With a favorable region, can Raven Johnson (25) and the Gamecocks defend their title? / Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Get ready for madness. The women’s bracket is set, with UCLA as the No. 1 overall seed and South Carolina, Texas and USC rounding out the No. 1s. Here are a handful of quick takeaways:

South Carolina made a strong case this season for the No. 1 overall seed. The Gamecocks played the toughest schedule in the country. They finished 16–3 against Quad 1 opponents: No other team had more than 14 such wins. But the committee heavily weighed the fact that one of those losses was a bloodbath—an 87–58 drubbing at the hands of UConn—and that helped drop South Carolina down to No. 2 overall behind UCLA. The Bruins did not play as challenging of a schedule as the Gamecocks. But their few losses did not come by such large margins and, crucially, when they played head-to-head at the beginning of the season, UCLA beat South Carolina, 77–62. 

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was not pleased that her tough scheduling had seemingly gone unrecognized by the committee. “We’re gonna make adjustments to our schedule in the future if the standard is the standard,” she told local media after the bracket dropped. “If that’s the standard, then we can play any schedule and get a No. 1 seed.” But it’s worth noting that even though the Gamecocks are not the overall No. 1, they may just have ended up with the easiest road to the Final Four, given their potential matchups.

This region seems ripe for them to dominate. The No. 2 seed in their group is Duke, whose tough, grinding defense has posed a struggle for many opponents. Just not for South Carolina, who has a similar defensive identity and handily beat Duke back in December, 81–70. The Gamecocks know how to match the Blue Devils’ pace and can easily go toe-to-toe with them in the paint. And there are no major threats lurking elsewhere in this section of the bracket. No. 3 UNC showed how shaky it could be down the stretch. No. 4 Maryland has been hit by injuries. No. 5 Alabama got trounced when it faced South Carolina in January. No. 6 West Virginia is another defensively minded squad whose usual tricks won’t work here, and No. 7 Vanderbilt has gotten shown up by South Carolina in the SEC, too. 

None of that comes with any guarantees. But it should have the Gamecocks feeling very confident about their chances of getting to a fifth consecutive Final Four.

The most-watched women’s college game of the regular season was USC versus UConn in December. It was a rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight, and it featured a pair of the biggest stars in the sport, JuJu Watkins of USC and Paige Bueckers of UConn. (It also delivered on the hype: 2.2 million viewers tuned in to see USC win by a score of 72–70.) It seemed like a dream matchup for the ’25 Final Four.

Alas. Not quite! The powers that be put these programs in the same region in Spokane—USC as No. 1 and UConn as No. 2—meaning that any potential rematch will instead come in the Elite Eight. That’s by virtue of USC being the No. 4 overall seed and UConn being the No. 5: Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb made it clear that she felt her team should have been higher on the ladder. “I never thought I’d be a No. 1 seed and feel disrespected,” she told local media. But it makes for an electric potential ending in the region. 

There’s no matchup on this bracket that looks more immediately compelling in terms of its star power, story lines, and sheer watchability. And one thing to note: When these schools last met back in December, UConn guard Azzi Fudd was still working her way back from a knee sprain, and she was limited to just a few minutes of action. While her season has been up and down, she’s nonetheless come through in key moments, most notably dropping 28 points on South Carolina. A healthy, aggressive Fudd will be key to a UConn run, especially any matchup with USC.

The Fighting Irish were the highest-ranked team in the country not so long ago. But the last few weeks have been rough. A double-overtime loss to a tough NC State team was followed by an upset at the hands of Florida State, and in the ACC tournament, Notre Dame could not handle the grinding defense of Duke. A shot at a No. 1 seed became what felt like an obvious No. 2. Yet the committee ultimately gave them a No. 3 in Birmingham 3. 

Notre Dame’s path out of there will not be easy. The Irish would likely have to knock off No. 2 seed TCU, who beat Notre Dame in the Cayman Islands in November, and No. 1 seed Texas. But that doesn’t seem out of the question here. Along with its recent, frustrating losses, Notre Dame has some of the most impressive wins in the country. The Fighting Irish have already shown the ability to beat Texas. They’ve taken down USC, UConn and Duke. Their backcourt is among the best in the country, with the highest three-point percentage in Division I, and there may be no defender as disruptive as Hannah Hidalgo. A No. 3 seed certainly was not the plan here. But it doesn’t automatically spell the end of the road.

Published 21 Minutes Ago|Modified 12:49 AM EDT