2X WNBA champ Lisa Leslie picks SEC powerhouse among "teams to watch" during March Madness

With March Madness fast approaching, two-time WNBA champion Lisa Leslie has named some of the teams to watch out for in the business end of the season. In a segment on CBS' "We Need To Talk" on Wednesday, Leslie picked Wes Moore's NC State in the women's bracket and the Southeastern Conference's Kentucky as one of her top teams.

"Listen, it's tough to call out one women's team or two," Leslie said (0:41). "But I got to give a lot of credit, and Debs [Antonelli] gonna be excited by my choice. NC State, when you talk about [Saniya] Rivers and [Aziaha] James and what they've been able to do, they've upset Notre Dame. Like, that's a team that nobody really wants to face.

And then you look at Kentucky, and what coach [Kenny] Brooks has been able to do. Him being new there, I love the fact that he focuses on the defense but with the offense, Kentucky is another team that could possibly knock off somebody."

Moore's NC State (26-7) won the regular season title this year but lost to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament final. However, the Wolfpack are tipped to make a deep run in March Madness.

Meanwhile, Brooks' Kentucky (22-7) lost to Oklahoma in the SEC tournament quarterfinals. However, the Wildcats showed their resistance with their defense in the regular season. In the 2024 regular season, Kentucky achieved its best scoring defense (65.8 points per game) since the 2018-2019 season. Let's see how the Wildcats fare in the NCAA tournament.

When does March Madness begin for the women's basketball teams?

The women's NCAA basketball tournament will begin with games on Wednesday. Here's the full March Madness schedule for the women's teams.

• First Four: March 19-20
• First round: March 21-22
• Second round: March 23-24
• Sweet 16: March 28-29
• Elite Eight: March 30-31
• Final Four: Friday, April 4, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
• NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida