Women’s basketball tournament: 16 things you need to know about the Sweet 16

Everything you need to know about the Sweet 16 of the Women’s basketball tournament.

The Sweet 16 field has been set for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. All of the top-two seeds have survived to make it to the next round, while some small upsets further down the seed lines have created some interesting matchups.

Before the games start on Saturday, here are 16 things you need to know about the Sweet 16.

1. The Paige Bueckers/Caitlin Clark battle is happening

The game we’ve all been waiting for is happening: the two biggest star freshman players in the country, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark will face off Saturday on ABC. Bueckers averages 19.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 53.9 percent. Clark is slightly less efficient at 47.7 percent, but averages 26.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, good for first in the country in scoring and third in assists. There’s been a lot of discourse about these two players; now, we get to see them play each other.

2. They aren’t the only good freshmen on display

Bueckers and Clark get most of the attention, but she isn’t the only freshman you’ll get to watch in the Sweet 16. Maryland’s Angel Reese had 19 points in the second round on 66.7 percent shooting. Stanford’s Cameron Brink had 12 points and nine boards against Oklahoma State. And Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith has been been a key piece all year for the Cardinals and has a pair of double-digit games in this tournament. This freshman class is one of the best we’ve seen in college basketball.

3. The Big Ten could get some upsets

The Big Ten was a fun league this year, with seven teams posting an offensive rating in the 90th percentile or better. But it was a different story defensively, as just one team had a 90th percentile defensive rating and five teams had a defensive rating in the bottom 10th percentile, including Iowa, whose 108.1 defensive rating was among the country’s worst.

Defense is supposed to win championships, but the Big Ten is trying to change that narrative. Of the 16 teams left, four of them are from the conference, the most of any team. Three of those teams enter Saturday as underdogs. Can the offensive attacks from the conference keep going?

4. Arizona’s Aari McDonald is the draft prospect to watch on Saturday

Watching this tournament to see a WNBA prospect? Then on Saturday, tune into Arizona/Texas A&M at 8:00 p.m. to see Arizona’s Aari McDonald who is one of the top guard prospects this year. She’s a great defender who averages 2.8 steals per game, plus 19.3 points as well.

5. Can Jordan Nixon’s heroics continue?

Texas A&M needed a miracle in the second round. They got it from Jordan Nixon, who scored 35 points in an overtime win over Iowa State, including the coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer to win it. Nixon might just be the next star of this Aggies team.

6. Oregon’s Sedona Prince Iis the breakout star of the tournament

Speaking of stars, Oregon’s Sedona Prince is the real star of March, and not just for what she’s done on the court. Prince called out the NCAA for their equity issues surrounding weight rooms, garnering over 17 million views on her Twitter video. But the 6-foot-7 forward also tied her career-high with 22 points in the team’s upset win over Georgia, plus blocked four shots.

7. Elissa Cunane will look to get NC State to the Final Four

NC State has one of the best juniors in the country in Elissa Cunane. Per Her Hoop Stats, Cunane is one of two players to average at least 16 points and eight rebounds per game while also shooting over 40 percent from three on more than one attempt per contest.

8. Baylor might have an outside game now

All year, Baylor’s biggest potential weakness was that the Lady Bears could struggle if teams shut down their inside game. Well, no one shut the inside down yet, but senior guard Moon Ursin has scored 20-plus points in both games so far. She’s shooting 38.1 percent from deep on the season. Baylor also has Dijonai Carrington, who is shooting under 30 percent from deep on the year and has been on a cold spell, but who isn’t afraid to fire away from deep and can score well inside to make up for efficiency issues from deep.

9. Can Georgia Tech upset South Carolina?

The Yellow Jackets just barely got past SFA in the first round, then followed that up with a 17-point win over West Virginia. So, can they take down South Carolina?

Maybe, but they’ll need a huge game from center Lorela Cubaj, who scored 21 points against West Virginia while pulling down 12 rebounds. The Gamecocks have dominant big Aliyah Boston; Cubaj will have to match Boston on both ends. But Georgia Tech is 0-3 against teams with top two seeds this year, and that SFA win was their only win against a team with a Her Hoop Stats rating in the top 25.

10. What will Texas get from Charli Collier?

Texas had an impressive win last round against UCLA, leading by double digits for much of the game. But they did that with center Charli Collier scoring just five points and sitting on the bench for the end of the game. The Longhorns got some great play from their guards, but they’re going to need Collier to have a big game against Maryland because you’re going to need as many points as possible to defeat the Terrapins.

11. Maryland is the nation’s highest-scoring team

Maryland is the highest-scoring team in the country at 91.8 points per game. They rank 245th in opponent points per game but are still fifth in net points because of their scoring. They score 5.2 points per game than anyone else.

12. Missouri State is the last mid-major dancing

And then there was one. The Bears are the one mid-major left standing, with wins over UC Davis and Wright State. They haven’t had to face a major conference foe yet in the tournament and last faced one at all in December when they beat Missouri. They also beat Maryland back in November, holding the country’s best scoring team to 72 points. This team isn’t going to roll over just because Stanford is up next. Don’t write off Missouri State’s well-balanced attack led by Brice Calip and Jasmine Franklin.

13. UConn has the best defensive rating of the remaining teams

UConn allows 71.4 points per 100 possessions, the second-best mark in the country. Sure, you can attribute some of that to a weaker schedule than some other teams, as the Big East wasn’t really a power conference this season, but you don’t luck into being one of the nation’s best defenses. Three players — Bueckers, as well as Evina Westbrook and Nika Muhl — are in the 94th percentile or better in steals per game. Olivia Nelson-Ododa averages 1.7 blocks per game. Iowa’s going to need a really great offensive game to defeat the Huskies.

14. Baylor and South Carolina are offensive rebounding machines

Baylor has an offensive rebounding rate of 46.2 percent, second in the nation. South Carolina is at 42.8 percent, fourth in the nation. In March, the shots can be harder to come by, which is why having players who can generate second chances is incredibly important.

15. Iowa and Maryland are the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams

Two teams in the nation shoot over 40 percent from deep. Both of them — Iowa at 40.7 percent and Maryland at 40.6 percent — are playing this week. Both also take over 20 threes per game, so it’s not like they’re just making the few threes they’re attempting. Their opponents this weekend will have to find a way to slow the long ball down. (It should also come as no surprise that these two teams boast the two best offensive ratings in the country. Who’s third? UConn.)

16. Top 2-seeds usually have the advantage this round

Upsets happen, but since 2010 only six teams have made the Final Four without being a 1 of 2-seed, and only two teams have ever won the tournament without being a top 2-seed, the last one being Tennessee in 1997. Women’s basketball continues to see an increase in parity, but if you’re looking to make some picks this weekend, the safe bet is on one of eight teams.