NCAA Women’s Basketball March to the Madness 2025: Schedule, storylines, matchups

College basketball is now in full swing. With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, basketball, especially at the collegiate level, will dominate the conversation for the next few months. In recent seasons, women’s college basketball has surged in popularity thanks to superstar players like Caitlin Clark. With Clark in the WNBA, the college game is still in a good place thanks to a surge of talent from big-time programs.

UCLA looks like the best team in the country through three months. It’s hard to argue otherwise considering the Bruins have not lost a game. The usual suspects – including Notre Dame, South Carolina, LSU, USC, and UConn — are all in contention as they march toward the national championship in Tampa. As Selection Sunday nears, check out this March to the Madness guide, which covers the upcoming schedule, storylines, and key matchups.

NCAA Women’s Basketball: Storylines to follow leading into March Madness

The dream season continues for the No. 1 UCLA Bruins, the lone unbeaten team (23-0) in the top 25. The Bruins are led by Lauren Betts, who is making a strong case to be named National Player of the Year. The junior center leads the Bruins in points (19.6), rebounds (9.7), and blocks (2.9). UCLA faces a tough challenge on February 13 when they travel crosstown to play JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans. Only a sophomore, Watkins is one of the most talented players in the nation, with averages of 23.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one of the most dangerous teams in the nation. Notre Dame has not lost a game since November 30 and has key wins over USC, UConn, and Texas. The Irish also boast the nation’s second-leading scorer in sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo at 25.9 points per game. The Irish have an excellent chance to win their final six regular-season games before the conference tournament begins.

You can never count out Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies. The 11-time national champion has his Huskies back in contention thanks to the play of Paige Bueckers, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. For UConn to make a deep tournament run, it will need more output from its role players to support Bueckers and Sarah Strong.

The SEC is a three-team race between Texas, South Carolina, and LSU. Texas is the name that jumps out. The Longhorns split the season series with South Carolina and play LSU on February 16. Superstar sophomore Madison Booker is coming off a 20 and 11 game against South Carolina, which she will need to replicate to beat LSU.

Never count out the defending champions, as Dawn Staley has another Final Four-caliber team at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are a well-balanced team, but they lack a true superstar. Time will tell if their veteran leadership can carry South Carolina to another championship. Meanwhile, LSU is led by the best one-two tandem in the sport. Meanwhile, LSU is led by the best one-two tandem in the sport in Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow. The two guards combined for 37.8 points and 19.9 rebounds per game. 

NCAA Women’s Basketball Schedule: Games to watch

UCLA vs. USC start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 13, 2025
• Start Time: 10 p.m. ET
• Stream: Peacock 

UConn vs. South Carolina start time, channel, and live stream

LSU vs. Texas start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 16, 2025
• Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Channel: ABC
• Stream: Sling TV, ESPN+,

Michigan St vs. UCLA start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 16, 2025
• Start Time: 9 p.m. ET
• Channel: Big Ten Network
• Stream: Sling TV

Duke vs. Notre Dame start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 17, 2025
• Start Time: 6 p.m. ET
• Channel: ESPN
• Stream: Sling TV

Michigan St. vs. USC start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 19, 2025
• Start Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
• Stream: Peacock 

LSU vs. Kentucky start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 23, 2025
• Start Time: 4 p.m. ET
• Channel: ESPN
• Stream: Sling TV

North Carolina vs. Duke start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 27, 2025
• Start Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Channel: ESPN
• Stream: Sling TV

Florida St. vs. Notre Dame start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 27, 2025
• Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
• Channel: ACC Network
• Stream: Sling TV

LSU vs. Alabama start time, channel, and live stream

• Date: February 27, 2025
• Start Time: 9 p.m. ET
• Channel and Stream: TBD

Watching college basketball with Sling TV

With less than two months left in the season, basketball fans will want to tune into as many games as possible as March Madness intensifies. Cable TV will likely have all of the games listed above. However, the rising cost of cable is becoming a problem, especially with an increased emphasis on streaming from sports leagues. An excellent alternative to cable is Sling TV, a live streaming service that gives consumers the benefits of cable without having to pay for a box.

Sling users can choose between the Orange plan at $46 per month or the Blue plan at $51 per month. The Orange and Blue plan can be combined for $66 per month. What’s great about Sling is the half-off discount given to new users for the first month. Your channel preference will determine if you want orange or blue. Basketball fans will likely want to look into a Sports Extra, which can add popular channels like the Big Ten Network and ACC Network to your plan.

For more college basketball coverage, read our Men’s Basketball March to the Madness preview.