Thurston Carte-March Madness picks: Our Saturday bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA women's tournament

2025-04-28 16:41:29source:Rekubitcategory:Contact

Editor's note: Follow all the women's March Madness scores,Thurston Carte updates, highlights and upsets with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage.

This is the day many people have had circled on their calendar since Selection Sunday. Caitlin Clark and No. 1 seed Iowa open play in the women's NCAA Tournament on Saturday, and they've got their sights set on another trip to the Final Four. Will they get there?

Also in action Saturday, surprising top seed Southern California, 11-time NCAA champion coach Geno Auriemma and UConn, Notre Dame and UCLA.

Time will tell whether Saturday yields the upsets fans have come to expect every March, or whether it's a repeat of Friday, which saw just one team - Louisville - knocked out early.

The first of 16 games tips at noon with Tennessee vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay. If you need the full tournament schedule and where to watch on TV, here it is.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.

A look at first-round game picks from USA TODAY Sports experts Nancy Armour, Scooby Axson, Ellen Horrow and Lindsay Schnell:

Albany Region 1

(4) Indiana vs. (13) Fairfield

  • Nancy Armour: Indiana
  • Scooby Axson: Indiana
  • Ellen Horrow: Indiana
  • Lindsay Schnell: Indiana

(2) Notre Dame vs. (15) Kent State

  • Armour: Notre Dame
  • Axson: Notre Dame
  • Horrow: Notre Dame
  • Schnell: Notre Dame

(5) Oklahoma vs. (12) FGCU

  • Armour: Oklahoma
  • Axson: Oklahoma
  • Horrow: FGCU
  • Schnell: FGCU

(7) Ole Miss vs. (10) Marquette

  • Armour: Marquette
  • Axson: Ole Miss
  • Horrow: Ole Miss
  • Schnell: Ole Miss

Albany Region 2

(1) Iowa vs. (16) Holy Cross

  • Armour: Iowa
  • Axson: Iowa
  • Horrow: Iowa
  • Schnell: Iowa

8) West Virginia vs. (9) Princeton

  • Armour: Princeton
  • Axson: Princeton
  • Horrow: Princeton
  • Schnell: Princeton

(7) Creighton vs. (10) UNLV

  • Armour: Creighton
  • Axson: UNLV
  • Horrow: Creighton
  • Schnell: UNLV

(2) UCLA vs. (15) California Baptist

  • Armour: UCLA
  • Axson: UCLA
  • Horrow: UCLA
  • Schnell: UCLA

Portland Region 3

(3) UConn vs. (14) Jackson State

  • Armour: UConn
  • Axson: UConn
  • Horrow: UConn
  • Schnell: UConn

(6) Syracuse vs. (11) Arizona

  • Armour: Arizona
  • Axson: Syracuse
  • Horrow: Syracuse
  • Schnell: Syracuse

(1) Southern California vs. (16) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

  • Armour: Southern Cal
  • Axson: Southern Cal
  • Horrow: Southern Cal
  • Schnell: Southern Cal

(8) Kansas vs. (9) Michigan

  • Armour: Michigan
  • Axson: Kansas
  • Horrow: Michigan
  • Schnell: Michigan

Portland Region 4

(6) Tennessee vs. (11) Wisconsin-Green Bay

  • Armour: Tennessee
  • Axson: Tennessee
  • Horrow: Tennessee
  • Schnell: Tennessee

(3) N.C. State vs. (14) Chattanooga

  • Armour: N.C. State
  • Axson: N.C. State
  • Horrow: N.C. State
  • Schnell: N.C. State

(4) Gonzaga vs. (13) UC Irvine

  • Armour: Gonzaga
  • Axson: Gonzaga
  • Horrow: Gonzaga
  • Schnell: Gonzaga

(5) Utah vs. (12) South Dakota

  • Armour: Utah
  • Axson: Utah
  • Horrow: Utah
  • Schnell: Utah

Bracket predictions for all 64 games

  • Armour: Click here.
  • Axson: Click here.
  • Horrow: Click here.
  • Schnell: Click here.

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