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Potential Cinderella teams are usually among the best storylines during March Madness.
And the 2025 NCAA Women's Tournament offers its share of underrated teams that could capture the hearts of fans over the next few weeks.
Locally, it will be fun to see how far Florida State advances in the tourney. But nobody would probably describe the Seminoles as a Cinderella team.
FSU (23-8) is making their 12th consecutive appearance - seventh-longest active NCAA appearance streak - and earned the sixth seed in the Spokane I Regional. The Seminoles face No. 11 George Mason (27-5) in the opening round on Saturday, with the winner advancing to Monday's second round against either No. 3 LSU (28-5) or No. 14 San Diego State (25-9).
But let's look at three teams that could defy the odds and bust brackets (if not opponent's hearts) in this year's tourney.
More: Enter USA TODAY's Women's Bracket Challenge for a chance at $1 million prize.
Don't sleep on the Antelopes. Grand Canyon rallied from a 10-point deficit and defeated UT Arlington 65-62 in the Western Athletic Conference championship game to secure the program's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lopes (32-2) have won a nation-best 30 consecutive games and earned the 13th seed and will face No. 4 and host Baylor (27-7) on Friday in the first round of the tournament in Waco, Texas, at 2:30 p.m.
Keep an eye on Grand Canyon's Trinity San Antonio, who was named the 2025 WAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the WAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. San Antonio recorded 19 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals in the championship game and averaged 17.3 points per game in the WAC tournament.
Harvard (24-4) won its first Ivy League Tournament title when it upset No. 1 seed Columbia 74-71. The Crimson earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tourney, where they are making their seventh appearance all time and first since 2007. Harvard is a No. 10 seed in the Spokane I Regional and will face No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-9) in the first round Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Crimson are led by Conference Player of the Year Harmoni Turner, who leads the team in nearly every stat: 22.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals. They also have Cinderella history. Their 1997-98 team made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed and became the first team to upset a No. 1 seed when it defeated Stanford in Maples Pavilion, 71-67.
The No. 9-seeded Bluejays (26-6) have NCAA Tourney history on their side, returning for the 11th time in program history and eighth time in the past 13 years. They also advanced to the Elite Eight three years ago.
However, Creighton has a tough road, through the heart of Texas, where it will meet No. 8-seed Illinois (21-9) on Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. No. 1 overall seed and host Texas (31-3) will play either High Point or William & Mary in its first-round game. The Longhorns are 15-0 at home this season.
Creighton, meanwhile, is led by All-BIG EAST first-team selections in Lauren Jensen (17.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 120 assists) and Morgan Maly (17.3 ppg, 6.8 rgp). Both have each eclipsed more than, 2,000 career points.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: March Madness upset predictions: 3 NCAA bracket-buster picks
Continue reading...
And the 2025 NCAA Women's Tournament offers its share of underrated teams that could capture the hearts of fans over the next few weeks.
Locally, it will be fun to see how far Florida State advances in the tourney. But nobody would probably describe the Seminoles as a Cinderella team.
FSU (23-8) is making their 12th consecutive appearance - seventh-longest active NCAA appearance streak - and earned the sixth seed in the Spokane I Regional. The Seminoles face No. 11 George Mason (27-5) in the opening round on Saturday, with the winner advancing to Monday's second round against either No. 3 LSU (28-5) or No. 14 San Diego State (25-9).
But let's look at three teams that could defy the odds and bust brackets (if not opponent's hearts) in this year's tourney.
More: Enter USA TODAY's Women's Bracket Challenge for a chance at $1 million prize.
Grand Canyon women's basketball, No. 13 seed
Don't sleep on the Antelopes. Grand Canyon rallied from a 10-point deficit and defeated UT Arlington 65-62 in the Western Athletic Conference championship game to secure the program's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lopes (32-2) have won a nation-best 30 consecutive games and earned the 13th seed and will face No. 4 and host Baylor (27-7) on Friday in the first round of the tournament in Waco, Texas, at 2:30 p.m.
Keep an eye on Grand Canyon's Trinity San Antonio, who was named the 2025 WAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the WAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. San Antonio recorded 19 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals in the championship game and averaged 17.3 points per game in the WAC tournament.
Harvard women's basketball, No. 10 seed
Harvard (24-4) won its first Ivy League Tournament title when it upset No. 1 seed Columbia 74-71. The Crimson earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tourney, where they are making their seventh appearance all time and first since 2007. Harvard is a No. 10 seed in the Spokane I Regional and will face No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-9) in the first round Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Crimson are led by Conference Player of the Year Harmoni Turner, who leads the team in nearly every stat: 22.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals. They also have Cinderella history. Their 1997-98 team made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed and became the first team to upset a No. 1 seed when it defeated Stanford in Maples Pavilion, 71-67.
Creighton women's basketball, No. 9 seed
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The No. 9-seeded Bluejays (26-6) have NCAA Tourney history on their side, returning for the 11th time in program history and eighth time in the past 13 years. They also advanced to the Elite Eight three years ago.
However, Creighton has a tough road, through the heart of Texas, where it will meet No. 8-seed Illinois (21-9) on Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. No. 1 overall seed and host Texas (31-3) will play either High Point or William & Mary in its first-round game. The Longhorns are 15-0 at home this season.
Creighton, meanwhile, is led by All-BIG EAST first-team selections in Lauren Jensen (17.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 120 assists) and Morgan Maly (17.3 ppg, 6.8 rgp). Both have each eclipsed more than, 2,000 career points.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: March Madness upset predictions: 3 NCAA bracket-buster picks
Continue reading...
