Current:Home > FinanceFirst Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams. -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
First Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams.
View
Date:2025-04-15 16:13:58
For the women, March Madness ramps up one day after the men with their own First Four matchups.
The expanded field is fairly new to the women's game, which started the First Four round in 2022. It was one of a handful of changes that the NCAA began making in the wake of a gender equity report showing vast disparities between the men's and women's basketball tournaments.
Unlike the men, who stage all four games in one place, the women play each game at a different location, picking four sites out of the top 16 national seeds.
Here is what you need to know about the women's teams in this year's First Four.
First Four teams for women's March Madness
- Arizona (17-15): Went into the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 7 seed and was eliminated by top-seeded USC in the conference quarterfinals.
- Auburn (20-11): Finished in a sixth-place tie with Mississippi State in the SEC and was routed by LSU in the conference quarterfinals.
- Columbia (23-6): Finished tied with Princeton for the top seed in the Ivy League before going on to beat the Tigers 75-58 in the conference championship game.
- Holy Cross (20-12): Was the top seed in the Patriot League and went on to win the conference championship against Boston University 61-55.
- Presbyterian (20-14): Finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big South, but went on to beat Radford in the conference title game.
- Sacred Heart (24-9): Only lost one game in the NEC and ran away with the conference championship. The Pioneers have won 15 consecutive games.
- UT Martin (16-16): Was one of three teams to finish in second place in the OVC and made it to the conference championship game before losing to top-seeded Southern Indiana.
- Vanderbilt (22-9): Finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the SEC tournament, where they were ousted by Florida in the first round.
IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
When is First Four for women?
The women's First Four will take place with two games on Wednesday, March 20 and two games on Thursday, March 21.
First Four games for women
Wednesday, March 20
- Sacred Heart (24-9) vs. Presbyterian (20-14), 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 1 and face No. 1 South Carolina.
- Vanderbilt (22-9) vs. Columbia (23-6), 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 12 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 5 Baylor.
Thursday, March 21
- Auburn (20-11) vs. Arizona (17-15), 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 11 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 6 Syracuse.
- Holy Cross (20-12) vs. UT Martin (16-16), 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 2 and face No. 1 Iowa.
Where is First Four for women?
The sites of the women's First Four games will be: Blacksburg, Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Storrs, Connecticut; and Peoria, Illinois.
How to watch women's First Four
The women's First Four games will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2.
Have any First Four teams won the women's national championship?
No, in fact Mississippi State is the only team to ever win a first-round game after advancing out of the First Four. Last season the Bulldogs beat Creighton in the Round of 64 before losing to Notre Dame 53-48 in the second round.
USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner contributed to this report.
veryGood! (16)
Related
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Russia brings new charges against jailed Kremlin foe Navalny
- College football bowl game schedule for the 2023-24 season: A full guide for fans.
- Louisiana granted extra time to draw new congressional map that complies with Voting Rights Act
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Police charge director of Miss Nicaragua pageant with running ‘beauty queen coup’ plot
- Pottery Barn's Holiday Sale Is Up To 50% Off, With Finds Starting At Just $8
- Watch heartwarming Christmas commercials, from Coca Cola’s hilltop song to Chevy’s dementia story
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Earth is running a fever. And UN climate talks are focusing on the contagious effect on human health
Ranking
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Colombian navy finds shipwrecked boat with over 750 kilos of drugs floating nearby
- College football bowl game schedule for the 2023-24 season: A full guide for fans.
- London police make arrests as pro-Palestinian supporters stage events across Britain
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- The international court prosecutor says he will intensify investigations in Palestinian territories
- Alabama, Nick Saban again run the SEC but will it mean spot in College Football Playoff?
- Gun factory in upstate New York with roots in 19th century set to close
Recommendation
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Holiday shopping: Find the best gifts for Beyoncé fans, from the official to the homemade
Knicks' Mitchell Robinson invites his high school coach to move in with him after coach's wife died
Column: Georgia already in rarified territory, with a shot to be the best ever
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
Police in Greece arrest father, son and confiscate tons of sunflower oil passed off as olive oil
France and Philippines eye a security pact to allow joint military combat exercises
These TV Co-Stars Are Actually Couples in Real-Life