March Madness Elite Eight games ranked as Women’s NCAA Tournament nears Final Four

Mitchell Northam, USA TODAYSun, March 29, 2026 at 10:03 AM UTC

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Eight teams remain in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

While the women’s tournament typically has less upsets than the men’s during the first and second rounds, the second weekend of March Madness is where things can get spicy and interesting. This year’s tournament didn’t disappoint.

No. 3 Duke upset No. 2 LSU on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Ashlon Jackson, and Hannah Hidalgo dropped a triple-double to power No. 6 Notre Dame to a victory over No. 2 Vanderbilt. The Fighting Irish and Blue Devils are the only teams from the ACC remaining in the field, tied for the most left with the Big Ten and SEC.

Each of last year’s Final Four teams — UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina — are all No. 1 seeds this season, and are all still alive after surviving their Sweet 16 matchups in Fort Worth, Texas and Sacramento, California.

Can Hidalgo and Niele Ivey create more March Madness magic? Will Duke continue to avenge its non-conference losses? Can Raven Johnson lead South Carolina to its sixth consecutive Final Four?

Four of the eight teams still dancing have won national championships, but Texas is aiming to end a long drought as it hasn’t won it all since 1986. TCU and Michigan are trying to make the Final Four for the first time, while Duke hasn’t been to the national semifinals since 2006 when it lost to Maryland in the national title game.

Here’s all of the Elite Eight games on tap for Sunday and Monday, ranked by watchability.

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1 / 0March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

Michigan State's Rashunda Jones (1) walks off the court following a second-round game in the NCAA women's basketball tournament between the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday March 22, 2026.

1. UCLA vs. Duke

Time/TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Duke has a pretty good record in run-it-back games this season. They won both meetings against Notre Dame and Louisville, beat Clemson in the ACC Tournament after losing to the Tigers in February, beat Baylor by double digits in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after losing to the Bears in Paris, and defeated LSU in the Sweet 16 after losing to Kim Mulkey’s team at home in December. Now, Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils will get the chance to correct the record against UCLA, after the Bruins beat them by 30 points in Las Vegas in November. UCLA is riding a 28-game winning streak and hasn’t had a winning margin of less than double digits since Feb. 8. The Bruins look like a Goliath. Can Duke be a David?

2. South Carolina vs. TCU

Time/TV: Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The Gamecocks looked unstoppable in a wire-to-wire win over Oklahoma on Saturday, coasting to a 94-68 victory. Aaliyah Chavez got her 21 points, but South Carolina largely neutralized the rest of the Sooners. With a sixth consecutive trip to the Final Four on the line, the Gamecocks will take on another team with a supremely talented point guard in Olivia Miles, the nation’s leader in triple-doubles this season. Marta Suarez has emerged as the Robin to Miles’ Batman, dropping 33 points in the Horned Frogs’ win over Virginia. Expect SEC Defensive Player of the Year Raven Johnson to be tracking Miles.

3. UConn vs. Notre Dame

Time/TV: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)

No two teams in the history of women’s college basketball have played more times in the NCAA Tournament than Notre Dame and UConn, who meet for the ninth time in the Big Dance on Sunday. The former Big East rivals played earlier this season with the Huskies taking a comfortable 85-47 win. Can Hannah Hidalgo engineer one of the biggest upsets in tournament history, or will undefeated UConn continue to roll in its quest to repeat as champions?

4. Texas vs. Michigan

Time/TV: Monday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Michigan is the team that came the closest to beating UConn this season, losing by just three points in a neutral site game in November. Texas has suffered three losses all season and is the only team to have beaten UCLA. Both teams are led by talented trios, with Madison Booker, Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee leading the Longhorns, while sophomores Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway have powered the Wolverines.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight games ranked as March Madness nears Final Four

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