We’re in the thick of March Madness, the annual playoff Tournament in college basketball. With just sixteen teams left, the competition is ratcheting up another tier and I for one cannot wait. It’s day two of the Sweet Sixteen (half of the teams played yesterday) and given that the women’s tournament has had primetime channel slots all postseason, I’m here with an introductory guide to the games of the day.
Here’s all the best drama and storylines that you should be aware of Saturday, broken down by who’s playing when.
LSU (3) vs UCLA (2)
Game Time: March 30th, 1pm
Players to Watch: Angel Reese and Charisma Osborne
The Drama: Reese is often accused of playing dirty. While true at times a lot of this is an over-exaggeration because people hate women showing emotion!
LSU are the defending national champions after winning last year as an underdog 3 seed. This year they’re a 3 seed once again but the spotlight is on them. Angel Reese became one of the most well known players in the entire sport of basketball after being incredibly successful against Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. The question remains, can she make it through the Sweet 16 and force a rematch? Reese is accompanied by a young roster of Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams, rapper/athlete Flau’jae Johnson, as well as grad transfer Hailey Van Lith, all of whom are averaging over 11 points her game. Lith has been struggling so far in the postseason but I’m hoping she finds her footing.
The true story of LSU is that of their coach, Kim Mulkey. Mulkey is widely known to be homophobic, racist, and sexist within the women’s basketball community, but so far that’s been kept relatively quiet as a result of her prolific success. A couple of years ago, Mulkey left a wildly successful Baylor to coach at LSU, making that program equally as successful. Now, the coach has brought attention to a future Washington Post article that threatens to make her reputation more public. I’m hoping for the sake of the players that they can power through and not let it affect their game
And let’s not forget to talk about UCLA, who is actually the #2 seed in this game. This team is led by graduate senior Charisma Osborne, a strong guard defender who’s predicted to head to the WNBA after this season. She’s only second on the team in points per game, one-upped by Lauren Betts, a Sophomore transfer who spent her freshman year at Stanford where she came off the bench. Now, she’s the starting center averaging nearly 15 points per game. The dynamic duo are accompanied by Kiki Rice, Londynn Jones, and Angela Dugalić to round out the starting lineup.
Colorado (5) vs Iowa (1)
Game Time: March 30th, 3:30pm
Players to Watch: Frida Formann and Caitlin Clark
The Drama: Clark’s outbursts have attracted attention by men calling her a “bad role model”. Yet again, women are allowed to show emotion, and Clark will certainly be doing that.
Let’s talk about Iowa, the team I’m sure you’ve already heard way too much about. The Hawkeyes are, of course, let by Caitlin Clark, an athlete who has become the face of the league and perhaps one of the most well known players in the history of the women’s game. She averages 31.8 points per game and shoots from ridiculously far behind the line, breaking the all-time scoring record from so deep that a “22” logo was added to her home floor. She’s a fun, fiery player to watch and will almost certainly go #1 in the WNBA draft. While she’s pretty much done it all during her time at Iowa she has not yet won the tournament, so that’s what she’s chasing this March Madness.
Fear not, though, she’s not the only player you should be keeping an eye on. Hannah Stuelke is an incredible (and young!) post presence, and both Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall are 5th year guards I personally love watching. This is a good team, and if they’re going to win a championship this looks like their year. The biggest question will be whether Clark can handle the big stage or if she gets locked down—and if she does have an off night, can Stuelke and Martin step up to fill the gaps?
On the Colorado side, this is a team that hasn’t gotten a ton of attention. They don’t have any big names going into the draft, and they had to upset the #4 seed to get here. They’re led by Aaronette Vonleh, Jaylyn Sherrod, Quay Miller and Frida Formann, all four of whom are upperclassmen. Formann has been struggling a bit so far in the tournament, and it will be important for the team to get her going early. The sheer depth of this team’s roster and experience may be enough to keep them calm if this game comes down to the wire.
Baylor (5) vs USC (1)
Game Time: March 30th, 5:30pm
Players to Watch: Jada Walker and JuJu Watkins
The Drama: Baylor’s stars haven’t been able to put up big numbers this tournament, but their role players have been—what does that mean for this team going forward? And will the very young Watkins be able to maintain her composure against one of the best teams in the country?
We can’t talk about Baylor without talking about the iconic performance of Jada Walker against Virginia Tech. As with most 4 vs 5 seed games, this one was a battle to the finish, and the Bears wouldn’t have been victorious had Walker not put up a career high 28 points. The Kentucky transfer only averages 8.2 points per game, but she did what it took to get this team onto the next round. And that’s the fun of March Madness! You never know who will become a star!
The true leaders of this Baylor team are Sarah Andrews and Dre’Una Edwards. They both average over 11 points her game and have been playing consistently all season long.
On USC’s side, this team is coming out of a very good Pac-12 conference that challenged them each and every game. They’re ready for the big stage because they’ve been prepping for it during regular season. As such, they made quick work of their first two games, defeating Kansas and Texas A&M- Corpus Christi by an average of 25 points.
They did this on the back of JuJu Watkins, an absolute star in women’s basketball. Watkins averages 26.9 points per game and is fun to watch during it. And she’s a freshman! With how young this entire talent pool is this year, I can’t wait to see where the future goes. Watkins plays alongside McKenzie Forbes, a talented grad student who brings a level of maturity to the floor they’re certain to need as the tournament moves forward.
Duke (7) vs UConn (3)
Game Time: March 30th, 8pm
Players to Watch: Reigan Richardson and Paige Bueckers
The Drama: UConn needs to stay out of foul trouble, or it’s going to be ab impossible night for them. And will Duke be able to keep their “cinderella streak” going?
And now that brings us to the final game of the night. Also, coincidentally, one of the only true upsets of the tournament with Duke Women’s Basketball. The 7 seed snuck into a sweet sixteen filled with 2 five seeds and 13 1-4 seeds, and they did it by upsetting a very good Ohio State team.
Reigan Richardson led that particular charge, scoring 28 points in just 32 minutes to lead her team to success. It’s something she’s used to doing, having scored 25 points the game before. Duke’s leading scorer averaged just 12.4 points in the regular season, but she stepped up when it counted to make big plays and take her team to the next level. Richardson will have her work cut out for her tonight where she’ll likely be defended by UConn’s Nika Mühl.
While Mühl doesn’t score much, she’s a leading defensive player and a large reason for the team’s success versus Syracuse on Monday. There, she guarded 3rd all time leading scorer Dyaisha Fair, holding her to just 20 points over the course of her 40 minutes. Mühl’s impact can be seen in the fact that after she fouled out, Syracuse went on a 14-1 run.
The superstar scorer of this team is Paige Bueckers. After coming back from two knee injuries, she’s playing some of the best basketball of her life this postseason. The lanky guard is averaging 30 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 3.5 steals, and just 2 turnovers per game on 56% shooting in the tournament thus far. I list off all of these numbers both because I’m a UConn fan and to give credence to head coach Geno Auriemma’s statement that Buekers is playing the statistically best basketball in the tournament. She’s joined by Aliyah Edwards, a post player and likely 3rd pick in the WNBA draft.
The big question mark for this Connecticut team is whether they will be able to stay healthy. They only play 6 deep and it’s not unusual for them to have a game with 0 bench points. By contrast, Duke plays 9 and can count on them to score, meaning they may have better luck down the stretch.
Who are you cheering for to win the NCAA tournament?
