NCAAW: Van Lith, TCU take on Louisville in second round of tournament

Two days into the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and we’ve already seen plenty of great games. From blowouts to nail-biters to upsets and overtimes, the first round of the tournament delivered.

Now, as the field narrows from 64 teams to 32, the competition gets even more intense. There’s going to be more than enough action to satiate any basketball fan as the second round of the tournament begins this Sunday, so here are the top three things we’ll be watching for.

Van Lith, TCU take on Louisville

It’s a storyline that was being set up on the ESPN broadcast of Louisville’s first-round game against Nebraska before the final buzzer even sounded: Former Cardinals guard Hailey Van Lith playing against the team on which she first rose to collegiate stardom (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Van Lith, now a member of the TCU Horned Frogs, is playing the best basketball of her career, currently averaging 17.7 points and 5.4 assists per game, and won Big 12 Player of the Year honors in her first season in the conference. She leads a Horned Frogs team that has taken an incredible leap in its second year under head coach Mark Campbell, winning the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament and being chosen as the No. 2 overall seed in the third regional (Birmingham).

TCU had little issue in its first-round matchup with No. 15-seed Fairleigh Dickinson, winning each quarter and holding the Knights to 35.4 percent shooting from the field en route to a convincing 73-51 result. Madison Conner led the Horned Frogs with 23 points, while Sedona Prince recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double; Van Lith chipped in 13 points and seven assists.

Louisville wasn’t quite as impressive against Nebraska, eking out a 63-58 win that was eventually decided at the free throw line, though the Cardinals did force 24 Cornhusker turnovers—something that will surely be at the top of Louisville head coach Jeff Walz’s game plan when they take on the Horned Frogs. Van Lith may be getting most of the spotlight, but it’s the 6-foot-7 Prince who will be the biggest individual matchup problem for the Cardinals. Louisville will also need to shoot considerably better than it did against Nebraska (4-for-19 from 3-point range), especially considering how prolific of a 3-point shooting team TCU is (334 3-pointers made; No. 2 in Division I).

Will Notre Dame’s Miles be good to go against Michigan?

Few teams were more impressive on Friday than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who defeated the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks 106-54. Notre Dame’s potent offense was on full-display, with guards Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron scoring 24 points apiece and the Irish shooting 56.3 percent from the field as a team.

It was Olivia Miles, however, who was the topic of discussion for Notre Dame—and not for the right reasons. Miles suffered an ankle injury late in the game, and though she was able to walk off the court under her own power, it certainly wasn’t something the Final Four-hopeful Irish wanted to see, especially as the competition gets tougher deeper into the tournament.

On Sunday, Notre Dame will take on the Michigan Wolverines (1 p.m. ET, ABC), who used an impressive second half to overcome Audi Crooks and the Iowa State Cyclones in the first round, 80-74. Michigan is typically driven by its pair of big-time freshman, Syla Swords and Olivia Olson, though it was senior Jordan Hobbs who was the star of the show against Iowa State. Hobbs scored a game-high 28 points, knocking down 5-of-10 3-pointers in the Wolverines’ victory.

Michigan doesn’t have quite the offensive upside that Notre Dame does, but is still more than capable of putting points on the board. Friday’s game against Iowa State showed the Wolverines at their best: All five of Michigan’s starters took 10 or more shots, and all of them scored in double-figures.

Will this type of egalitarian offensive approach give the Irish problems? Notre Dame will still be favored on Sunday, but the Wolverines could give the No. 3 seed a run for its money, especially if Miles is limited. Keep an eye out for her status entering Sunday’s slate of games.

How will top seeds South Carolina and UCLA fare?

It was business as usual on Friday for the South Carolina Gamecocks, who breezed through their first-round matchup against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 108-48. The Gamecocks were flat-out dominant, shooting 67.2 percent from the field and outrebounding the Golden Eagles 47-15 in the win that was more or less a foregone conclusion.

Likewise, the UCLA Bruins didn’t face much resistance in their own first-round game, defeating the Southern Jaguars 84-46. None of UCLA’s starters put up particularly gaudy numbers—even center Lauren Betts, who recorded 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 26 minutes—as head coach Cori Close chose to go with her bench for much of the second half. The Bruins did, however, show off their unselfishness with the basketball, racking up 23 assists on 26 made field goals.

Both No. 1 seeds now advance, as widely predicted, to the second round. On Sunday, South Carolina will play the No. 9 seed Indiana Hoosiers (3 p.m. ET, ABC), while UCLA will take on the No. 8 seed Richmond Spiders (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Will either No. 1 seed be at risk of an upset? While South Carolina and UCLA looked invincible in the opening round, such is often the case in No. 1-vs.-No. 16 matchups, and both Indiana and Richmond earned their own opening-round victories convincingly. The Hoosiers defeated No. 8-seed Utah with an efficient shooting performance (58 percent shooting from the field), while the Spiders held a normally-potent Georgia Tech offense to just 49 points, with Maggie Doogan’s 30 points and 15 rebounds being more than enough to power their own scoring.

It’s quite possible that both South Carolina and UCLA continue rolling through the second round of the tournament. But neither Indiana nor Richmond are pushovers, and the No. 1 seeds would be wise not to underestimate their respective opponents.