Current:Home > reviewsFirst Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams. -Trailblazer Capital Learning
First Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams.
View
Date:2025-04-17 05:03:59
For the women, March Madness ramps up one day after the men with their own First Four matchups.
The expanded field is fairly new to the women's game, which started the First Four round in 2022. It was one of a handful of changes that the NCAA began making in the wake of a gender equity report showing vast disparities between the men's and women's basketball tournaments.
Unlike the men, who stage all four games in one place, the women play each game at a different location, picking four sites out of the top 16 national seeds.
Here is what you need to know about the women's teams in this year's First Four.
First Four teams for women's March Madness
- Arizona (17-15): Went into the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 7 seed and was eliminated by top-seeded USC in the conference quarterfinals.
- Auburn (20-11): Finished in a sixth-place tie with Mississippi State in the SEC and was routed by LSU in the conference quarterfinals.
- Columbia (23-6): Finished tied with Princeton for the top seed in the Ivy League before going on to beat the Tigers 75-58 in the conference championship game.
- Holy Cross (20-12): Was the top seed in the Patriot League and went on to win the conference championship against Boston University 61-55.
- Presbyterian (20-14): Finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big South, but went on to beat Radford in the conference title game.
- Sacred Heart (24-9): Only lost one game in the NEC and ran away with the conference championship. The Pioneers have won 15 consecutive games.
- UT Martin (16-16): Was one of three teams to finish in second place in the OVC and made it to the conference championship game before losing to top-seeded Southern Indiana.
- Vanderbilt (22-9): Finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the SEC tournament, where they were ousted by Florida in the first round.
IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
When is First Four for women?
The women's First Four will take place with two games on Wednesday, March 20 and two games on Thursday, March 21.
First Four games for women
Wednesday, March 20
- Sacred Heart (24-9) vs. Presbyterian (20-14), 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 1 and face No. 1 South Carolina.
- Vanderbilt (22-9) vs. Columbia (23-6), 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 12 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 5 Baylor.
Thursday, March 21
- Auburn (20-11) vs. Arizona (17-15), 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 11 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 6 Syracuse.
- Holy Cross (20-12) vs. UT Martin (16-16), 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 2 and face No. 1 Iowa.
Where is First Four for women?
The sites of the women's First Four games will be: Blacksburg, Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Storrs, Connecticut; and Peoria, Illinois.
How to watch women's First Four
The women's First Four games will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2.
Have any First Four teams won the women's national championship?
No, in fact Mississippi State is the only team to ever win a first-round game after advancing out of the First Four. Last season the Bulldogs beat Creighton in the Round of 64 before losing to Notre Dame 53-48 in the second round.
USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner contributed to this report.
veryGood! (93248)
Related
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Wisconsin Senate to vote on GOP-backed elections amendments to the state constitution
- Live updates | More Palestinians fleeing combat zone in northern Gaza, UN says
- How Lebanon’s Hezbollah group became a critical player in the Israel-Hamas war
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Migration experts say Italy’s deal to have Albania house asylum-seekers violates international law
- Groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State take root on the coast of West Africa
- Wisconsin GOP proposes ticket fee, smaller state contribution to Brewers stadium repair plan
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Syphilis cases in US newborns skyrocketed in 2022. Health officials suggest more testing
Ranking
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Man killed after pointing gun at Baltimore police, officials say
- Brittany Mahomes Shares Glimpse Into Girls’ Night Out With Taylor Swift
- Sweden’s largest egg producer to cull all its chickens following recurrent salmonella outbreaks
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Springsteen, Keith Richards pen tributes to Bob Marley in photo book 'Rebel Music'
- US Park Police officer fatally shoots fellow officer in attempted dry fire, police say
- Military-ruled Myanmar hosts joint naval exercise with Russia, its close ally and top arms supplier
Recommendation
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
International Monetary Fund warns Europe against prematurely declaring victory over inflation
7 injured in shooting at homecoming party near Prairie View A&M University: Police
Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band announce 2024 stadium tour: How to get tickets
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Lori Harvey and Damson Idris Break Up After One Year of Dating
Lebanese woman and her 3 granddaughters killed in Israeli strike laid to rest
Indonesia’ sentences another former minister to 15 years for graft over internet tower project