Women’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA tournament
By Charlie Creme Updated: 12/24/2024 at 10:30 a.m. ET
Final exams and the holidays have slowed down the season a bit. But it’s the calm before the storm. When 2025 arrives, conference play kicks into gear and Bracketology will also heat up, moving to twice-weekly updates in early January. Automatic bids now total 31 as we continue to count down to Selection Sunday on March 16.
Bracket Watch
UConn just completed its most important stretch of the season at 2-2. Blowout wins over Louisville and Iowa State were offset by losses to Notre Dame and USC — and those two defeats against teams competing with the Huskies for a top seed put UConn at a deficit already. The relative weakness of the Big East is also a big factor (Creighton is the only other Big East team in the projected field), because there isn’t much opportunity to make up ground. UConn has just three Quad 1 games remaining on the schedule: at Creighton on Jan. 25, at Tennessee on Feb. 6 and at South Carolina on Feb. 16. By comparison, Texas (another team hoping to move up to a 1-seed) has 11 Quad 1 games on its schedule, providing big opportunities to build its résumé. UConn remains one of the best teams in the country and among the Final Four favorites, but anything short of beating the Gamecocks probably results in a spot in Tampa on the 2-line.
On the Bubble
68-Team Bracket
Region 1 Spokane
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Columbus
Baton Rouge
Region 4 Spokane
Los Angeles
Knoxville
Fort Worth
Austin
Region 2 Birmingham
Columbia
Durham
Manhattan
College Park
Region 3 Birmingham
South Bend
East Lansing
Norman
Storrs
Conference Breakdown
Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock
