Current:Home > ScamsFirst Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams. -InvestPioneer
First Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams.
View
Date:2025-04-13 09:46:42
For the women, March Madness ramps up one day after the men with their own First Four matchups.
The expanded field is fairly new to the women's game, which started the First Four round in 2022. It was one of a handful of changes that the NCAA began making in the wake of a gender equity report showing vast disparities between the men's and women's basketball tournaments.
Unlike the men, who stage all four games in one place, the women play each game at a different location, picking four sites out of the top 16 national seeds.
Here is what you need to know about the women's teams in this year's First Four.
First Four teams for women's March Madness
- Arizona (17-15): Went into the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 7 seed and was eliminated by top-seeded USC in the conference quarterfinals.
- Auburn (20-11): Finished in a sixth-place tie with Mississippi State in the SEC and was routed by LSU in the conference quarterfinals.
- Columbia (23-6): Finished tied with Princeton for the top seed in the Ivy League before going on to beat the Tigers 75-58 in the conference championship game.
- Holy Cross (20-12): Was the top seed in the Patriot League and went on to win the conference championship against Boston University 61-55.
- Presbyterian (20-14): Finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big South, but went on to beat Radford in the conference title game.
- Sacred Heart (24-9): Only lost one game in the NEC and ran away with the conference championship. The Pioneers have won 15 consecutive games.
- UT Martin (16-16): Was one of three teams to finish in second place in the OVC and made it to the conference championship game before losing to top-seeded Southern Indiana.
- Vanderbilt (22-9): Finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the SEC tournament, where they were ousted by Florida in the first round.
IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
When is First Four for women?
The women's First Four will take place with two games on Wednesday, March 20 and two games on Thursday, March 21.
First Four games for women
Wednesday, March 20
- Sacred Heart (24-9) vs. Presbyterian (20-14), 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 1 and face No. 1 South Carolina.
- Vanderbilt (22-9) vs. Columbia (23-6), 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winner will be the No. 12 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 5 Baylor.
Thursday, March 21
- Auburn (20-11) vs. Arizona (17-15), 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 11 seed in Portland Regional 3 and face No. 6 Syracuse.
- Holy Cross (20-12) vs. UT Martin (16-16), 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner will be the No. 16 seed in Albany Regional 2 and face No. 1 Iowa.
Where is First Four for women?
The sites of the women's First Four games will be: Blacksburg, Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Storrs, Connecticut; and Peoria, Illinois.
How to watch women's First Four
The women's First Four games will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2.
Have any First Four teams won the women's national championship?
No, in fact Mississippi State is the only team to ever win a first-round game after advancing out of the First Four. Last season the Bulldogs beat Creighton in the Round of 64 before losing to Notre Dame 53-48 in the second round.
USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner contributed to this report.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Hurricane Idalia floodwaters cause Tesla to combust: What to know about flooded EV fires
- Pentagon unveils new UFO website that will be a 'one-stop' shop for declassified info
- For at least a day, all the world is ‘Margaritaville’ in homage to Jimmy Buffett
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Ohio police release bodycam footage of fatal shooting of pregnant shoplifting suspect
- Former prosecutor who resigned from Russia probe investigation tapped for state Supreme Court post
- Grocery stores open Labor Day 2023: See Kroger, Publix, Aldi, Whole Foods holiday hours
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Are Target, Costco, Walmart open on Labor Day? Store hours for Home Depot, TJ Maxx, more
Ranking
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- 5 former employees at Georgia juvenile detention facility indicted in 16-year-old girl’s 2022 death
- Russia-North Korea arms negotiations actively advancing, White House says
- One dead, four injured in stabbings at notorious jail in Atlanta that’s under federal investigation
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Chad Kelly, Jim Kelly's nephew, becomes highest-paid player in CFL with Toronto Argonauts
- Consumers accuse Burger King and other major restaurant chains of false advertising
- Albuquerque police arrest man in 3 shooting deaths during apparent drug deal
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Experts say a deer at a Wisconsin shooting preserve is infected with chronic wasting disease
What to know about COVID as hospitalizations go up and some places bring back masks
Powered by solar and wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
PETA is offering $5,000 for information on peacock killed by crossbow in Las Vegas neighborhood
Nick Saban takes Aflac commercials, relationship with Deion Sanders seriously
Jobs Friday: More jobs and more unemployment