The second round of women’s March Madness serves up serious upsets

The GIST: The first round of the women’s tourney went mostly as expected, but the second round served up some serious surprises yesterday as the first eight teams secured Sweet 16 berths. Let’s hoop to it.

Yesterday’s matchups: No. 7–seed Duke rebounded from a 16-point first-half deficit to take down No. 2 Ohio State 75–63, then No. 5 Colorado joined them at the upset party, topping No. 4 Kansas State 63–50 to send the Buffs to back-to-back Sweet 16s.

• Elsewhere, all went according to plan for No. 1–seeds South Carolina and Texas, who are Sweet 16 bound after dominant second-round showings, while defending champ No. 3 LSU had to rally from a shaky first half to punch their Sweet 16 ticket, and No. 2 Stanford needed overtime (OT) to bounce gritty No. 7 Iowa State 87–81.

• And following a career-high night from junior guard Jada Walker, No. 5 Baylor topped No. 4 Virginia Tech in a 75–72 thriller, ending the Hokies’ once-promising season on a tear-filled note.

Today’s contests: The final eight Sweet 16 spots will be awarded today, with some of the top names in the women’s game taking the court from lunchtime to sunset. The matchups not to miss? Freshman Hannah Hidalgo’s No. 2 Notre Dame tips things off against No. 7 Ole Miss at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Paige Bueckers and No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Syracuse at 6 p.m. ET.

• Then it’s all about the No. 1 seeds. Caitlin Clark and top-seed Iowa face No. 8 West Virginia at 8 p.m. ET, before another likely star-studded audience watches freshman JuJu Watkins and No. 1 USC take the floor against No. 8 Kansas at 10 p.m. ET. Hooping never stops.