With the full field of 68 now official following Selection Sunday, this year’s group of NCAA women’s basketball tournament title hopefuls now know where their march to the Final Four in Dallas will begin.
Headlined by No. 1 seed Stanford, the Seattle Regional 4 will tip off the first round of action on Friday. Making their 35th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the Cardinal (28–5) and coach Tara VanDerveer enter March Madness looking to earn their third-straight final four berth. The program finished the year as the Pac-12 co-regular season champions and ranked fifth in the nation.
Big Ten champion Iowa (26–6), led by star guard Caitlin Clark, Duke (25–6) and Texas (25–9) and will round out the top four in the region.
Stanford’s opponent will be decided on Wednesday night in a first four matchup between Southern (18–14) and Sacred Heart (18–13). Both programs are fresh off winning their respective conference titles, with Southern winning the program’s sixth SWAC championship (first since 2019) on Saturday, and Sacred Heart claiming its first NEC title and NCAA tournament appearance since 2012 on Sunday.
Below is the first-round schedule for the Seattle 4 Region:
First Four
Teams: No. 16 Southern (18–14) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart (18–13)
Game Date: Wednesday, March 15
Game Time: 9 p.m. ET
Game Location: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.
TV: ESPNU
First Round
Teams: No. 1 Stanford (28–5) vs. No. 16 Southern/Sacred Heart
Game Date: Friday, March 17
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.
TV: ESPN2
Teams: No. 8 Ole Miss (23–8) vs. No. 9 Gonzaga (28–4)
Game Date: Friday, March 17
Game Time: 10 p.m. ET
Game Location: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.
TV: ESPNU
Teams: No. 5 Louisville (23–11) vs. No. 12 Drake (22–9)
Game Date: Saturday, March 18
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: Moody Center, Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN2
Teams: No. 4. Texas (25–9) vs. No. 13 East Carolina (23–9)
Game Date: Saturday, March 18
Game Time: 10 p.m. ET
Game Location: Moody Center, Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN
Teams: No. 6 Colorado (23–8) vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (28–4)
Game Date: Saturday, March 18
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Game Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
TV: ESPNews
Teams: No. 3 Duke (25-6) vs. No. 14 Iona (26-6)
Game Date: Saturday, March 18
Game Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
TV: ESPN2
Teams: No. 7 Florida State (23-9) vs. No. 10 Georgia (21-11)
Game Date: Friday, March 17
Game Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
TV: ESPN2
Game Date: Friday, March 17
Game Time: 4 p.m. ET
Game Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
TV: ESPN
