N.C.A.A. Women’s Tournament: What to Watch as the Round of 32 Starts

The second round of the women’s N.C.A.A. The tournament is over and the schedule has been rearranged. The first round had a slew of impressive individual performances and some emotional, closely fought games, but in the round of 32 — for some teams at least — the real work begins.

The long shots are being replaced by strong teams that can challenge anyone. They will, hopefully, please the fans.

Here are four matchups worth watching out for, out of eight that will be taking place on Sunday.

All times are Eastern.

Utah vs. Texas | 5 p.m. | ESPN

Find out whether the oppressive defense of Texas or Utah’s 3-point-driven offense prevails.

No. Texas, the 2-seeded team, started slow in the tournament when compared to other second-seeded teams. Its opponent, No. 15 seed Fairfield, didn’t just hang around — it outscored the Longhorns in the third quarter. Texas’ defense has been its calling card, and yet it struggled to contain the Stags early.

The seventh-seeded Utah might feel a little more optimistic going into its second-round matchup against Texas. The Utes displayed a great performance in their first round game against Arkansas. They dropped 92 points largely due to making 15 of 31 3-point shots. Sophomore Kennady McQueen can take credit for six of those, but she’s just one of six different Utah players who hit from behind the arc in the first round.

Utah and Texas could never approach basketball in a more different way, so this will be a fascinating strategic battle. Will the Longhorns be able to stop all the sharpshooters? Or will the Utes win with a flurry of deep shots?

3 p.m. | 3 p.m. | ESPN

Watch one of the tournament’s only true remaining underdogs.

For those who were creating their brackets, Florida Gulf Coast was a popular choice for the first round. The 12th-seeded Eagles now have to compete in the round 32. Kierstan Bell and her team will have to find an answer for one of the tournament’s most explosive offenses, the No. The Maryland Terrapins are fourth-seeded, having scored 102 points in the opening game.

Maryland is dangerous on every court, and the Eagles made a big splash in the first round thanks to their 3-point shooting. Guard Katie Benzan hit five 3-point shots in the Terrapins’ opening game while her teammates Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller each had more than 20 points, mostly from inside the arc. Maryland didn’t perform to expectations during the regular season, but this game gave fans a timely glimpse of just how prolific its offense can be.

The Eagles will need to make a healthy percentage of the dozens of 3-pointers they take, while also focusing on defense if they want to outmatch the Terrapins.

Only four of the No. Only four No. 12 seeds have ever won a second round game in the N.C.A.A. women’s tournament. Bell will likely require a statement game and support from guards Kendall Spray, Karli Seay. But no one who saw the Eagles’ first round game would count them out.

Kansas vs. Stanford | 9 p.m. | ESPN

Stanford is in competition with a skilled and mysterious Kansas team.

The Cardinal won so decisively Friday that they dunked on a helpless No. 16 Montana won both literally (with the 78 to 37 final score) and literally (for the third time in N.C.A.A.A. history). women’s tournament history, literally. Francesca Belibi made a block into a block in the second quarter. a powerful drive and one-handed slam dunk, which was so memorable that her Stanford teammates had to pretend to faint on the bench.

Belibi, a junior forward has been well-known for her dunk ability since high school. In 2020, she became the first player since Brittney Griner in 2013 to dunk in women’s college basketball; now, Belibi and Stanford own another chunk of the history books.

“My teammates have been getting on me because I haven’t dunked yet this year,” Belibi told ESPN after the game. “I kind of saw the opportunity and figured I might as well try.”

Kansas may be more difficult to dominate. The No. The No. 8 seed hopes to make the most its first tournament bid since 2013. It beat Georgia Tech in the first round after a slow start. The Jayhawks have had a mixed season with some unexpected wins and predictable losses. They defeated fourth-seeded Oklahoma, then promptly lost to them at the Big 12 tournament.

They’ll give the Cardinal an interesting test, though — plus, maybe the dunking floodgates have opened.

3 p.m. | 3 p.m. | ABC

Two conference tournament runners-up with very different résumés face off.

Eighth-seeded Miami, like No. South Carolina, the #1 seed, was never expected to finish second in the Southeastern Conference. The key difference is why: The Hurricanes were underestimated, while the Gamecocks were believed to be invincible.

These two teams have parallel trajectories and will now compete. Miami will try to keep riding the same “no one believes in us” mentality that took them through the A.C.C. Miami will try to maintain the same “no one believes in us” mentality that saw them through the A.C.C. The Gamecocks will try to keep playing with ease in spite of the overwhelming expectations they and their fans have for the postseason — expectations that took a brutal blow in the SEC tournament.

Miami will once again use its depth to challenge for the top overall seed. Ten Hurricanes players scored Friday. That means even if the Hurricanes get into foul trouble trying guard Aliyah Boston or Destanni, they should still be able to tap several other players as back-up. South Carolina will need to prove its dominance against a team that has recently won upsets by playing fearless basketball.

Coach Dawn Staley recognized that the Gamecocks are facing a “very hot Miami team.”

“They’re stroking the ball pretty good, they’re sharing the ball, they’re linked up, they got players that can apply a lot of pressure to the ball and be disruptive,” she said on Saturday. “They’re playing extremely well, we have to somehow disrupt that.”

Remy TuminContributed reporting