Notre Dame won its second national championship and its first since 2001, highlighted by a pair of amazing games in the Final Four. First Notre Dame snapped a 36-game UConn win streak to beat a previously undefeated Huskies team in the semifinal, then overcame a 15-point second-half deficit in the championship game to beat Mississippi State.
NCAA women’s tournament 2018: Bracket, schedule, scores, teams, and more
Notre Dame won their second national championship
Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The kicker here is that Arike Ogunbowale hit the game-winning shot in the last second of both games, from nearly the same spot on the floor. The Irish got to celebrate after finishing as the national runner up four times in the previous seven years.
Tournament preview
It’s NCAA tournament time, and everyone’s going after the usual suspect: the Connecticut Huskies. After yet another undefeated regular season, UConn looks the part of the clear tournament champion. But as we learned after their buzzer-beater Final Four loss last year, anything is possible.
The Huskies have competition all across the bracket, particular in two one-loss teams in Baylor and Mississippi State — the team that beat them last year — lurking. The Bears haven’t lost since December, and the Bulldogs just lost for the first time in the SEC tournament final. Texas is another team that came within four points of the top seed in the regular season, and Notre Dame came within single digits.
This team isn’t totally unbeatable. Even if this is maybe the best team Geno Auriemma has had this decade.
For those who have forgotten, the tournament includes 64 teams, same as usual, and is single elimination. The four top seeds are Connecticut, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, and Louisville.
A No. 1 seed has won in eight of the last 10 years, and the two outliers were No. 2 seeds. We’re overdue for a Cinderella story, so why not now?
To take a look at where the upsets may come, here’s a link to our bracket.
First Round
March 16
No. 6 Oregon State 82, No. 11 Western Kentucky 58
No. 5 Maryland 77, No. 12 Princeton 57
No. 1 Louisville 74, No. 16 Boise State 42
No. 5 DePaul 90, No. 12 Oklahoma 79
No. 3 Tennessee 100, No. 14 Liberty 60
No. 8 Marquette 84, No. 9 Dayton 65
No. 4 Texas A&M 89, No. 13 Drake 76
No. 4 NC State 62, No. 13 Elon 35
No. 1 Notre Dame 99, No. 16 CSUN 81
No. 10 Virginia 68, No. 7 California 62
No. 7 Michigan 75, No. 10 Northern Colorado 61
No. 10 Minnesota 89, No. 7 Green Bay 77
No. 2 Baylor 96, No. 15 Grambling 46
No. 9 Villanova 81, No. 8 South Dakota State 74
No. 2 Oregon 88, No. 15 Seattle U 45
No. 2 South Carolina 63, No. 15 NC A&T 52
March 17
No. 1 Connecticut 140, No. 16 St. Francis (Pa.) 52
No. 11 Central Michigan 78, No. 6 LSU 69
No. 5 Duke 72, No. 12 Belmont 58
No. 3 Florida State 91, No. 14 Little Rock 49
No. 9 Quinnipiac 86, No. 8 Miami (Fla.) 72
No. 3 Ohio State 87, No. 14 George Washington 45
No. 4 Georgia 68, No. 13 Mercer 63
No. 11 Buffalo 102, No. 6 South Florida 79
No. 7 Arizona State 73, No. 10 Nebraska 62
No. 12 FGCU 80, No. 5 Missouri 70
No. 9 Oklahoma State 84, No. 8 Syracuse 57
No. 3 UCLA 71, No. 14 American 60
No. 4 Stanford 82, No. 13 Gonzaga 68
No. 2 Texas 83, No. 15 Maine 54
No. 11 Creighton 76, No. 6 Iowa 70
No. 1 Mississippi State 95, No. 16 Nicholls State 50
Second round
March 18
No. 1 Louisville 90, No. 8 Marquette 72
No. 4 Texas A&M 80, No. 5 DePaul 79
No. 4 NC State 74, No. 5 Maryland 60
No. 6 Oregon State 66, No. 3 Tennessee 59
No. 1 Notre Dame 98, No. 9 Villanova 72
No. 2 Baylor 80, No. 7 Michigan 58
No. 2 South Carolina 66, No. 10 Virginia 56
No. 2 Oregon 101, No. 10 Minnesota 73
March 19
No. 5 Duke 66, No. 4 Georgia 40
No. 11 Buffalo 86, No. 3 Florida State 65
No. 11 Central Michigan 95, No. 3 Ohio State 78
No. 1 UConn 71, No. 9 Quinnipiac 46
No. 2 Texas 85, vs. No. 7 Arizona State 65
No. 3 UCLA 86, No. 11 Creighton 64
No. 4 Stanford 90, No. 12 FGCU 70
No. 1 Mississippi State 71, No. 9 Oklahoma State 56
Sweet 16
March 23
No. 6 Oregon State 72, No. 2 Baylor 67
No. 1 Mississippi State 71, No. 4 NC State 57
No. 1 Louisville 86, No. 4 Stanford 59
No. 3 UCLA 84, No. 2 Texas 75
March 24
No. 11 Buffalo 63, vs. No. 2 South Carolina 79
No. 5 Duke 59, vs. No. 1 UConn 72
No. 4 Texas A&M 84, No. 1 Notre Dame 90
No. 11 Central Michigan 69, No. 2 Oregon 83
Elite Eight
March 25
No. 1 Louisville 76, No. 6 Oregon State 43
No. 1 Mississippi State 89, No. 3 UCLA 73
March 26
No. 1 UConn 94, No. 2 South Carolina 65
No. 1 Notre Dame 84, No. 2 Oregon 74
Final Four
March 30
Mississippi State 73, Louisville 63, OT (recap)
UConn 89, Notre Dame 91
April 1
Championship Game: Notre Dame 61, Mississippi State 58
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