After a few days of (mostly) predictably outcomes, Monday\u2019s second round brought the havoc.<\/p>\n
No. 10 seed Virginia became a rare women\u2019s NCAA Tournament Cinderella by upsetting No. 2 seed Iowa in double overtime at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Then, No. 6 seed Notre Dame booted No. 3 seed Ohio State behind the heroics of Hannah Hidalgo, making this the third straight season the Buckeyes have exited early as the hosting team.<\/p>\n
Sweet 16 matchups<\/p>\n
1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Connecticut<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
North Carolina<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
UCLA<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Minnesota<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
South Carolina<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Oklahoma<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Texas<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Kentucky<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Vanderbilt<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Notre Dame<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
LSU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Duke<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Michigan<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Louisville<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
TCU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Virginia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
And as the tournament continues, don\u2019t forget to check Austin Mock\u2019s projection bracket<\/a>\u00a0to see how your team is expected to perform in each game.\u00a0 And if you filled out our \u201cBeat the Expert\u201d bracket<\/a>, check in to see how you\u2019re faring against our expert, Chantel Jennings.<\/p>\n No. 1 UCLA 87, No. 8 Oklahoma State 68<\/p>\n Sweet 16 opponent: No. 4 Minnesota<\/strong><\/p>\n Since the 2009-10 season, only Caitlin Clark had recorded an NCAA Tournament game with at least 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists.<\/p>\n Now, Lauren Betts joins her on that list.<\/p>\n The UCLA superstar had a superlative effort in her final home game at Pauley Pavilion, doing a little bit of everything to power the Bruins to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season. She scored with her back to the basket. She set screens to spring her guards for drives. She passed out of doubles in the paint to shooters on the 3-point line. She was in constant motion on every possession, sucking in the defense and forcing Oklahoma State to make impossible decisions.<\/p>\n Betts also protected the paint and switched out onto the Cowgirls\u2019 perimeter players, all while committing only two fouls.<\/p>\n The Big Ten player of the year and defensive player of the year has racked up every possible individual accolade since transferring to UCLA. All that remains is an elusive NCAA national championship, for her and for the program. Whatever happens in the next two weeks, Betts won\u2019t be the reason the Bruins fall short of their potential.<\/p>\n UCLA had another clinical victory in the second round, building an early 21-6 lead and maintaining that advantage the remainder of the way. Whenever Oklahoma State made a run, the Bruins settled themselves by getting the ball to Betts. In the fourth quarter, after the Cowgirls pulled to within 14, she had a turnaround jumper, a layup, a pull-up and a hook shot within two minutes to put the game back out of reach.<\/p>\n Although her game is different, her standout stat line was reminiscent of Clark\u2019s 2023 Elite Eight performance against Louisville as she scored 41 points with 10 rebounds and 12 assists.<\/p>\n UCLA might be the deepest team remaining in this season\u2019s tournament, but there\u2019s a clear hierarchy. This is Lauren Betts\u2019 team, and no one has had an answer for her this season. \u2013 Sabreena Merchant<\/p>\n No. 1 UConn 98, No. 9 Syracuse 45<\/p>\n Sweet 16 opponent: No. 4 North Carolina<\/strong><\/p>\n In her final game in Gampel Pavillion, Azzi Fudd put on a show and UConn made a statement as it punched its ticket to the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n The Huskies came out against Syracuse firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 33-8 first-quarter lead that left the Orange digging themselves out of an increasingly deep hole the rest of the game. After building that sizable early lead, the Huskies built from there, finishing with 98-45 second-round win.<\/p>\n Fudd, for her part, finished by matching a career-high 34 points while shooting 72 percent from the floor and 73 percent from deep on eight 3-point attempts. She added four steals, five assists and three boards while playing just 28 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight was really special,\u201d Fudd said on ESPN after the game. \u201cTo have one last night to soak this in, embrace it, enjoy \u2014 it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Strong had an uber efficient 24 minutes \u2014 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal \u2014 while Blanca Qui\u00f1onez added 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.<\/p>\n Some other highlights from the Huskies\u2019 high-scoring bonanza:<\/p>\n \u2022 During the second quarter, the Huskies went on a 31-0 run.<\/p>\n \u2022 UConn shot 66 percent from the floor in the first half.<\/p>\n \u2022 Six players had at least three assists.<\/p>\n Despite the 53-point win, the total doesn\u2019t even rank among the top-10 biggest blowouts in NCAA Tournament history. Baylor holds that record, with an 89-point win over Texas Southern in 2017. Among the top-10 largest margins in March Madness, UConn has five.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not as though the Orange were a complete defensive pushover this season. Syracuse ranked among the top 50 in defense, giving up 74.4 points per game, and among ACC teams, the Orange ranked sixth in scoring defense. The most points the Orange gave up this season were 87 points (twice, to Louisville and Cal).<\/p>\n On the other end, it was nearly an equally impressive defensive outing for UConn. The Huskies held Syracuse to its season low and allowed just one 3-pointer all game (on 18 attempts). UConn forced 20 turnovers (16 in the first half) and recorded 15 steals. \u2014 Chantel Jennings<\/p>\n No. 6 Notre Dame 83, No. 3 Ohio State 73<\/p>\n Sweet 16 opponent: Winner of No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Illinois<\/strong><\/p>\n Ohio State was upset at home for the third NCAA Tournament in a row. The No. 3 seed Buckeyes were taken out this time by No. 6 seed Notre Dame and All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo.<\/p>\n Upsets at home have become a staple for coach Kevin McGuff just as much as hosting the first and second rounds has. The Buckeyes are one of just six teams to host in each of the past four tournaments, but the only one to have lost at home in three of them.<\/p>\n Two seasons ago, Ohio State lost as a No. 2 seed to No. 7 seed Duke. Last season, as a No. 4 seed, the Buckeyes fell to No. 5 seed Tennessee . On Monday, it was the Irish and Hidalgo, the ACC Player of the Year, who took them down.<\/p>\n Hidalgo is one of the best scorers in the country, but she also leads the nation in steals. She nearly notched a triple-double against the Buckeyes, scoring 26 points to go with 13 rebounds and eight steals. Five Notre Dame players finished in double-digits as the Irish advanced to their fifth straight Sweet 16.<\/p>\n Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge finished with a career-high 41 points in the game, but no other Ohio State player scored more than 10 points.<\/p>\n Notre Dame, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, will play the winner of No. 2 seed Vanderbilt and No. 7 seed Illinois in the Fort Worth 1 Region. \u2014 Cameron Teague Robinson<\/p>\n No. 10 Virginia 83, No. 2 Iowa 75 (2OT)<\/p>\n Iowa became the first seed highest seed so far to drop out of the tournament, falling to the last double-digit seed remaining in the field.<\/p>\n