logo
March Madness women's perfect bracket tracker: Only 2 perfect brackets remain after Iowa falls, Maryland tops Alabama in 2OT

March Madness women's perfect bracket tracker: Only 2 perfect brackets remain after Iowa falls, Maryland tops Alabama in 2OT

Yahoo25-03-2025

Only 112 people made it out of the first round unscathed.
But by Sunday night, as the second round of the women's NCAA tournament reached it's midway point, only 10 had survived. Then on Monday, after Iowa's loss to Oklahoma and Maryland's wild double overitme win against Alabama, that number was cut down to just two.
Perfect brackets in the Yahoo Sports Women's Bracket Mayhem immediately dwindled through the first four games of the second round. There was only one true upset to start the day, which came in the form of a one-point overtime win by No. 5 Kansas State over No. 4 Kentucky. Kansas State edged that win out behind 24 points from Temira Poindexter, which got the Wildcats into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. South Carolina, after an early scare, rallied to make it past Indiana on Sunday afternoon.
No. 2 Duke fended off No. 10 Oregon to also reach the Sweet 16. Hannah Hidalgo then led No. 3 Notre Dame to a 21-point blowout win over No. 6 Michigan to advance. Those four games wiped out 78 perfect brackets.
Then, thanks in large part to Ole Miss' upset win over Baylor in the second wave of games, 19 more brackets were eliminated. TCU's win over Louisville, which pitted star Hailey Van Lith against her former team, then eliminated one more bracket. Tennessee's win over Ohio State, which was the third upset of a No. 5 seed over a No. 4 seed on the day, knocked out four more brackets on Sunday night.
Texas rolled to a dominant win over Illinois on Monday afternoon to start the fourth day of play, and NC State followed suit with a 34-point win over Michigan State. Those two games eliminated one more bracket and left just 9 perfect brackets remaining. Iowa's loss to the Sooners cut three more brackets out, and then Maryland and LSU winning cut out four more to get us down to just two left.
Upsets were hard to come by in the first two rounds of the tournament, but 97.7% of entries this year were still busted by the end of the first day. There was then a steady decline on Saturday as the first round wrapped up, even without many big upsets. No. 10 South Dakota State led the charge on that front with its win over No. 7 Oklahoma State. No. 6 Florida State, which was the least-picked No. 6 seed in the tournament, rolled past George Mason, too. Both of those games brought the total number down below 200.
While the women's side still has hope for a perfect bracket, the men's tournament had its final perfect bracket eliminated during the second round of play on Saturday.
The Gamecocks were the most popular pick to win the women's national championship this season. More than 20% of Yahoo users went with them to repeat, while just more than 19% opted to go with Paige Bueckers and UConn. UCLA and USC each also received double-digit support.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iowa football makes final five for 2026 cornerback out of Arizona
Iowa football makes final five for 2026 cornerback out of Arizona

USA Today

time3 hours ago

  • USA Today

Iowa football makes final five for 2026 cornerback out of Arizona

Iowa football makes final five for 2026 cornerback out of Arizona Iowa football is among the final five for class of 2026 cornerback Mason Lewis. The 6-foot, 197 pound cornerback announced that Iowa is among his final five schools alongside Cal, Kansas State, Minnesota and Vanderbilt. Lewis also revealed that he will announce his college commitment on July 1. Iowa originally offered Lewis on Jan. 21 and is slated to host the Basha High School product for an official visit on June 20. Lewis just visited Kansas State and he also has a visit to Minnesota slated for June 13. Lewis is a consensus three-star prospect according to 247Sports, On3 and Rivals. 247Sports ranks Lewis as the No. 5 player in the state of Arizona and as the No. 52 cornerback in the 2026 class. According to On3, Lewis is the 10th-ranked player in Arizona and the No. 79 cornerback. In addition to his final five schools, Lewis also picked up offers from fellow Power Four programs Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas and from the Pac-12's Washington State. Iowa currently has nine commitments in the 2026 class. Iowa has pledges from offensive linemen Carson Nielsen, Hudson Parliament, Owen Linder, Gene Riordan and Colin Whitters, from wide receivers Brody Schaffer and Diondre Smith, defensive back Marcello Vitti and quarterback Cash Herrera. Here's a look at Lewis' highlights: Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF

Ravens CB Nate Wiggins had a strong rookie season. Now, he's learning to be a pro
Ravens CB Nate Wiggins had a strong rookie season. Now, he's learning to be a pro

New York Times

time4 hours ago

  • New York Times

Ravens CB Nate Wiggins had a strong rookie season. Now, he's learning to be a pro

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens secondary coach Chuck Pagano didn't wait for the play to officially end. As cornerback Nate Wiggins headed upfield, setting up his blocks along the way, following an interception of an overthrown pass during Friday's organized team activity, Pagano broke out the celebratory dance moves on the sideline. Advertisement The 64-year-old coach shuffled up and down and waved his right arm in the air as if he were riding an imaginary horse. It doesn't take much to get Pagano going, but the sight of Wiggins securing the football and using his speed to race toward the end zone was enough to get anybody associated with the Ravens excited. Wiggins, a first-round pick in 2024, had a strong rookie season. He played in all but two games, broke up 13 passes and held quarterbacks to a 66.7 passer rating when they targeted him. Wiggins allowed just 31 receptions on 62 targets, forced a key fumble in Dallas and had a pick six in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns. Yet, it was hard for Ravens coaches this offseason not to think about how much better Wiggins could get when he became a little stronger and had a better grasp of the fundamentals of the cornerback position and how offenses were attacking him. 'Last year, he was just running like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to figure out what to do,' Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said last week. 'Now, he understands the system. He understands the defense. He's been in the league for a year, so he understands formations from offenses. Now, he can really just hone in on his technique. Man, that guy right there, he takes his technique to another level on a consistent basis. The sky's the limit for him.' Wiggins, who had an interception and a pass breakup in the Ravens' last OTA on Friday, is off to a solid start this offseason. He's added 10 pounds after prioritizing getting bigger and stronger. Possessing a better understanding of the position, he's playing with more decisiveness and confidence. And he no longer has to wonder about his role on a week-to-week basis. The Ravens, influenced partly by health issues for Wiggins in the first half of the season, somewhat eased the rookie in. He played more than 75 percent of the team's defensive snaps just twice over Baltimore's first 10 games. But those days are over. He'll enter the 2025 season as a starting outside corner and one of the Ravens' core defenders. He says he's ready for that. Advertisement 'Last season, I didn't feel like I was really a pro yet,' Wiggins said Friday. 'Now, I'm knowing how to be a pro. I feel like now it's going to pay off.' The Ravens lost some key pieces from last year's defense, which started agonizingly slow but turned things around and was playing at a high level by season's end. Nose tackle Michael Pierce retired. Starting cornerback Brandon Stephens departed to the New York Jets in free agency. Malik Harrison and Chris Board, part of the linebacker rotation, signed elsewhere. Baltimore's cornerback depth thinned out with veterans Tre'Davious White and Arthur Maulet not returning. Safety Ar'Darius Washington, whose ascension into the starting lineup was a catalyst for the defensive turnaround, tore his Achilles during a May workout and will miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season. Meanwhile, Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta's two most prominent veteran defensive additions were Chidobe Awuzie, who will likely compete for the No. 3 or 4 cornerback role, and John Jenkins, a rotational defensive lineman. If the Ravens are going to build off of where last year's defense finished, they'll be relying heavily on the development of their young players, and that includes members of the team's rookie class. That means third-year pro Trenton Simpson, who is poised to reclaim his starting inside linebacker spot alongside Roquan Smith; first-round safety Malaki Starks, who will almost certainly be a day one starter; and young edge rushers Mike Green and Adisa Isaac, Day 2 selections over the past two drafts who will be counted on to add some pass-rushing juice. That also means Wiggins, who team officials believe has star potential if he stays healthy and learns the nuances of the cornerback position. More takeaways, like the one in Friday's practice, would help, too. A recent guest on 'The Lounge' podcast, Wiggins told the team website that one of his goals is to create 10-plus turnovers (interceptions or forced fumbles) in 2025. He had two last year. Advertisement 'I expect him to be locked in and focused on the little things,' Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Friday. 'Raindrops make oceans, man. Lock in on every little detail to be great, and that's what he's focusing on.' When Wiggins entered the league after a strong final season at Clemson, there was little doubt that he could run with NFL receivers. He clocked a blistering 4.28 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Only Kansas City Chiefs first-round wide receiver Xavier Worthy (4.21) beat that time. The concerns were over whether Wiggins, who weighed just 173 pounds at the combine, would hold up physically, particularly against bigger receivers, and also against running backs had he needed to make a tackle on the outside. Wiggins held his own physically as a rookie, but he acknowledged that he didn't feel like he was able to protect himself as well as needed. That, in his mind, led to some of the physical issues that he played through for much of last year. 'Injury wasn't my big thing last year, (but) just hitting the ground,' Wiggins said. 'With my shoulders hitting the ground, the body couldn't absorb the contact. So it was really just getting my body (ready to) take the contact.' Wiggins said he has a really fast metabolism and has always struggled to put on weight. He loaded up on steak, mashed potatoes and proteins this offseason to add 10 pounds and get up to 185. It's a start for a player whose speed remains his biggest attribute. Now, the Ravens would like to see Wiggins utilize his increased strength. 'I thought Nate did a great job going to work this offseason, putting weight on,' Orr said. 'That's a testament to him and the strength coaches coming up with a great plan. Obviously, he followed it. The weight is real, so that's good to see, but what I see him focusing on now, he's more locked in on his fundamentals and technique on a more consistent basis.'

Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday
Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday

Why Caitlin Clark Refused to Sign Fan's Shirt on Saturday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Since her arrival on the women's basketball scene, going back to her time at Iowa, even before she was the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft in 2024, Caitlin Clark understood the value of connecting with fans. She struggled to get her head around her job as a role model, but she was diligent about seeing to that duty. Advertisement As she said early last year, "It's hard for myself to wrap my head around (being a role model). It's crazy the way people scream my name and really support us. I try to make time for as many of them as I can. That's something that never gets old.' Clark has always seen bringing people together, on and off the floor, as part of her role. 'This isn't an individual sport," she said. "I have four other people on the court with me at the same time, I have 10 other girls on the bench. ... I don't have to score a million points every single night and I think I find peace in that. When I'm having fun and just being Caitlin, that's when things are really successful.' Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) applauds her teammates during the first half of a WNBA game against the Chicago Sky at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images But while Clark remains known for being big-hearted, she does have some boundaries. She has been out for the past two weeks because of a quad injury--the first missed time because of injury in her career--but she has still been showing up at Fever games as she rehabs. Advertisement She was on hand at the United Center on Saturday night for the Fever's victory over the Chicago Sky, and spent considerable time before the game signing autographs and taking photos with fans who had come to watch her play. But she drew the line on one thing: She was not about to autograph Sky materials. That was shown in a video on X from Saturday in which Clark signed a string of autographs only to smile and pass on signing what appeared to be a Chicago Sky-colored shirt. A post from the account, "The Indiana Fever," noted, "Caitlin Clark refused to sign the Chicago Sky merch." The fan who had tried to get her to do so, it should be pointed out, laughed it off. Advertisement Clark is hopeful of returning to the court this week, with the Fever's next game coming Tuesday in Atlanta. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store