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March Madness is here and the top seeds of the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament are coming in with a chip on their shoulders.
No. 1 seeds hold a 459-97 record and have won 23 of the 41 national championships. Last year, South Carolina entered the Big Dance as an overwhelming favorite and got the job done as the top overall seed. However, things are a little different this year.
UCLA had never been a No. 1 seed, but the Bruins got the top overall seed this season after only losing two games. South Carolina, Texas and USC also earned No. 1 seeds in that order. South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb were not thrilled with the selection committee and made their opinions known.
Let’s take a look at each of those teams and see if the committee got it right.
4. USC Trojans
JuJu Watkins helped the program reach the Elite Eight last year for the first time since 1994. This season, she is one of the strongest candidates to win Player of the Year. While Waktins helped to revitalize the program, the addition of Kiki Iriafen helped the Trojans level up even more with her athleticism and high basketball IQ.
Another key player is Rayah Marshall, who is on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list along with Watkins. This is Marshall’s third consecutive year making the list.
Watkins went through a bit of a sophomore slump this season with some very unproductive performances, but she snapped out of it on Feb. 13 when USC handed UCLA its first loss of the season. That day, Watkins had one of the best two-way performances in decades with 38 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, eight blocks and a steal.
While Watkins excelled in that game, the rest of her teammates struggled. Every one else on the team went just 9 of 37 from the field against UCLA, which could be a troubling sign against a tough defensive unit. It was the case in the Big Ten Tournament final when the two teams met for the third time this season and the Trojans shot just 34% from the field with Watkins going just 9 of 28 on field goal attempts.
Making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament will require everybody to be locked in at the same time, especially being in the same region as UConn.
3. Texas Longhorns
First, let’s get the negative out of the way. What is frustrating about the Longhorns is that they have potential to be a strong offensive team, but that’s been an area in which they have struggled recently.
That was on full display in the 64-45 loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament championship game. The Longhorns went just 16 of 54 from the field (29.6%) and had 18 turnovers. Surprisingly that was their second least efficient game of the season because they shot 27.8% against South Carolina in January. The 45 points was their lowest-scoring game of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, they are a lot better than that last outing. The Longhorns have the second best scoring margin in the nation, right below UConn and one spot above South Carolina. They had a lot of momentum in February and won four consecutive games against top 25 opponents, including three top 10 opponents in a row: South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU. No other team has done that since Rutgers in 2004-05. Vic Schaefer’s team also got a share of the SEC regular season title in their first year in the conference.
Texas made it to the Elite Eight last year without Rori Harmon, and her return this season helped the team be deeper at the guard position. Madison Booker continues to shine and plays like a veteran despite only being a sophomore. The Longhorns also count with the “two-headed monster” of Kyla Oldacre and Taylor Jones. Like Schaefer said, the team needs to keep playing with an edge if they want to hunt a championship.
2. South Carolina Gamecocks
This is almost the same roster as the one that completed a perfect season last April, except for 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Even without her, South Carolina leads the nation with 42.6 points in the paint per game, which accounts for 52.9% of its total offense. The team also added a strong young player in freshman forward Joyce Edwards, while Chloe Kitts has leveled up as a junior.
The Gamecocks have slipped up a few times this season, including a crushing 87-58 loss to UConn in February that snapped their 71-game winning streak at home. However, Staley’s squad has had the best preparation for the NCAA Tournament with the toughest strength of schedule this season and the most Quad 1 wins.
South Carolina is tough to scout because there is not one specific player who stands out every night. Edwards leads the offense with 13.1 points per game, but the second leading scorer is sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley, who puts up 12 points per contest while coming off the bench and giving highlight-reel worthy content almost every night.
The Gamecocks are averaging 80.5 points per game, and 41.5 of those points come from the bench. Playing time is spread around and Te-Hina Paopao, equipped with her calming presence and unassuming leadership style, is the only player averaging 25 minutes per game.
1. UCLA Bruins
The Bruins made a statement early in the season with a win over South Carolina. However, losing the Big Ten regular season title to USC might have been the best thing to happen to them. Cori Close and her players were vocal about how that was a tough film session to watch, but being 0-2 against the Trojans served as motivation for the Big Ten Tournament. UCLA getting revenge in the championship game not only earned them hardware, it showed the potential this team has.
The Bruins are one of the top rebounding teams in Division I, which is not surprising because they have with arguably the most dominant post player in the country, Lauren Betts. She leads her team in scoring with 19.7 points while making a productive 63.2% of her shots. Betts is almost averaging a double-double with 9.9 boards per contest, and is in the top five in the nation in blocks per game (2.9).
However, the team is dangerous because it has other versatile players who can shine any given night. There are seven Bruins who average over seven points per game, and UCLA moves the ball well with over 20 assists per contest. Kiki Rice and Elina Aarnisalo — who Betts said is the most underrated player on the team — lead UCLA in that category.
Gabriella Jaquez is shooting 54.4% as a guard, Londynn Jones is scary when she gets hot from beyond the arc, and Janiah Barker’s contributions from the bench earned her the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year honors.
