Each of the past two years, South Carolina entered the women's NCAA tournament as the heavy favourite and undefeated. But this season, every team among the top 16 seeds has at least two losses—which means the battle for the national championship feels more wide open.
That said, no team seeded below No. 3 has ever won the NCAA women's college basketball title. Three teams have done so as the No. 3 seed, the most recent of which was LSU in 2023. Early-round upsets have become more commonplace, even on the home courts of top-16 seeds. It happened three times last year, with Colorado, Baylor, and the No. 5 seeds, respectively. 7 Duke advancing to the Sweet 16.
This year, how do the top seeds stack up? South Carolina is trying to repeat, while Texas (2004) and USC (1986) seek their first Final Four in a long time, and UCLA seeks its first in the NCAA era.
Which team will be the last one standing when the nets are cut down on April 6 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida?
We surveyed nearly two dozen women's college basketball analysts, writers, and commentators across ESPN and found that South Carolina is the most popular pick to win the 2025 title despite being the second-ranked seed behind the Bruins. Nine of 22 voters picked the Gamecocks to win it all. UConn, a No. 2 seed seeking its first championship since Breanna Stewart's senior year in 2016, had the second-most votes at six, followed by three votes apiece for USC and UCLA.
