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The men's NCAA basketball tournamenttipped off today, and the first round of the women's March Madness tournament gets underway tomorrow. Caitlin Clark may have moved on from Iowa to the WNBA, but there's no shortage of stars in women's college basketball.
Electric point guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and the interior strength of freshman Joyce Edwards, junior Chloe Kitts and senior Sania Feagin have positioned South Carolina as a No. 1 seed in the tournament and poised for a repeat. Six-foot-seven junior Lauren Betts has been at the center of UCLA's stellar season, and its No. 1 seed, and sophomore forward Madison Booker has propelled Texas to a No. 1 seed.
A trio of guards that made a splash in last year's tournament are back for this year's edition. JuJu Watkins is second in the nation in scoring and has led USC to a No. 1 seed. Hannah Hidalgo is fourth in scoring to help Notre Dame secure a No. 3 seed. Paige Bueckers doesn't score quite at the same clip as Watkins or Hidalgo but led No. 2 UConn to an undefeated conference record and was named Big East Player of the Year for the third time. You can see all of the tournament seeds and matchups at the official women's March Madness bracket.
Here's everything you need to know to get ready for the women's March Madness tournament, from the first round to the Final Four and the National Championship game, including where to stream it.
When does the women's NCAA tournament start?
There are two more play-in games tonight, and then the tournament really gets going on Friday with the first full day of games.
The games in the first two rounds are hosted by schools with the higher seeds in the tournament. Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington. The Final Four and championship games will be played at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Here's the full tournament schedule, round by round:
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4
- National championship: Sunday, April 6
How to watch women's March Madness without cable?
As in past years, the tournament will be shown across the ESPN family of channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ABC.
The best live TV streaming service for watching the women's tournament is YouTube TV. It offers all four ESPN channels and ABC in its base plan that costs $83 a month, and it offers multiview so you can watch up to four games at once.
Fubo is the only other service with multiview, but it costs more than YouTube TV and then forces you to pay extra to include ESPNU and ESPNEWS. DirectTV Stream's base plan costs more than YouTube TV's and doesn't include ESPNU or ESPNEWS. Sling TV is also a poor choice because it offers ABC in only a handful of markets.
Read more:March Madness TV Deals
That leaves Hulu with Live TV as the second-best choice. It lacks multiview but its $83-a-month base plan includes all five channels needed to watch any game of the women's tournament.
YouTube TV costs $83 a month and includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ABC so you can watch every game of the tournament. Plug in your ZIP code on itswelcome pageto see which local networks are available in your area. Right now, the first six months are discounted to $70 a month, and there is a free, 10-day trial.
YouTube TV is our pick for March Madness. Not only is it the cheapest live TV streaming service (with the current discount for the first six months) that includes all five channels for the tournament, but it also offers multiview so you can watch four games at once -- perfect for a tournament that has so many games going on at once.
Read our YouTube TV review.
Hulu with Live TV costs $83 a month and includes ABC and the four ESPN channels for the women's tournament. Click the "View channels in your area" link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
Each of the live TV streaming services above allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out ourlive TV streaming services guideand our recommendations for thebest sports streaming services.
Cheap steaming option for Final Four and championship
ESPN Plus is a good option if you want to jump in at the end of the tournament and watch the semifinals and national championship game.
ESPN's stand-alone streaming service costs $12 a month and will show only the final three games of the tournament: both semifinal games forthe Final Four on April 4 and the championship game on April 6.
Read our ESPN Plus review.
Women's March Madness tournament schedule
Here's the TV schedule for the first round games (all times ET):
Friday, March 21
- No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Iowa State: 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2
- No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Liberty: 12 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 8 Utah vs. No. 9 Indiana: 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin: 2 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Fairfield: 2:30 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon: 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU
- No. 2 TCU vs. No. 15 Farleigh Dickinson: 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech: 4 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Oregon: 5:30 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Montana State: 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Ball State: 6 p.m. on ESPNU
- No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Nebraska: 6 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 8 Richmond vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech: 7:30 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Lehigh: 8 p.m. on ESPNU
- No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 South Florida: 8 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Southern: 10 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, March 22
- No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Murray State: 12 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Arkansas State: 1 p.m. on ABC
- No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 Green Bay: 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 2 NC State vs. No. 15 Vermont: 2 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Columbia/Washington: 2 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Florid Gulf Coast: 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU
- No. 1 USC vs. No. 16 UNC Greensboro: 3 p.m. on ABC
- No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 South Dakota State: 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Norfolk State: 4 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Oregon State: 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU
- No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Harvard: 4:30 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Mississippi State: 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 9 Creighton: 7:15 p.m. on ESPNews
- No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 George Mason: 7:45 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 High Point/William & Mary: 9:45 p.m. on ESPN2
- No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 San Diego State: 10:15 p.m. on ESPN
Who won the women's March Madness last year?
Caitlin Clark carried the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four, but her 30 points in the final weren't enough to get past South Carolina, who prevailed 87-75 to complete a perfect 39-0 season.
