Women’s N.C.A.A. Tournament: What to Watch on Day 2

Welcome to Part 2 for the first round in the N.C.A.A. women’s tournament, with a densely packed slate of games and more than a few chances to make history. Once again, the games will be aired across ESPN’s networks as well as, in the cases of Connecticut and Tennessee’s first round games, on ABC (at 1 and 3 p.m., all times Eastern, respectively).

Below is a guide that will help you to identify the names you’ll be seeing, the upsets you need to watch for, as well as some advice on how to squeeze as much tournament action into your one-tv.

You should look for the lower-seeded stars.

The tournament can be an excellent showcase for the kinds of players that women’s basketball powerhouses can regret not recruiting more aggressively.

Dyaisha was born in Rochester, and she later committed to the University at Buffalo. This team is a perennially entertaining postseason team under Felisha legette-Jack. Fair seized the opportunity and was honored with an honorable mention by the A.P. Fair was one of the first to announce its All-Americans earlier in the week. The prolific scorer will lead efforts to beat No. 4 Tennessee, one of women’s basketball’s most venerated programs.

Ameshya Williams-Holliday was recruited by a powerhouse, Mississippi State, but playing with the Bulldogs didn’t stick. It was only this season, her first at Jackson State, that Williams-Holliday realized the potential she was recruited for — not just leading her team to its second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship, but earning a S.W.A.C. The Lady Tigers won the Player of the Year award. The Lady Tigers will be trying to topple the No. 3 Louisiana State Tigers, and spoil Kim Mulkey’s first tournament game as L.S.U. head coach.

Kansas State came onto sports fans’ radars earlier this season thanks to Ayoka Lee, a junior center who broke the Division I single-game scoring record in a victory over Oklahoma by scoring 61 points in just 35 minutes on the court. It was not an uncharacteristic performance from the 6-foot-6 Lee, who has turned Kansas State into a contender with her efficient scoring and dominant defense — but the fact that her record-setting game came in an upset of an A.P. No. 8 Washington State should be a little nervous. Lee has proven that she can handle high stakes situations.

It’s all about the underdogs.

If you’re looking for underdogs to root for, nine teams playing on Saturday have never won an NCAA Division I tournament game. Central Florida, American, Jackson State, the University of Massachusetts, Charlotte, Mercer and Washington State will all be looking for their first tournament wins — in the case of No. 8 Washington State, and No. 7 Central Florida, they are in a good position to make program-history.

Longwood and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will be taking part in the tournament. I.U.P.U.I had previously won a bid to 2020, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 2022 will mark their first appearance in the tournament.

These schools are ready to take on the world.

The last time Villanova made the women’s tournament was in 2018, and that year they pulled off a first-round upset in overtime as a No. 9 seed. This year, though the 11th-seeded squad has a much tougher spot on the bracket, they’ve also shown how high their ceiling is. Led by Division I’s second-best scorer Maddy Siegrist, the Wildcats toppled a depleted Connecticut during conference play. Villanova will need to muster everything they used in that victory if they’re going to beat Brigham Young and their star Shaylee Gonzales.

Stephen F. Austin was just two points away of its first tournament victory in over 20 years last year, when it lost to Georgia Tech in overtime. They are now seeded at No. 12 and trying to beat an Atlantic Coast Conference Team. The Ladyjacks will be fielding one of Division I’s better defenses as they attempt to pull off the upset and find redemption for sophomore Avery Brittingham, who missed a last-second, game-tying tip shot in 2021.

The Missouri State Lady Bears are likely to have a fondness of the No. 11 seed they’ve earned. They were seeded No. 11 in 2019. 11 made it to the Sweet Sixteen. This year, they barely made it into the bracket at all after having to beat Florida State in the First Four games — but now that they’re officially part of the 64-team field, they have a shot to upset Ohio State and make it to the Sweet Sixteen for the third straight year.

A road map to the second-day of the tournament.

The first round slate opens with an 8-9 matchup (all time Eastern): the aforementioned Ayoka and No. 9 Kansas State attempting to beat Washington State (11:30 a.m. ESPN2). Tune in for the second-half before switching to B.Y.U. versus Villanova (1 p.m., ESPNEWS). If it’s not close, check in on Connecticut (1 p.m., ABC) and see how Paige Bueckers is responding to Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

In the next window, two games with upset potential will overlap. You can catch Missouri State versus Ohio State on ESPNU at 3:00 p.m. and, when the game is over, switch to Buffalo against Tennessee on ABC. Those games should provide the best competition until Kentucky versus Princeton (yes, another 6-11 matchup — in case you’re sensing a theme) starts at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

The schedule concludes with three solid 5-12 game: first, Oregon vs. Belmont (which lost its first tournament match last year), and then Stephen F. Austin versus North Carolina or Massachusetts versus Notre Dame respectively at 7:30 p.m. ESPNEWS and ESPN2.