The women's NCAA Tournament is just around the corner. Selection Sunday is on March 16 at 8 p.m. EST, and the games will begin on March 19, with the National Championship being played on April 4.
March Madness is always one of the most fun times of year in college sports because not only do the sport's biggest stars get to compete on the biggest stage, but underdog teams from small conferences get an equal opportunity to hoist the trophy.
While upsets have not necessarily run rampant in women's college basketball the last few years like they have on the men's side, the field this year is stronger and more level than in years past.
Of the 68 spots in the tournament field, 31 are automatic qualifiers, which means the team won their respective conference tournaments. Below is a list of each automatic qualifier and the conference that they won.
Every women's March Madness automatic bid
American East: Vermont
American Athletic: South Florida
Atlantic 10: George Mason
ACC: Duke
Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast
Big 12: TCU
Big East: UConn
Big Sky: Montana State
Big South: High Point
Big Ten: UCLA
Big West: UC San Diego
CAA:
Conference USA: Liberty
Horizon League: Green Bay
Ivy League: Harvard
MAAC: Fairfield
MAC: Ball State
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley:
Mountain West: San Diego State
Northeast: Farleigh Dickinson
Ohio Valley: Tennessee Tech
Patriot League:
SEC: South Carolina
Southern: UNC Greensboro
Southland: Stephen F. Austin
SWAC: Southern
Summit League: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Arkansas State
West Coast: Oregon State
WAC: Grand Canyon
Outside of the obvious suspects like UConn, South Carolina, and UCLA, there are a handful of conference winners who may be able to make a run come tournament time.
Grand Canyon is playing their best basketball right now and Oregon State is essentially a power conference team playing in the West Coast Conference. Montana State also made it out of a tough Big Sky Conference and Harvard is a sleeper from the Ivy League.
When the final bracket is announced on Sunday, several of the matchups will instantly be put on upset watch. While powerhouse teams are considered the front runners, don't count out any team on this list.