The Women’s March Madness Sweet 16 tips off today

The GIST: The women’s Sweet 16 tips off today with eight show-stopping showdowns on deck over the next 48 hours, including four games headlined by the No. 1 seeds (senior Kamilla Cardoso’s South Carolina, senior Caitlin Clark’s Iowa, freshman JuJu Watkin’s USC, and freshman Madison Booker’s Texas).

• But today we’re previewing the other four firepower matchups, with all squads battling for a spot in Sunday and Monday’s Elite Eight. March may be ending, but the Madness has just begun.

No. 3 Oregon State Beavers vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish — Today at 2:30 p.m. ET: Notre Dame freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo is the player to watch, a rising star and the focal point of her team’s offense and defense. While the Beavers have never beaten ND (in five attempts), they do boast sharp shooting and a deep roster. Anything can happen in the Big Dance.

No. 3 NC State Wolfpack vs. No. 2 Stanford Cardinal — Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET: NC State has finally found their groove on offense, but they’ll need to rediscover their defense in order to thwart Stanford senior and future WNBAer Cameron Brink and junior Kiki Iriafen.

No. 3 LSU Tigers vs. No. 2 UCLA Bruins — Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET: This star-powered showdown is bound to be epic with two physical teams known for their offensive rebounding going toe-to-toe. In particular, LSU junior Angel Reese and UCLA sophomore Lauren Betts will be counted on to leave it all on the floor.

No. 7 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies — Tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET: UConn boasts one of the country’s best postseason players in superstar junior Paige Bueckers, but Duke (the lowest seed remaining) just pulled off the biggest upset of the tourney. If the sometimes-slow Blue Devils’ offense matches the Huskies’ pace, they just might shock the nation once again. Game on.