The Sweet 16 is here! And some of the sport’s most storied franchises are up on Friday, with UConn taking on North Carolina and Notre Dame facing off against Vanderbilt. In the late games, No. 1 seed UCLA takes on Minnesota before Duke’s vaunted offense goes up against LSU’s high-powered scorers.
Here is ESPN’s guide to all of Friday’s action, which is live now on ESPN. Be sure to come back after the games tip for live updates and postgame analysis.
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How Notre Dame won: Two words: Hannah Hidalgo. The ACC Player of the Year had a triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, as she took over the game and outplayed Mikayla Blakes in a matchup of two of the best scorers in the country. Hidalgo not only set the NCAA Division I single-season record for steals in the game, she became the second player to record a 30-point triple-double in NCAA tournament history, joining Caitlin Clark, who had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists on March 26, 2023. Her steals really set the tone for the game, as the Notre Dame defense completely rattled and frazzled Vanderbilt for the bulk of the game. Vanderbilt had 23 turnovers, and Notre Dame completely dominated inside — outscoring the Commodores 54-20 in the paint. Still, Vanderbilt clawed its way back into the game in the fourth quarter after forcing Notre Dame to take too many ill-advised jumpers. Going to the free throw line 25 times, and making 21 of those shots, also helped.
But with the game on the line, Hidalgo came through again and again. With the score tied at 64 and 25 seconds left, Hidalgo outjumped multiple Vanderbilt players to take the inbounds pass, then bounced the ball to Cassandre Prosper for the layup and the lead. On the ensuing Vanderbilt possession, Blakes dribbled the ball out of bounds and Notre Dame held on to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time under Niele Ivey. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ivey and Hidalgo shared a long emotional embrace.
How the Irish can advance to the Final Four: The Irish overcame their fair share of adversity this season, and using a seven-player rotation is not exactly a formula for success. But these players believe in each other, and with Hidalgo leading the way, anything feels possible. Hidalgo has been at the heart of their success, setting the tone on defense, and that is exactly what won the game against Vanderbilt. It is no easy feat holding Blakes to 7-of-26 shooting from the field, but that is exactly what happened. This Notre Dame team showed poise down the stretch, even when its 12-point lead evaporated. Hidalgo has spoken repeatedly about not taking this moment for granted, and she seems to be playing that way. — Andrea Adelson
5:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Tar Heels can advance to the Elite Eight: Back in the Sweet 16 for the second year in row, the Tar Heels will have much to improve upon if their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008 is possible. They allowed 21 Maryland offensive rebounds and turned over the ball 16 times. North Carolina will not be able to count on UConn missing the kind of open shots Maryland did. One thing that worked: reversing the strategy of shooting 40 3-pointers in the first round against Western Illinois. North Carolina launched only 11 3s against Maryland, making four, and instead routinely took the ball to the basket, scoring 44 points in the paint. Moving the ball better and getting more open looks from the perimeter will be an area to focus on. — Charlie Creme
How the Huskies can advance to the Sweet 16: If the Huskies keep playing this way, they will have no issues advancing to the Elite Eight. That’s no disrespect to North Carolina, but the Huskies are just that good. Geno Auriemma will want to ensure that his team doesn’t get complacent after this early success or that it begins to feel the pressure of a 40-0 season as the Huskies get deeper into the tournament. No coach in the country is better equipped to navigate players through those dynamics than Auriemma. And having a group that has largely been through the NCAA tournament before — not to mention emerged as champions — should only help. — Alexa Philippou
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Gophers can advance to the Elite Eight: The last time the Gophers made the Sweet 16, they were powered by future WNBA No. 1 draft pick Janel McCarville at center. The year before that, McCarville and point guard Lindsay Whalen led Minnesota to the 2004 Final Four. Whalen tried her hand at being the Gophers head coach from 2018 to 2023, after she retired from a Hall of Fame playing career in the WNBA. But Minnesota didn’t make the NCAA tournament under Whalen, and she was replaced by Dawn Plitzuweit for the 2023-24 season. Plitzuweit led the Gophers to the WBIT championship last season. To get further in the NCAA tournament this year, they will have to beat No. 1 seed UCLA. — Michael Voepel
How the Bruins can advance to the Elite Eight: In the first two games of this tournament, the Bruins have shown how dominant they can be in stretches, and they can lean on their Final Four experience for resilience. On Monday night, the Bruins survived the Cowgirls’ 9-0 run in the third quarter, never letting them get within single digits in that span. As UCLA continues in the tournament, the Bruins can’t give teams a chance to get back into the game. — Sarah Barshop
10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Blue Devils can advance to the Elite Eight: Duke will pack its defense — that’s a given. The biggest concern off the Baylor game was seeing the Blue Devils’ best player, Toby Fournier, in foul trouble. Fournier had 15 points but played only 22 minutes after picking up her third foul early in the third quarter before eventually fouling out. Fournier also fouled out of the ACC championship game and the regular-season finale against North Carolina. The degree of difficulty increases from here, and Duke cannot afford to be without Fournier for long stretches moving forward. — Andrea Adelson
How the Tigers can advance to the Elite Eight: How about a carbon copy of their first two NCAA tournament performances? When LSU is on, the Tigers are one of the best teams in the country because of their ability to score both in the paint and from 3. It became almost an afterthought against Texas Tech, but LSU went 7-of-18 from 3-point range in the game. The inside game is where it is at, and so far in two tournament games, LSU is shooting 72% in the paint — the best mark through two games by any team in the past six NCAA tournaments, according to ESPN Research. Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams are elite players, and when they are playing at the top of their game at the same time, that is a hard combination to stop. Every player who saw game action Sunday scored. If the Tigers can avoid some of the mistakes that have cost them wins in the past, they will put themselves in position to keep going in this tournament. — Andrea Adelson
