Top 3 women's NCAA Tournament games to watch this March Madness 2025

The UCLA Bruins were designated as the overall No. 1 seed in the women's NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. The other No. 1 seeds include the South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans.

There are several potential juicy matchups further up the bracket, but the first round will offer its own intriguing games.

Top 3 games in the women's NCAA Tournament

Below we take a look at three of the most intriguing first-round games in the women's NCAA Tournament.

#3, Fairfield vs. Kansas State

One of the most intriguing games of round one of March Madness will be the No. 5-seeded Kansas State Wildcats (26-7) versus the No. 12-seeded Fairfield Stags (28-4). The Wildcats will be reintegrating returning center Ayoka Lee after she finished the regular season with foot injuries that coincided with Kansas State ending the season with a 7-6 record and four losses in their last six games.

During his weekly news conference, Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie provided an update on Lee's status for the game.

"Better than I expected," Mittie said of Lee. "Thursday, Friday, we went (practiced) back to back. That was a pleasant surprise to me because I was concerned about the back-to-back. She did more and didn't step out of a drill at all. Probably as good as we could expect.

"She's probably not able to go long, long stretches without a rest. Her conditioning level, we're probably gonna have to rest her."

The Stags have a formidable record going into the tournament that consists of 22 wins in their last 23 games. The winner of the game will face the winner of the No. 4-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and No. 13-seeded Liberty Flames.

#2, FSU vs. George Mason

The No. 6-seeded Florida State Seminoles are on upset alert against the No. 11-seeded George Mason Patriots, who have won 15 of their last 17 games in the Atlantic 10.

The Seminoles have not made it past the first round in the women's NCAA Tournament for the past three consecutive years.

FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff expressed her satisfaction at the draw during a call with the media.

"This was what I was hoping for," Wyckoff said "It really was. You never know what to expect, but I was really happy with our draw.

"They have a great coach. I love their coach. She is a friend. So, they are well-coached. They are going to be a great team. Any team in this tournament is a really good team, so we just have to prepare well and be ready to go right off the back."

The winner of this game will face the winner of the No. 3 LSU Tigers versus the No. 14 San Diego State Aztecs.

#1, Grand Canyon versus Baylor

The No. 4 seeded Grand Canyon Antelopes (32-2) under coach Molly Miller hold the nation's longest active winning streak (30 games), which they cemented by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament last week. While it's their first women's NCAA Tournament, the Lopes will pose a significant threat to the No. 4 Baylor Bears (27-7) in their first-round matchup.

Baylor coach Nikki Collen spoke about the benefits of home advantage for the Bears.

"It's a big deal, the advantage that you can create by having your home crowd, it can't be undervalued," Collen said.

The women's NCAA Tournament winner will be decided on April 6 with no clear favorites to win the championship this year after stellar seasons from the defending champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, No. 1-seeded UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans.