The Power 4 conferences crowned women's college basketball tournament champions Sunday, with top seeds South Carolina (in the SEC) and TCU (in the Big 12) winning titles. In the Big Ten, second-seeded UCLA took home the championship, while third-seeded Duke won the ACC.
While there are still important Champ Week games to be played and automatic berths to be won over the next six days, the NCAA selection committee has almost all of the information needed to finalize the top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament bracket. Only UConn, which faces Creighton in Monday's Big East tournament final, is still playing among the teams in the running to get one of the top four seeds in each region.
What did we learn about the top teams in the country from Champ Week? What were the big gains or losses? ESPN analyzes how the league tournaments so far have helped shape the bracket and told us what to expect for March Madness with less than a week to go before Selection Sunday.
Did the weekend decide the No. 1 seeds and top 16?
Charlie Creme: Championship Sunday changed the order of the No. 1 seeds but not the teams. South Carolina's dominant performance over Texas (which entered the day at No. 1 overall in Bracketology) in the SEC championship game allowed the Gamecocks to jump from No. 4 to No. 1. USC lost its chance to be No. 1 by dropping the Big Ten title game to UCLA. The Trojans fell to No. 3 just behind the Bruins. Texas slides to No. 4.
Baylor made the biggest move of any team during Champ Week so far, moving into the top 16 by reaching the Big 12 championship game, where it ultimately lost to TCU. Tennessee, Alabama and Kansas State all cost themselves the opportunity to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games by losing before their conference semifinals. They were all in the top 16 before the conference tournaments began. Now they are all No. 5 seeds.
That left the door open for the Bears and Ohio State, both of which are now projected to be No. 4 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Despite getting blown out in the Big Ten semifinals by UCLA, the Buckeyes did enough by beating Iowa in the quarterfinals, combined with those earlier losses by the Lady Vols, Crimson Tide and Wildcats.
What's wrong with Notre Dame?
Michael Voepel: After winning 19 games in a row, the Irish have lost three of their past five: in OT at ACC regular-season co-champion NC State, at home to Florida State and in the ACC tournament semifinals to Duke. Along with Notre Dame, those were the top four seeds in the ACC tourney. So when asking what's wrong with Notre Dame, it's impossible to ignore what has been going right for its opponents. Those teams' strong guard play helped counteract the guard-dominant Irish, who are led by Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron.
That said, the Irish aren't playing their best now, nor meeting coach Niele Ivey's expectations. We'll wait to see whether forwards Maddy Westbeld and Liatu King (who played just 17 minutes in the semifinal loss) are fully healthy, and whether Notre Dame's confidence as a unit has been dented. Notre Dame still should comfortably reach the Sweet 16, but now there are more questions about its ability to advance beyond that.
Alexa Philippou: There have been issues on both sides of the ball. The Irish's half-court offense often stalls, and they aren't shooting the ball like they did earlier this season, managing a 40% clip on 3s just once since Feb. 13. Defense has been a major sticking point for Ivey, primarily after the Florida State and NC State games in which her squad gave up over 85 points in consecutive contests -- an indictment of the perimeter defense at times but also this team's lack of a staunch interior presence.
More than anything, it feels like the Irish haven't been playing with synergy on both ends; they're playing more as individuals than as a unit.
Creme: The chemistry issues that I thought could be an issue in November seem to exist now. Something about the offense isn't working. Miles is not playing her best basketball and Hidalgo seems to be pressing. Her shot selection hasn't been ideal.
Notre Dame was able to beat USC, Texas and UConn with Westbeld on the sidelines, but it seems the Irish need to have her more involved if a Final Four run is in the cards. Ivey wasn't even happy with Notre Dame's defense following the ACC tournament semifinal loss to Duke, so it's hard to find many positives. But nearly two weeks off and getting away from the familiarity that ACC opponents have with them might be the change the Irish need.
South Carolina captures its third straight SEC title in a dominating 64-45 win over Texas.
Which team is your pick right now to win the 2025 title, and did Champ Week make you feel more confident or change your prediction?
Voepel: I'm sticking with South Carolina, and the SEC tournament title run made me more confident. Tourney MVP Chloe Kitts has kicked things up a notch, starting with a triple-double on Feb. 27 at Ole Miss. The past five games, she has averaged 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds. She wasn't a big factor in the Gamecocks' losses to Texas and UConn in February, which seemed to light a fire for her and the entire team.
The Gamecocks are playing with confidence and energy -- MiLaysia Fulwiley is like a one-woman power plant -- plus impressive defense. They limited the effectiveness of Oklahoma's Raegan Beers and Texas' Madison Booker in the SEC semifinals and final.
Creme: Sometimes one loss late in the season can ignite a team to find another gear -- such as what Michael said above about South Carolina's losses last month. With that same idea, I am going to go with USC. Obviously, nothing in the way the Trojans played in the second half on Sunday against UCLA instills confidence. But perhaps this loss will force them to look at their weaknesses and make adjustments. Having the nation's best player in JuJu Watkins should also help.
Hedging my bets a little, I would have liked to have seen more from UConn against another top-ranked team after that impressive trip to South Carolina. If that version of the Huskies shows up the rest of the month, I wouldn't bet against them. It's just too hard to tell because UConn hasn't been pushed in the Big East.
Philippou: I've mostly said in recent weeks that the national champion will be one of the top six teams: Texas, USC, UConn, South Carolina, UCLA or Notre Dame. Now I think it most likely will be either South Carolina, USC or UConn. And as the Gamecocks' dominant run throughout the SEC tournament indicated their juice is back, and for the reasons Michael laid out, I am inclined to pick them as the favorites right now. That said, I think in a season with so much parity, the official NCAA bracket pairings and matchups will be even more important in determining teams' fates.
Duke takes down NC State 76-62 to claim the ACC Championship in a comeback victory.
Are Duke and TCU legitimate title contenders?
Creme: I was confident Notre Dame or NC State was going to win the ACC tournament title, and then Duke beat both impressively. The Blue Devils' second half against the Wolfpack was as good as any performance from a Duke team in a long time. The Blue Devils boast the fourth-rated defense in the country, but the connectivity and ease in which Duke played offense put it on a different level.
Much of what I wrote about Duke also applies to TCU. The experience, chemistry and ability to make big shots and get important stops on defense are all there. But while Duke and TCU are good teams seemingly peaking at the right time, I believe the national champion will be either South Carolina, UCLA, USC, Texas or UConn. To win the NCAA title, the Blue Devils and Horned Frogs might have to beat two or even three of those teams from the Elite Eight on. That is too much to ask.
Philippou: I'm not sure I trust Duke to continue to make shots like it did versus NC State against increasingly difficult competition. We've seen flashes of Sunday's offensive onslaught from the Blue Devils, but they are hardly a given. They scored 46 points in 45 minutes against North Carolina in January.
TCU, meanwhile, is so reliant on its big three of Hailey Van Lith, Sedona Prince and Madison Conner, and its defense will be tested against tougher teams. The Frogs are also a group mostly lacking NCAA tournament experience. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if either team gets hot and makes a run to Tampa.
Voepel: Putting together a championship run doesn't seem likely for TCU or Duke. But getting to a Final Four would be huge for either. Duke has made it four times, all under former coach Gail Goestenkors (1999, 2002, 2003, 2006), and TCU has never made it that far.
Hailey Van Lith speaks to Kris Budden after defeating Baylor and winning the Big 12 tournament Most Outstanding Player award.
Which projected No. 1 seed do you have the least amount of faith in?
Creme: Despite the win over South Carolina and a share of the SEC regular-season title, I've been weary about Texas for a few weeks. This weekend only added to that concern. The Longhorns are great defensively and have an All-American in Booker, but their inability and sometimes unwillingness to shoot 3-pointers limits them.
In modern-day basketball in which perimeter shooting is so integral, it's almost inconceivable that one of the best teams in the country also ranks last in 3-point rate. That caught up to Texas in the Elite Eight loss to NC State last March -- and I believe it will again.
Voepel: Defensively, Texas can beat most teams in the tournament. However, the offensive concerns Charlie details make the Longhorns the most vulnerable of the No. 1 seeds when it comes to facing other elite squads.
Philippou: Aside from Texas, I still have concerns about UCLA even after it won the Big Ten tournament. Credit the Bruins' defense and Lauren Betts' play in the second half in helping UCLA overcome a 13-point deficit, but USC's collapse was of epic proportions: The Trojans missed 15 consecutive shots over 10 minutes of game time. And still, UCLA won by only five. While their shooting was better Sunday, the Bruins still turned over the ball 24 times and gave up 21 offensive rebounds.
UCLA might have exorcised some demons by finally knocking off USC and winning its first conference tournament title since 2006, but this is still a program that has never been to the NCAA Final Four. To finally break through, they must play with the edge they had back in November when they beat South Carolina, and without that historical weight on them.