South Carolina entered the women’s NCAA tournament undefeated and as the heavy favorite each of the past two years. 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 have done it as the No. 3 seed, most recently 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 No. 5 seeds Colorado and Baylor and No. 7 Duke advancing to the Sweet 16.

How do the No. 1 seeds stack up this year? 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?

Despite being the No. 2 overall seed behind the Bruins, South Carolina is the most popular pick to win the 2025 title among nearly two dozen women’s college basketball analysts, writers and commentators we polled across ESPN. Nine of 23 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 seven, followed by three votes apiece for USC and UCLA.

ESPN looks at the field and what we might see in the early rounds and beyond.