2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament explained

Gender:Women's
Year:2024
Teams:68
Finalfourarena:Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Finalfourcity:Cleveland, Ohio
Champions:South Carolina Gamecocks
Titlecount:3rd
Champgamecount:3rd
Champffcount:6th
Runnerup:Iowa Hawkeyes
Gamecount:2nd
Runnerffcount:3rd
Semifinal1:NC State Wolfpack
Finalfourcount:2nd
Semifinal2:UConn Huskies
Finalfourcount2:23rd
Coach:Dawn Staley
Coachcount:3rd
Mop:Kamilla Cardoso
Mopteam:South Carolina

The 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a 68-team single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 42nd edition of the tournament began on March 20, 2024, and concluded with the championship game on April 7, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Big South champion Presbyterian, Southland champion Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, WAC champion California Baptist and at-large bid Columbia all made their NCAA tournament debuts. Additionally, Big Sky champion Eastern Washington made its second-ever appearance and first since 1987, Big West champion UC Irvine made its first appearance since 1995 and Sun Belt champion Marshall made its first appearance since 1997. In the championship game, Iowa returned for their second straight appearance while South Carolina entered their third championship game in seven years and became the tenth team in Division I women's tournament history to finish an undefeated season at 38–0.

This was the first time where the top #1 seed won both the Men's & Women's NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams participated in the 2024 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids that were determined by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.[1]

2024 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds.

First Four

Subregionals (First and Second Rounds)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

Cleveland is hosting the women's Final Four for the second time; the first was in 2007.[2]

Qualification and selection of teams

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2024 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.

Automatic qualifiers
ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bid
America EastMaine24–910th2019
AmericanRice19–144th2019
Atlantic 10Richmond29–54th2005
ACCNotre Dame26–629th2023
ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast29–410th2023
Big 12Texas30–436th2023
Big EastUConn29–535th2023
Big SkyEastern Washington29–52nd1987
Big SouthPresbyterian20–141st
Big TenIowa29–430th2023
Big WestUC Irvine23–82nd1995
CAADrexel19–143rd2021
CUSAMiddle Tennessee29–421st2023
HorizonGreen Bay27–619th2018
Ivy LeaguePrinceton25–411th2023
MAACFairfield31–16th2022
MACKent State21–106th2002
MEACNorfolk State27–53rd2023
Missouri ValleyDrake29–515th2023
UNLV30–211th2023
NECSacred Heart24–95th2023
Ohio ValleyUT Martin16–165th2014
Pac-12USC26–518th2023
PatriotHoly Cross20–1214th2023
SECSouth Carolina32–020th2023
SouthernChattanooga28–417th2023
Southland23–81st
SWACJackson State26–67th2022
Summit27–512th2023
Sun BeltMarshall26–62nd1997
WCCPortland21–126th2023
WACCalifornia Baptist28–31stNever

Bids by state

The sixty-eight teams came from thirty-four states.

BidsState(s)Schools
5CaliforniaCalifornia Baptist, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCLA, USC
TennesseeChattanooga, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, UT Martin, Vanderbilt
TexasBaylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
3ConnecticutFairfield, Sacred Heart, UConn
IowaDrake, Iowa, Iowa State
North CarolinaDuke, NC State, North Carolina
VirginiaNorfolk State, Richmond, Virginia Tech
2AlabamaAlabama, Auburn
FloridaFlorida Gulf Coast, Florida State
IndianaIndiana, Notre Dame
KansasKansas, Kansas State
Michigan Michigan, Michigan State
MississippiJackson State, Ole Miss
NebraskaCreighton, Nebraska
New YorkColumbia, Syracuse
OhioKent State, Ohio State
OregonOregon State, Portland
South CarolinaPresbyterian, South Carolina
WashingtonGonzaga, Eastern Washington
West VirginiaMarshall, West Virginia
WisconsinGreen Bay, Marquette
1ArizonaArizona
ColoradoColorado
KentuckyLouisville
LouisianaLSU
MaineMaine
MarylandMaryland
MassachusettsHoly Cross
NevadaUNLV
New JerseyPrinceton
OklahomaOklahoma
PennsylvaniaDrexel
South DakotaSouth Dakota State
UtahUtah

Bids by conference

Thirty-two conferences earned an automatic bid. In nineteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-six additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.

BidsConferenceTeams
8Atlantic Coast
8Southeastern
7Big 12
7Big Ten
7Pac-12
3Big EastCreighton, Marquette, UConn
2IvyColumbia, Princeton
2West CoastGonzaga, Portland
1America EastMaine
1AmericanRice
1Atlantic 10Richmond
1Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast
1Big SkyEastern Washington
1Big SouthPresbyterian
1Big WestUC Irvine
1CoastalDrexel
1Conference USAMiddle Tennessee
1HorizonGreen Bay
1Metro AtlanticFairfield
1Mid-AmericanKent State
1Mid-EasternNorfolk State
1Missouri ValleyDrake
1Mountain WestUNLV
1NortheastSacred Heart
1Ohio ValleyUT Martin
1PatriotHoly Cross
1SouthernChattanooga
1SouthlandTexas A&M–Corpus Christi
1SouthwesternJackson State
1SummitSouth Dakota State
1Sun BeltMarshall
1Western AthleticCalifornia Baptist
Seeds

The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets were released on March 17.

valign=top
Albany Regional 1 – MVP Arena, Albany, NY
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid
1SEC32–0Automatic2023
2ACC26–6Automatic2023
3Pac-1224–7At-large2021
4Big Ten24–5At-large2023
5OklahomaBig 1222–9At-large2023
6Big Ten22–11At-large2022
7Ole MissSEC23–8At-large2023
8North CarolinaACC19–12At-large2023
9Big Ten22–8At-large2021
10MarquetteBig East23–8At-large2023
11Texas A&MSEC19–12At-large2021
12Florida Gulf CoastASUN29–4Automatic2023
13FairfieldMAAC31–1Automatic2022
14Big Sky29–5Automatic1987
15Kent StateMAC21–10Automatic2002
16*Sacred HeartNortheast24–9Automatic2023
PresbyterianBig South20–14AutomaticNever
valign=top
Portland Regional 4 – Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid
1TexasBig 1230–4Automatic2023
2StanfordPac-1228–5At-large2023
3NC StateACC27–6At-large2023
4GonzagaWCC30–3At-large2023
5UtahPac-1222–10At-large2023
6TennesseeSEC19–12At-large2023
7Big 1220–11At-large2022
8AlabamaSEC23–9At-large2023
9ACC23–10At-large2023
10MarylandBig Ten19–13At-large2023
11Green BayHorizon27–6Automatic2018
12Summit27–5Automatic2023
13UC IrvineBig West23–8Automatic1995
14ChattanoogaSouthern28–4Automatic2023
15MEAC27–5Automatic2023
16DrexelCoastal19–14Automatic2021
valign=top
Albany Regional 2 – MVP Arena, Albany, NY
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid
1IowaBig Ten29–4Automatic2023
2UCLAPac-1225–6At-large2023
3LSUSEC28–5At-large2023
4Big 1225–7At-large2022
5ColoradoPac-1222–9At-large2023
6LouisvilleACC24–9At-large2023
7CreightonBig East25–5At-large2023
8Big 1224–7At-large2023
9Ivy League25–4Automatic2023
10UNLVMountain West30–2Automatic2023
11C-USA29–4Automatic2023
12DrakeMissouri Valley29–5Automatic2023
13PortlandWCC21–12Automatic2023
14RiceAmerican19–14Automatic2019
15California BaptistWAC28–3AutomaticNever
16*Holy CrossPatriot20–12Automatic2023
UT MartinOhio Valley16–16Automatic2014
valign=top
Portland Regional 3 – Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid
1Pac-1226–5Automatic2023
2Ohio StateBig Ten25–5At-large2023
3UConnBig East29–5Automatic2023
4ACC24–7At-large2023
5BaylorBig 1224–7At-large2023
6SyracuseACC23–7At-large2021
7DukeACC20–11At-large2023
8KansasBig 1219–12At-large2022
9Big Ten20–13At-large2023
10RichmondAtlantic 1029–5Automatic2005
11*AuburnSEC20–11At-large2019
ArizonaPac-1217–15At-large2023
12*SEC22–9At-large2014
Ivy League23–6At-largeNever
13Sun Belt26–6Automatic1997
14Jackson StateSWAC26–6Automatic2022
15MaineAmerica East24–9Automatic2019
16Texas A&M–Corpus ChristiSouthland23–8AutomaticNever
*See First Four
Source:

Tournament bracket

All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

First Four

The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

Albany regional 1 – Albany, NY

Albany regional 1 all-tournament team

Portland regional 4 – Portland, OR

Portland 4 regional all-tournament team

Albany regional 2 – Albany, New York

Albany regional 2 all-tournament team

Portland regional 3 – Portland, Oregon

Portland regional 3 all-tournament team

Final Four – Cleveland, Ohio

National championship

See main article: article and 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game.

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

ConferenceBidsRecordWin %FFR64R32S16E8F4CGNC
Southeastern8 13–7 .650 2 7 5 2 2 1 1 1
Big Ten7 9–7 .563 7 4 2 1 1 1
Big East3 5–3 .625 3 2 1 1 1
Atlantic Coast8 11–8 .579 8 6 3 1 1
Pac-127 14–7 .667 1 7 6 5 2
Big 127 10–7 .588 7 7 2 1
West Coast2 2–2 .500 2 1 1
CUSA1 1–1 .500 1 1
Big South1 1–1 .500 1 1
Patriot1 1–1 .500 1 1
America East1 0–1 .000 1
American1 0–1 .000 1
Atlantic 101 0–1 .000 1
ASUN1 0–1 .000 1
Big Sky1 0–1 .000 1
Big West1 0–1 .000 1
CAA1 0–1 .000 1
Horizon1 0–1 .000 1
Ivy League2 0–2 .000 1 1
MAAC1 0–1 .000 1
MAC1 0–1 .000 1
MEAC1 0–1 .000 1
Missouri Valley1 0–1 .000 1
Mountain West1 0–1 .000 1
Southern1 0–1 .000 1
Southland1 0–1 .000 1
SWAC1 0–1 .000 1
Summit1 0–1 .000 1
Sun Belt1 0–1 .000 1
WAC1 0–1 .000 1
Northeast1 0–1 .000 1
Ohio Valley1 0–1 .000 1

Game summaries and tournament notes

Tournament upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."[3]

RoundAlbanyPortlandAlbanyPortland
First roundNoneNoneNo. 11 Middle Tennessee defeated No. 6 Louisville, 71–69None
Second roundNoneNoneNoneNo. 7 Duke defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 75–63
Sweet 16NoneNoneNoneNone
Elite 8NoneNoneNoneNone
Final 4None
National championship None

Game officials

Media coverage

Most watched tournament games

The Albany 2 regional final between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of the previous year's national championship game drew the largest audience ever for a women's college basketball game as well as the most watched college basketball game in the 45-year history of ESPN.[4] The record would last only a few days, as Iowa's national semifinal match with Connecticut averaged the most viewers for a basketball game at any level on ESPN.[5] The Championship game again broke this record, with it becoming the most watched basketball game (including the NBA) since 2019 and the most watched basketball game to air outside of prime-time since the Fab Five played in the men's Final Four in 1992.

Rank Round Date and Time (ET) Matchup Network data-sort-type="number"Viewers (millions) !data-sort-type="number"TV rating
1Championship GameApril 7
3:00 p.m.
(A2-1)Iowa vs.
(A1-1)South Carolina
ABC18.89[6] 9.3
1Final FourApril 5
9:30 p.m.
(A2-1)Iowa vs.
(P3-3)UConn
ESPN14.2
2Elite 8April 1
7:12 p.m.
(1)Iowa vs. (3)LSU
(Albany 2)
12.3[7]
3Final FourApril 5
7 p.m.
(A1-1)South Carolina vs.
(P4-3)NC State
7.1[8]
4Sweet 16March 30
3:50 p.m.
(1)Iowa vs. (5)Colorado
(Albany 2)
ABC6.9[9] 3.6

Television

ESPN broadcast each game of the tournament across either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, or ABC. For the second consecutive season, the national championship game aired on ABC.[10] [11]

ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show broadcast live from Iowa City for the Iowa Hawkeyes' first-round game.[12] ESPN provided Megacast coverage during the Final Four and national championship games, with the Bird & Taurasi Show alternate broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi returning on ESPN2 and ESPN during the Final Four and national championship respectively, and the "Beyond the Rim" (additional statistics) and rail cam feeds available on ESPN+.[13]

Studio host and analysts

Commentary teams

First Four[14]

First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals)[14]

First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals)[14]

Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)[15]

Final Four and National Championship[16]

Radio

Westwood One will serve as radio broadcaster of the tournament.

Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)

Final Four and National Championship

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018-11-17 . Expansion of 2022 DI women's basketball tournament to 68 teams approved . 2021-11-17 . ncaa.com . en.
  2. Web site: Women's Final Four: Future dates & sites. www.ncaa.com. en. 2020-03-10.
  3. Web site: Wittry . Andy . March 15, 2023 . Here's how to pick March Madness men's upsets, according to the data . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312204528/https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2018-03-13/heres-how-pick-march-madness-upsets-according-data . March 12, 2023 . 2023-03-12 . NCAA.
  4. Web site: ESPN News Services. Iowa-LSU sets women's NCAA hoops ratings record with 12.3M viewers. ESPN.com. April 3, 2024. April 3, 2024.
  5. Web site: 6 April 2024 . Nearly 19 million for South Carolina-Iowa women's title game . 6 April 2024 . ESPN.com . Associated Press.
  6. Web site: Lewis . Jon . 2024-04-08 . South Carolina-Iowa women's final is top hoops game in five years . 2024-04-08 . Sports Media Watch . en-US.
  7. Web site: Lewis . Jon . 3 April 2024 . Monday (4/1) sports viewership: Record Iowa-LSU rematch dominates . 3 April 2024 . Sports Media Watch.
  8. Web site: Ratings - NCAA Semifinals on ESPN Shatter Viewership Records - UConn-Iowa Delivers 14.2 Million Viewers, Friday's NCAA Women's Final Four Scores Average Audience of 10.8 Million TheFutonCritic.com . 2024-04-08 . www.thefutoncritic.com.
  9. Web site: Lewis . Jon . 2 April 2024 . Saturday (3/30) sports ratings: March Madness, MLB, UFL and more . 3 April 2024 . Sports Media Watch.
  10. Web site: April 2, 2012 . ESPN acquires NCAA rights for US$500 million . 2021-04-06 . SportsPro Media.
  11. Web site: 2024-03-17 . Calling on Cleveland: ESPN Is the Exclusive Home of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball for the 29th Year . 2024-03-17 . ESPN Press Room U.S. . en-US.
  12. Web site: The Pat McAfee Show and WWE champion Roman Reigns are heading to Iowa City on March 22 . 2024-03-19 . Iowa City Press-Citizen . en-US.
  13. Web site: Lucia . Joe . 2024-04-04 . 'The Bird & Taurasi Show' highlights ESPN's MegaCast Final Four broadcasts . 2024-04-08 . Awful Announcing . en-US.
  14. Web site: 2024-03-18 . ESPN Announces Commentator Pairings for Exclusive Coverage of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball . 2024-03-18 . ESPN Press Room U.S. . en-US.
  15. Web site: 2024-03-18 . NCAA Women's March Madness Marches On Across ESPN Platforms . 2024-03-26 . ESPN Press Room U.S. . en-US.
  16. Web site: 2024-04-03 . Calling on Cleveland! ESPN's MegaCast Presentation of the 2024 NCAA Women's Final Four Tips Off Friday, April 5 . 2024-04-03 . ESPN Press Room U.S. . en-US.