A Sweet Sixteen Preview

The 2024 Women's March Madness tournament is gripping the nation. Massive crowds showed up both in person and as viewers for the tournament's first two rounds, "shattering records for the third consecutive season," as the NCAA reported. And that was just for the early stuff! The tournament only gets more competitive as teams approach the Sweet 16, set to kick off on Friday, March 29. Here's what you need to know to prepare for the four games on Friday and four games on Saturday.

Albany 1 Region

#2 Notre Dame v. #3 Oregon State, Friday, March 29 at 2:30 pm ET (ESPN)

Notre Dame has a shortage of healthy players, so it's a good thing freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo is one of them. She and teammates Maddy Westbed and Sonia Citron will have to lead the Fighting Irish in a tough fight against three-seed Oregon State, whose guard Talia von Oelhoffen has led the Beavers to their first Sweet 16 in five years.

#1 South Carolina v. #4. Indiana, Friday, March 29 at 5:00 pm ET (ESPN)

The undefeated South Carolina showed, once again, just how formidable they are in a 47-point defeat over North Carolina in the round of 32. The Gamecocks' best players, center Kamilla Cardoso and guard MiLaysia Fulwiley will be tasked with leading the team against Indiana. The Hoosiers' track record so far in this tournament is shaky — they make hard shots but miss easy ones — but expect them to put up a fight. The bright spot for the Hoosiers? The return of All American forward Mackenzie Holmes from a knee injury.

Portland 4 Region

#2 Stanford v. #3 NC State, Friday, March 29 at 7:30 pm ET (ESPN)

The key to Stanford's entrance into the Sweet 16 was forward Kiki Iriafen, who had 41 points and 12 rebounds to avenge Stanford's second-round loss from last year. She and the rest of the team will have to face a tough NC State team that beat fellow Sweet 16 participants Colorado, UConn, Notre Dame, and Duke earlier this season.

#1 Texas v. #4 Gonzaga, Friday, March 29 at 10:00pm ET (ESPN)

Freshman Madison Booker is pretty much all you need to know about the Longhorns' bid into the Sweet 16. Her transition from forward to point guard after a teammate's injury has been both remarkable and unnoticeable—her in-game IQ makes it pretty seamless. Gonzaga has slumped at various moments in this tournament, but the Zags are still ones to be contended with. Remember, they are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the country.

Albany 2 Region

#2 UCLA v. #3 LSU, Saturday, March 30 at 1:00 pm ET (ABC)

Like other teams, UCLA had to battle to reach this round, surviving a tight game against Creighton. Center Lauren Betts continues to steal the show, buoying UCLA to wins. The Bruins will face off against the defending national champs, the LSU Tigers. Mikayla Williams, Flau'jae Johnson, and, of course, Angel Reese will lead the way.

#1 Iowa v. #5 Colorado, Saturday, March 30 at 3:30 pm ET (ABC)

Iowa's round-of-32-game victory over West Virginia can best be described as survival. Caitlin Clark's Hawkeye squad has to regroup as they prepare to take on the Colorado Buffaloes, who are competing in their second straight Sweet 16 after "not having made it this far in the tournament in 20 years." The Hawkeyes actually defeated Colorado handily in the round of 16 last year. Colorado is another great defensive team that will look to slow Iowa's high-octane offense.

Portland 3 Region

#1 USC v. #5 Baylor, Saturday, March 30 at 5:30 pm ET (ESPN)

USC is synonymous with JuJu Watkins at this point. She helped lift the Trojans to victory over Kansas in the round of 32 with 28 points. The arrival of the Watkins, plus her nerds and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, transformed the program into a national contender. The Trojans will make the program's first Sweet 16 appearance in 30 years. Baylor defeated a Liz Kittley-less Virginia Tech to reach this point and will rely on guard Jada Walker to pull off an upset.

#3 UConn v. #7 Duke, Saturday, March 30 at 8:00 pm ET (ESPN)

In the era of Caitlin Clark, many have forgotten just how impressive UConn's Paige Bueckers truly is. Coming off an ACL injury, Bueckers is having a better season than she did in 2021 when she was "the consensus national player of the year," writes ESPN. Bueckers and her squad will take on seventh seed Duke, who have powered through two massive comebacks in this tournament so far to prove they're not to be underestimated and can defeat a #2 seed in Ohio State.