Women’s March Madness Saturday watch guide 2026: Schedule and previews for all 16 games
· Yahoo Sports
So begins another day of quad-box TV splits. Living rooms welcome the ambient tones of squeaking sneakers and droning cheer squads. The NCAA Tournament’s round of 64 continues through Saturday and introduces the bracket’s brightest stars.
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From the West come Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice. UCLA closes the Saturday slate at Pauley Pavilion. From the East, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong pursue perfection. Their story picks back up in Storrs, where UConn hosts an over-the-air ABC spotlight. Connecticut is a target twice over: as reigning national champions and as a current unbeaten.
Upsets await and highlights are loading. The full schedule is laid out below.
All times ET.
Women’s March Madness schedule for round of 64, Day 2
Date: Saturday, March 21
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GameTimeTVStreamOhio St. vs. Howard11:30 a.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Louisville vs. VermontNoonESPNFubo (Watch Now)South Carolina vs. Southern1 p.m.ABCFubo (Watch Now)Georgia vs. Virginia1:30 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Notre Dame vs. Fairfield2 p.m.ESPNFubo (Watch Now)Alabama vs. Rhode Island2:30 p.m. ESPNEWSFubo (Watch Now)Kentucky vs. James Madison2:30 p.m. ESPNUFubo (Watch Now)UConn vs. UTSA3 p.m. ABCFubo (Watch Now)Clemson vs. USC3:30 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Iowa vs. FDU4 p.m.ESPNFubo (Watch Now)West Virginia vs. Miami (OH)5 p.m.ESPNUFubo (Watch Now)Iowa State vs. Syracuse5:30 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Vanderbilt vs. High Point7 p.m.ESPNEWSFubo (Watch Now)Oklahoma St. vs. Princeton7:30 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Illinois vs. Colorado9:30 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)UCLA vs. Cal Baptist10 p.m.ESPNFubo (Watch Now)ABC is available for free over the air. All ESPN networks can also be streamed on ESPN Unlimited.
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Howard
Fort Worth 1 Region
The Buckeyes have won four of their last six games — the losses were a two-point overtime finish with Michigan, then a hard-fought Big Ten semifinal against UCLA. Ohio State carries second- or third-weekend potential around guards Jaloni Cambridge and Chance Gray. The team just needs to shore up its glaring weakness in 3-point defense.
Howard set a school record for wins in a season. Zennia Thomas is resilient, going from a heart procedure to the MEAC’s player of the year.
No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont
Fort Worth 3 Region
Louisville led the ACC tournament championship game for 35 of 40 regulation minutes. Duke won in overtime. The Cardinals have some frustration to vent. Tajianna Roberts, Imari Berry and Laura Ziegler are remarkably balanced, each averaging between 11-12 points and 2.7-3.1 assists per game.
Vermont arrives at the KFC Yum! Center (great venue name) with one of the nation’s top scoring defenses. The Catamounts (great team name) are 1-8 all-time in March Madness.
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Southern
Sacramento 4 Region
With the ascent of Dawn Staley, South Carolina has won three of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and reached the Final Four in three others. The Gamecocks are new-age nobility in women’s basketball. They did have a surprising wobble against Texas in the SEC tournament title tilt, but any suggestion of a 16-over-1 upset is pure heresy. Second-team All-American Joyce Edwards leads the deep ensemble.
Southern doesn’t have a single player who averages double-digit scoring. The Jaguars beat Samford in Thursday’s First Four.
No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Virginia
Sacramento 4 Region
Dani Carnegie transferred from Georgia Tech to Georgia, which unlocked her game as a do-it-all lead option. “Drop the Tech. Just … Georgia. It’s cleaner.”
UVA beat Arizona State 57-55 in Thursday’s First Four banger. Kymora Johnson buried an icy 3 and broke a late tie.
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield
Fort Worth 1 Region
Here’s a bracket blender: Notre Dame women’s basketball and BYU men’s basketball are connected. Both No. 6 seeds have soon-to-be-pro supernovas. Both have underperformed this season, while still giving occasional glimpses of what could be. AJ Dybantsa and BYU lost their opening matchup on Thursday. Can the Fighting Irish break the spell?
Hannah Hidalgo’s stats are eye-popping — 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.4 steals (!) per game. But the junior hasn’t played past the Sweet 16 yet. Fairfield carries an 11-game win streak into this underdog bid and makes more 3s than any other team.
No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Rhode Island
Fort Worth 3 Region
Kristy Curry’s team flows in a slow, unbothered pace. Senior Jessica Timmons is sharp from long distance, shooting better than 40 percent on 5.5 attempts per game. A Timmons heat check could position Alabama for second-round disruption. But if the jumpers go cold, the Tide will be vulnerable to a first-round upset.
Rhode Island’s last dance was its only dance — a one-and-done appearance in 1996. Brooklyn Gray leads this year’s Rams from the backcourt.
No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison
Fort Worth 3 Region
Welcome to Clara Strack’s block party, where any and all opponents can get their shots swatted to the band section. Strack averages a 17-point double-double, and she has multiple blocks in eight of her last nine outings.
Kentucky is countered by JMU, champion of the Sun Belt tournament and cleaner of the glass. This matchup will reveal itself inside the paint as Strack and Ashanti Barnes go big-on-big.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 UTSA
Fort Worth 1 Region
Geno Auriemma’s 34-0 Huskies stayed wholly dominant despite Paige Bueckers’ graduation. Fudd and Strong are both first-team All-Americans, and UConn is six wins from a seventh perfect season. Its brilliance cannot be understated.
UTSA is summoned for background acting. For reference, Connecticut won last year’s first round by 69 points, a margin more than double the 34 it allowed.
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC
Sacramento 4 Region
This is Clemson’s best season in 25 years. Head coach Shawn Poppie inherited a program that had a sole NCAA Tournament berth since 2002-03. He has the Tigers as a respectable No. 8 seed in his second year. Clemson relies on its defense and runs possessions through senior Mia Moore.
In contrast to Clemson’s special campaign, USC has had something of a mulligan season in 2025-26. JuJu Watkins tore her ACL 12 months ago, and the Trojans should be instant top-shelfers when she returns this fall. In the meantime, breakout freshman Jazzy Davidson gets to show what she can do.
No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson
Sacramento 4 Region
The Hawkeyes took a head-spinning 51-point L from UCLA in the Big Ten tournament championship game. But an implosion against the juggernaut doesn’t fully diminish Iowa’s strong closing stretch. Jan Jensen’s group stacked eight straight wins up through the conference semifinal, with two convincing defeats of Michigan. The duo of 6-foot-2 Hannah Stuelke and 6-foot-4 Ava Heiden is tough to hang with across four quarters.
FDU went a flawless 18-0 in the Northeast Conference. This is the program’s second dance, and its second in a row.
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (Ohio)
Fort Worth 3 Region
Senior Mountaineer Jordan Harrison outplayed future WNBA pick Olivia Miles in the Big 12 tournament final. She dropped an efficient 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead WVU past TCU. The RedHawks are 8-1 in their last nine and won their last two rounds of the MAC tournament by double figures.
Miami is still a long shot in Morgantown, but the program deserves props for checking into its second-ever NCAA Tournament.
No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse
Fort Worth 1 Region
Iowa native Audi Crooks is a cheat code from the low block. She broke her own program scoring record with a 47-point frenzy earlier this season. The junior Cyclone can drop post dimes against double coverage, too. Yet Iowa State took an early exit at the Big 12 tourney, and it’s lost three of four heading into Saturday. Syracuse has a turnover problem, but it also has a potential Crooks concealer in Nigerian freshman Uche Izoje.
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 15 High Point
Fort Worth 1 Region
No one in the NCAA has rung up more points than Vandy’s Mikayla Blakes. She’s topped 30 a dozen times during her first-team All-American turn. Shea Ralph, longtime assistant to Auriemma at UConn, is transforming Vanderbilt in real time.
The Commodores haven’t reached the second round since 2013. That is all but certain to change … unless High Point’s March magic extends to the women’s bracket.
No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Princeton
Sacramento 2 Region
Oklahoma State has green marks across its offensive metrics. It shoots above 35 percent from 3, with Haleigh Timmer at a team-best 41.8 percent. Princeton is similarly perimeter-minded; Skye Belker checks in at 41.9 percent on treys. With similar seeding, shot distribution and orange-and-black color schemes, we have ourselves a true mirror match.
No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado
Fort Worth 1 Region
Berry Wallace is Illinois’ battery pack. She’s played the full 40 minutes in seven games this season. With shooting splits around 47/36/87, the sophomore is on pace for a national profile in the next two years. Colorado has one of the lowest 3-point rates in Division I, but French forward Anaelle Dutat hauls in almost four offensive boards per game.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Cal Baptist
Sacramento 2 Region
The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant revealed her WNBA mock draft Friday. Five Bruins landed in the first round, and four cracked the top 10. UCLA’s rich talents accentuate one another. Betts is a defensive anchor and screen finisher. Her gravity makes space for off-ball orbiters Gianna Kneepkens and Gabriela Jaquez to drill 3s. If Betts is shaded, Rice or Charlisse Leger-Walker can quickly initiate from the perimeter.
For the viewer, it’s a well-timed symphony. For Cal Baptist, it might sound like thrash metal.
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