March Madness: How to watch and what to watch in the women's NCAA Tournament

Top-ranked UConn and the other favorite s in women's college basketball can't wait for March Madness to begin.

The Huskies are the defending champion and the last time they didn’t win another one the next year was way back in 2000. UConn won three straight titles in 2002-04, back-to-back crowns in 2009-10 and four in a row from 2013-16.

UConn will seek its 13th national championship. Fellow No. 1 seeds UCLA, Texas and South Carolina will be the biggest challengers as the annual tradition that is the NCAA Tournament opens the door for thousands of fans to fill out brackets and take a shot at winning the office pool.

For the first time, the NCAA will punish teams that do not provide player availability reports. Fines start at $10,000. And if you like the tourney at 68 teams, enjoy the moment! Discussions continue on whether to expand the field by at least four teams and possibly more.

South Dakota State (27-6) vs. Washington (21-10), Friday, 2:30 p.m. Eastern. South Dakota State avanced to the round of 32 as a No. 10 seed last year and tries to do it as an 11th seed this time. The Jackrabbits have won 10 straight.

Tennessee (16-13) vs. N.C. State (20-10), Friday, 8 p.m. N.C. State won 80-77 at Tennessee in the season opener for both teams. Now they meet again. The Lady Vols enter the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game skid.

James Madison (26-8) vs. Kentucky (23-10), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. James Madison owns a 12-game winning streak. In its last two NCAA Tournament first-round games, Kentucky got upset by Princeton in 2022 and edged Liberty 79-78 last year.

Princeton (26-3) vs. Oklahoma State (23-9), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. For the second straight season, Oklahoma State has a first-round matchup with a mid-major program in the Top 25. After losing to South Dakota State last year, the Cowboys must deal with a Princeton team that was 23rd in the most recent AP rankings.

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services. The championship game will be aired on ABC for a fourth straight season.

There were 31 automatic bids for league tournament champions. The selection committee then picked 37 at-large teams. The full field was revealed Sunday.

The First Four matchups are Wednesday and Thursday. The first- and second-round games Friday and Saturday are on these 16 campuses across the country.

The second week of the tournament will take place at two sites: Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The Sweet 16 matchups will take place March 27-28, with regional finals March 29-30.

The Final Four in Phoenix on Friday, April 3, begins at 7 p.m. Eastern and the championship game begns at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, April 5.

___ AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness