Baylor vs. (11) Nebraska
Durham, NC
2 p.m.
ESPN
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(5) Ole Miss vs. (12) Gonzaga
Minneapolis, MN
3:30 p.m.
ESPN2
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(2) LSU vs. (15) Jacksonville
Baton Rouge, LA
6 p.m.
ESPN
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(4) Minnesota vs. (13) Inexperienced Bay
Minneapolis, MN
6 p.m.
ESPNU
1st Spherical
Friday, March 20
(7) Texas Tech vs. (10) Villanova
Baton Rouge, LA
8:30 p.m.
ESPNU
1st Spherical
Saturday, March 21
(8) Oklahoma State vs. (9) Princeton
Los Angeles, CA
7:30 p.m.
ESPN2
1st Spherical
Saturday, March 21
(1) UCLA vs. (16) California Baptist
Los Angeles, CA
10 p.m.
ESPN
Workers Regional Remaining Predictions
Geoff Magliocchetti: UCLA over Duke
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
