Defending champions the UConn Huskies begin their quest for a 13th national title and a seventh perfect season when they face UTSA in the opening round of the 2026 women’s NCAA tournament.
Geno Auriemma’s side enter March Madness as the number one overall seed on the back of a formidable 50-game winning streak.
The collegiate powerhouse boast an unblemished 34-0 record this campaign.
They currently possess Division I’s most relentless defence, conceding a mere 50.4 points per game while averaging 88.8 points offensively.
Scouting the unbeatable
Rival coaches and analysts face an immense challenge in devising a blueprint to disrupt the tournament favourites.
Led by national player of the year favourite Sarah Strong, the Huskies have dismantled almost every opponent with ease.
Projected 2026 WNBA number one draft pick Azzi Fudd provides devastating firepower for the reigning champions.
The dominant programme has secured victory by double digits in all but one fixture this season.
The path to another crown
The road to glory begins in the Fort Worth 1 Regional on Saturday against 16th seed UTSA.
Karen Aston’s Roadrunners claimed the American Conference championship to secure only their third ever NCAA tournament appearance.
Despite the Texas-based outfit arriving with momentum, history remains heavily stacked against them.
Only one 16th seed has ever eliminated a top seed in the history of the women’s competition.
Overcoming the psychological hurdle
A significant part of defeating the 12-time national champions involves overcoming their towering reputation.
“They win so many games before the tip.”
One anonymous evaluator highlighted the immense mental block teams face before even stepping onto the court.
Should the tournament follow projected seedings, a tantalising rematch of the 2025 NCAA title game against South Carolina awaits in the Final Four.
However, snapping this historic undefeated run will require a flawless performance from any challenger brave enough to take them on.
Duke have been named the top overall seed for the men’s NCAA tournament, joining Arizona, Michigan and defending champions Florida as the four number one seeds for March Madness.
The Blue Devils enter the three-week post-season tournament boasting an impressive 11-game winning streak.
They possess a formidable 32-2 record and feature player-of-the-year favourite Cameron Boozer.
Boozer has been instrumental in guiding the Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse to the summit of collegiate basketball this season.
Heavyweights clash in East Region
The top-seeded squad will face stiff competition in a highly competitive East bracket.
Connecticut have been drawn as the number two seed in the same section.
A storied group of Hall of Fame coaches will also navigate the East region.
Tom Izzo’s Michigan State, Bill Self’s Kansas and Rick Pitino’s St John’s all pose significant threats in the 16-team quadrant.
Wildcats aim to end Final Four drought
Out West, Arizona are targeting their first Final Four appearance since 2001.
The Tucson-based outfit must navigate a challenging path that includes second-seeded Purdue.
Gonzaga, Arkansas and Wisconsin also feature in a punishing West bracket.
Miami secure final tournament spot
Further down the seeding, Miami of Ohio successfully claimed the final at-large tournament berth.
The RedHawks recently suffered their first defeat of the campaign against UMass in the Mid-American Conference quarter-finals.
They will now face Southern Methodist University in the preliminary First Four round.
Number 18-ranked Purdue overcame a late-season slump to defeat third-ranked Michigan 80-72 and clinch the Big Ten tournament championship in Chicago on Sunday.
Oscar Cluff led the scoring with 21 points to help the Boilermakers secure their first conference tournament crown since 2023.
Trey Kaufman-Renn also proved instrumental, adding 20 points in a dominant offensive display.
Impressive turnaround
The victory marks a remarkable reversal of fortune for a team that had lost four of their final six regular-season fixtures.
Braden Smith orchestrated the attack masterfully, contributing a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists alongside three steals.
Fletcher Loyer provided crucial spacing from the perimeter by sinking three three-pointers on his way to 14 points.
Wolverines fall short
The top-seeded Wolverines had previously beaten their conference rivals 91-80 during a regular-season meeting in February.
However, they were unable to replicate that success despite a 20-point performance from standout forward Yaxel Lendeborg.
Aday Mara also fought hard for the losing side, tallying 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
The historic triumph serves as sweet revenge for the newly crowned champions, having previously lost to their opponents in the 1998 and 2018 finals.
Darius Acuff Jr scored 30 points as 17th-ranked Arkansas beat Vanderbilt 86-75 to claim their first SEC tournament title since 2000 and secure an automatic NCAA tournament berth.
The freshman point guard also provided 11 assists during a dominant performance in Nashville, Tennessee.
Victory for the Razorbacks secured a monumental milestone for their veteran head coach.
John Calipari became the first head coach in SEC history to lift the tournament trophy with two different programmes.
Calipari achieves historic conference double
He previously guided Kentucky to six SEC tournament crowns, with his last triumph coming in 2018.
His latest success brings his phenomenal career tally to 16 conference tournament championships.
The showpiece event developed into a fascinating battle between two highly rated guards.
Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner was tasked with containing the SEC player of the year, but struggled to restrict the dynamic teenager.
The mesmerising playmaker dazzled the crowd with a combination of fadeaway jumpers, deep three-pointers and intricate passing.
Razorbacks pull away in tense finale
Despite leading 41-39 at the interval, Arkansas found themselves trailing early in the second half.
A crucial three-pointer from AK Okereke sparked a 9-4 run that gave the Commodores their largest advantage of the contest at 55-49.
However, the 22nd-ranked outfit subsequently suffered a disastrous shooting slump.
They missed 12 of their next 13 attempts, allowing their opponents to mount a ferocious comeback.
With the match delicately poised at 66-66, the Razorbacks executed a flawless 12-0 scoring burst to emphatically seal the championship.
Supporting cast delivers on the big stage
Billy Richmond III contributed a vital 18 points to support the scoring masterclass from his backcourt partner.
Trevon Brazile added 16 points, while D.J. Wagner chipped in with 11 to ensure a comfortable winning margin.
Duke Miles and Tyler Nickel paced the scoring for Vanderbilt with 19 points apiece in a valiant losing effort.
The defeat denied the Commodores their first tournament title since 2012, when they famously defeated Calipari’s Kentucky side.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves delivered sensational late-game heroics to secure a thrilling 127-125 overtime victory for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Reaves forced the extra period with a perfectly executed intentional free-throw miss and put-back with just 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation.
Doncic then sealed the dramatic win with an 18-foot step-back jumper with a mere half-second left in overtime.
The Slovenian star capped off his exceptional performance by blocking Tim Hardaway Jr’s three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Reaves executes flawless intentional miss
Trailing by two points in the dying moments of the fourth quarter, Reaves purposely fired his crucial free throw flat against the front of the rim.
With Deandre Ayton successfully boxing out three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, the 26-year-old guard was able to collect his own rebound and sink a nine-foot floater.
Reaves finished as the highest scorer for the hosts with 32 points, marking his third consecutive game surpassing the 30-point threshold.
“I wasn’t going to give the ball an opportunity to go in,” Reaves explained. “I don’t think my ball ever got over 10 feet.”
Doncic shines alongside veteran James
The sensational climax set the stage for Doncic to register his eighth triple-double of the campaign.
The former Dallas Mavericks talisman recorded 30 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds across the tightly contested affair.
It marks his first game-winning shot for his new franchise, following an astonishing 50-point performance in his previous outing.
“That execution was perfection,” Doncic noted regarding his team-mate’s game-tying play. “Went to my left hand, to my left step-back… I just trust the shot.”
LeBron James was quick to praise his new backcourt partner, labelling the 27-year-old a generational talent.
Unprecedented hustle from James
The dramatic sequence was only made possible by an exceptional hustle play from the 39-year-old James in the final minute of regulation.
The four-time NBA champion executed a full-body dive onto the floor to deny Christian Braun an offensive rebound, forcing a crucial jump ball against Jamal Murray.
“In 23 years of watching you play in the NBA, the three years I watched you play in high school, I never saw you make a full-out extension dive like that,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick told James.
This hard-fought victory against a formidable Western Conference rival serves as a major statement of intent for Redick’s rejuvenated squad.
St. John’s have secured their second consecutive Big East tournament championship with a dominant 72-52 victory over sixth-ranked UConn at Madison Square Garden.
Zuby Ejiofor anchored a tenacious defensive display in New York, recording seven blocks, nine rebounds and three steals.
The imposing forward also contributed 18 points alongside team-mate Bryce Hopkins to lead the top-seeded Red Storm to a historic triumph.
Pitino’s resurgence continues
This latest piece of silverware underlines the remarkable revival orchestrated by Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino.
His squad have now become the first team to claim consecutive Big East tournament crowns since Villanova achieved three successive victories between 2017 and 2019.
Furthermore, the Johnnies are the first programme since the legendary Huskies sides of 1998 and 1999 to win both regular-season and tournament titles in back-to-back campaigns.
Huskies stifled on the big stage
Oziyah Sellers added 14 points for the victors, who established a commanding 17-point advantage before the interval.
That comfortable cushion allowed the New York outfit to control the tempo and ultimately win two of their three encounters against their conference rivals this season.
Meanwhile, the second-seeded Huskies endured a frustrating evening in attack and were restricted to an uncharacteristically low return.
The Connecticut programme were held to a final tally that was nine points worse than their previous lowest scoring output of the year.
Victor Wembanyama recorded 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on his return from injury as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-102 on Saturday.
The French center added four blocks and two steals in a dominant all-round performance at the Frost Bank Center.
This latest victory ensures San Antonio have now won 17 of their 19 matches since the start of February.
Wembanyama joins franchise greats
Missing Thursday’s defeat by the Denver Nuggets with a sore right ankle clearly did little to slow the towering defender’s momentum.
His spectacular statistical line marks only the second time in his career he has recorded such a comprehensive array of points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
He now ties George Gervin for the third-most such games in franchise history, sitting only behind legendary big men Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
“It’s just a progression in general. There were many aspects of the game where we dominated them, and that shows because we won three out of four quarters.”
– Victor Wembanyama
Playmaking progress on display
The former Parisian standout displayed exceptional court vision throughout the second half of the contest.
He orchestrated impressive alley-oop finishes for team-mates Luke Kornet and Stephon Castle to demonstrate his expanding offensive arsenal.
“My playmaking most of the time happens by rolling and not even touching the ball, getting guys open by my positioning with my gravity. But I can do that, too.”
– Victor Wembanyama
Awards eligibility and team momentum
Crucially for his individual accolades, the sophomore sensation can only afford to miss three more regular-season fixtures before becoming ineligible for end-of-season NBA awards.
San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson praised his squad’s ability to navigate various challenges during their remarkable run of form.
“All these experiences are hopefully lessons we turn into knowledge and wisdom moving forward.”
– Mitch Johnson
Yaxel Lendeborg hit a dramatic three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to give Michigan a 68-65 victory over Wisconsin and send them into the Big Ten tournament championship game in Chicago.
The top-seeded Wolverines avenged their only conference defeat of the regular season to keep their hopes of securing a second consecutive tournament title alive.
Aday Mara anchored the interior for the victors, tallying 16 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks during a tense encounter at the United Center.
Elliot Cadeau also contributed 15 points and provided the crucial assist for the game-winning shot after a chaotic final possession.
Lendeborg delivers when it matters most
The Big Ten Player of the Year endured a quiet start to the contest following a similarly subdued offensive performance in Friday’s quarter-final win over Ohio State.
He began to find his rhythm just before the interval, draining a vital perimeter shot with 11 seconds left in the half to level the scoreline at 28-28.
Both sides struggled offensively in the opening period, with the eventual winners shooting just 26.7% from the field compared to their opponents’ 32.3%.
The tension escalated in the dying moments of the second half after Nick Boyd hit a clutch shot for Wisconsin to tie the game at 65-all.
Badgers fall short despite second-half surge
Austin Rapp proved to be a constant threat for the defeated side, sinking six attempts from beyond the arc to score all of his 18 points after the break.
However, Boyd endured a difficult shooting night, managing just 14 points on six-for-20 shooting a day after an exhausting career-high 38-point display against Illinois.
The defeat means the Wisconsin program misses out on a third successive Big Ten tournament final appearance, having lost the 2025 showpiece to this exact opposition.
The reigning champions will now face either UCLA or Purdue in Sunday’s title match as they pursue their fifth overall tournament crown.
They already boast a psychological advantage over both potential opponents, having comprehensively beaten the Bruins and the Boilermakers in consecutive mid-February fixtures.