A total of 68 teams participated in the 2023 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids to be extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall played in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.[1]
The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done from 2016 to 2019.
A dramatic change from past tournaments is that the regional rounds (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) are being held at two sites, instead of the four used in past tournaments. Two regionals will be held in Greenville, South Carolina and the other two will be held in Seattle. Specific regional names will be announced by the NCAA committee on or before selections are announced on March 12, 2023.
Virginia Tech's Georgia Amoore hit 24 3-pointers in the tournament, setting the record for most three pointers in a single tournament, surpassing the record of 22 set by UConn's Kia Nurse in 2017, and tied by Arizona's Aari Mcdonald in 2021.[5]
Iowa's Caitlin Clark set numerous NCAA tournament records, including most points scored (191), most assists (60), and most 3-point field goals in a national championship game (8). Clark also became the first player in tournament history to post back-to-back 40-point games, with 41 in the regional final, followed by 41 in the Final Four.[6][7]
Pts:Caitlin Clark (41) Rebs: Caitlin Clark (10) Asts: Caitlin Clark (12)
Climate Pledge Arena – Seattle, WA Attendance: 11,700 Referees: Kevin Pethel, Brian Hall, In'Fini Robinson
Caitlin Clark, Iowa's star player, made NCAA tournament history by becoming the first player to score a 40-point triple-double, with 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. The junior either scored or assisted on every field goal in the Hawkeyes' 25-point first quarter, which helped the Hawkeyes advance to their first Final Four since 1993.
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Game summaries and tournament notes
Upsets
Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated."[9] The 2023 tournament saw a total of six upsets, with three in the first round, two in the second round, and one in the Sweet Sixteen. Stanford's loss to Ole Miss marked the first time a No. 1 seed failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 2009.[10] With Indiana's loss to Miami, this marked the first time two No. 1 seeds failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 1998.[11]UConn's loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16 marked the first time since 2007 that UConn did not make it to the Women's Final Four. With Tennessee's loss to Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 this marked the first time since 2006 that the Women's Final Four did not feature either UConn or Tennessee.
The FF, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the first four, round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
Media coverage
Television
All games in the tournament were televised by ESPN networks or ABC; this was the second-to-last year of its current contract to air NCAA tournaments, which lasts through the 2023–24 season.[12][13] On August 23, 2022, ESPN announced that the national championship game would be broadcast by ABC for the first time, with a Sunday afternoon scheduling.[14] This marked the first time the women's championship game would be carried on broadcast television since 1995.[15]
Viewership of the tournament was up by 42% year-over-year. With significant attention towards Iowa player Caitlin Clark, the Iowa/South Carolina semi-final game was seen by an average of 5.5 million viewers—making it the highest-rated Women's Final Four telecast in ESPN history.[16] These numbers would be surpassed by the national championship game, which was seen by an average of 9.9 million viewers, and peaked at 12.6 million—making it the most-watched women's college basketball game of all-time.[17] It was a 103% increase over the previous year's championship game, which was carried by ESPN in primetime.[15]
Studio host and analysts
Elle Duncan (Host) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
Kelsey Riggs (Host) (First Four, First, and Second rounds)
Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Final Four, and National championship game)
Andraya Carter (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Final Four, and National championship game)
Nikki Fargas (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, and Regionals)
Monica McNutt (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
Carolyn Peck (Analyst) (Final Four and National championship game)