The Women's March Madness draw has brought out the 68 best teams in women's basketball, the largest bracket in history, as it features a First Four for the first time ever.
South Carolina, North Carolina State, Louisville and defending-champions Stanford all managed to secure the No. 1 seeds, while eight teams face off on March 16 and 17 to try and get a spot in the Big Dance.
Here are four takeaways, one from each region, from the Women's March Madness draw.
Greensboro region's top two will fight to the finish
A lot of talent will be on display in the Greensboro region with teams like last year's runner-up, Arizona, a dominant Iowa State team that was a win away from tying a single-season school record for wins, and a UNC team that started their season 13-0, earning themselves a spot in the AP poll for the first time since 2015.
However, the most likely scenario -- though anything can happen in March -- is that the Elite Eight showdown will come between the first and second seeds in the bracket, No. 2 Iowa and No. 1 South Carolina.
Dawn Staley's eye for recruiting has always been a talent of hers, and she continues to develop WNBA-level players, this time in the form of Aliyah Boston.
Boston has dominated on both ends of the court, whether it be her ability to find the rim or secure boards, and set a record in the SEC for consecutive double-doubles with 24, passing WNBA All-Star Sylvia Fowles in her feat.
On top of housing a national player of the year favourite, South Carolina also has many members with Final Four experience like Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke who were key pieces in the Gamecocks' run last season.
Holding the AP poll top spot all year, the Gamecocks were stunned by Kentucky in the SEC tournament final, which exploited how their defensive inconsistencies could be blown open by a team with a sharp shooting guard.
Turns out Iowa has just that.
Caitlin Clark has etched her name into basketball history this season -- not just for women -- as she broke multiple Big Ten and Division I records, including becoming the only player in DI history to record back-to-back triple-doubles scoring 30 or more points in both games.
Iowa is coming off a 23-7 season, with Clark winning Big Ten Player of the Year while leading all of DI in scoring and assists, and is on a seven-game winning streak coming into the tournament where they made history in the Sweet 16 last year.
It's not a one-man show for Iowa, either, as forward Monika Czinano has not only held it down defensively but is tipping in 21.1 points per game on average on top of 6.1 rebounds.
With two of the best women's basketball players in the country are likely face off even before the Final Four, the Greensboro region has a lot of potential for high intensity and high scoring games.
Stanford looks to run it back
One of the biggest advantages for the defending champion Stanford Cardinal is that most of their championship-winning roster returned for the 2021-2022 season. Players like junior guard Haley Jones, who won last year's Final Four most outstanding player, and sophomore forward Cameron Brink, who just beat out Jones as the Cardinal's leading scorer as well as Pac-12 defensive player of the year.
Some inconsistencies at the point guard position led to unsettling early-season losses for Stanford -- including to South Carolina, who they could potentially meet up with in the Final Four. But, after finding their groove, the Cardinal are on a 20-game winning streak heading into the tournament, including winning the program's 15th Pac-12 tournament title.
While Stanford is relying on its youth to help it go back-to-back, so is No. 2 seed Texas, which comes into the tournament after not only beating the Big 12 favourite Baylor Bears for the tournament title, but also riding an 11-game win streak.
Big 12 Freshman of the Year Rori Harmon is averaging 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season, including a 30-point performance over the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 semifinal and a 20-point, five-rebound and five-assist game in the win over Baylor shooting 80 per cent from the floor.
The Spokane region will also have sneaky teams like LSU, who will be able to win with veteran presence. Senior guard Khayla Pointer leads the team in scoring with 19 points per game and assists with 5.2, and new head coach Kim Mulkey knows a thing or two about winning from her days as the Baylor head coach.
Other schools like Maryland, Virginia Tech and Ohio State can all bring a high-powered offence to the court that will cause trouble for any team, but with the defensive strength of Stanford and Texas, the Cardinal have the best shot to cut down the nets once again.
Wichita region's battle for the No. 1 seed
For the Wichita region, both the No. 1 and No. 2 seed were unable to secure their respective tournament titles -- the Baylor Bears and forward NaLyssa Smith were knocked off by Texas, while Louisville fell to Miami in the ACC tournament quarterfinal.
Despite Louisville earning the No. 1 in the draw after Baylor's loss, the Cardinals have not reached the Final Four since 2018 and will likely have to face off against SEC powerhouse Tennessee - who have made it to every single tournament - in order to make it there.
Losing Dana Evans was a blow for coach Jeff Walz, but Hailey Van Lith has managed to come into her own after a shaky start to the season and the team earned tough wins over Michigan and UConn to help bolster their legitimacy.
Speaking of Michigan, the road isn't easy for Baylor either, as they are likely going to have a Sweet 16 meeting with the Wolverines, who tied a program record for regular-season wins. Naz Hillmon, a senior forward, is easily the second-best player in the Big Ten behind Clark, averaging 21 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season shooting 56.5 percent from field goal range.
Outside of the top four seeds there are also teams like No. 7 Ole Miss. They are returning to the tournament for the first time since 2007 with the help of centre Shakira Austin, who transferred from Maryland and helped the team reach the SEC tournament semifinals, averaging 15.4 points and 8.9 rebounds a game.
In a region where many teams have shown they can be vulnerable, the Wichita region will be one with potential for upsets with many strong teams who have shown they all have what it takes to beat the top dogs.
Bridgeport region houses Howard, Bueckers, Cunane and Berger
Geno Auriemma is synonymous with basketball greatness, but injuries have plagued his squad -- including losing star guard Paige Bueckers to a knee injury and No. 1 2021 recruit Azzi Fudd to a foot issue -- as at least seven players in the regular rotation missed at least two games this season.
But for UConn to be able to dance with the rest of them, they have a tough slate of opponents standing in their way in order to get redemption in the Final Four after they fell to Arizona.
If Bueckers is healthy enough to produce at a high level, like the back-to-back 22-plus point games we saw from her in December, adding to Christyn Williams' scoring abilities with a healthy Fudd, the Huskies have reason to believe they can return.
NC State has run the ACC, winning the conference tournament title for the last three years, but have had disappointing runs in the tournament. Last season, as a No. 1 seed, they fell in the Sweet 16 last year to the Indiana Hosiers, who are back in the bracket as a No. 3 seed.
Elissa Cunane has been the backbone for the Wolfpack, an offensive powerhouse averaging 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, all while anchoring one of the nation's top defences.
As for Indiana, the scoring tandem of Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes will be tough to stop. Berger led the team in scoring and assists, averaging 16.3 points and 4.9 assists, keeping up Indiana's offensive intensity while Holmes, who led the team in scoring last year and averaged 15.5 points per game this year, missed a month.
Luckily for NC State, the Hoosiers would have to get through both UConn and Kentucky first, including UK guard Rhyne Howard, who helped steer the Wildcats to their first SEC tournament title in 40 years and enter the Big Dance on a 10-game win streak.
Howard is averaging 20.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season, scoring in single digits only three times this year, accumulating nine points in each of those contests.
While the projected No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft has been one of the most crucial players for Kentucky's success, attempting to shut her down means that more attention will need to go towards Dre'una Edwards, who is averaging 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds including a 27-point, nine-rebound performance to help knock off the Gamecocks.
