NCAAW: Notre Dame, Iowa State, USC, Princeton seek NCAA Tournament wins

After an opening day of straight chalk, we welcome Day 2 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

The three other No. 1-seed are in action, as well as three of the four No. 8-vs.-No. 9 matchups, which are always expected to be the tightest contests.

I’m particularly interested in two of those games, because they involve No. 9-seeds USC and Princeton, and I’m also excited to see the nation’s top-three scorers all in action on Saturday, including one in the third No. 8-vs.-No. 9 showdown. Two of those top scorers will be especially intriguing to watch because they will be trying to pile on points to salvage what have thus far been disappointing seasons for their teams.

Here’s what to watch for on Saturday. Join the conversation in the comments below.

Which super-scorer from will have a bigger game: Hannah Hidalgo or Audi Crooks?

Hannah Hidalgo has been turning heads and rivaling classmate JuJu Watkins ever since she debuted with 31 points against then-No. 6 South Carolina on Nov. 6, 2023. She has yet to win National Player of the Year and was only Second Team AP All-America this year, but when she’s at her best she has a No. 1-player-in-the-country air about her.

She led Notre Dame to the Sweet 16 as a freshman and sophomore, but with her co-star Olivia Miles gone to TCU, the Fighting Irish had to settle for a No.6-seed entering this year’s Big Dance. The Irish are a popular pick to upset No. 3-seed Ohio State in the Round of 32—almost exclusively because of Hidalgo—but this will certainly be her toughest path to the Sweet 16 yet.

That path begins against No. 11-seed Fairfield on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN). As always with Hidalgo, it’s a surprise any time she doesn’t have a big scoring game; her low this season was 12 in an embarrassing 93-54 loss to Michigan. She’s scored 20-plus in 25 of 32 contests and is third in the nation with an average of 25.2.

But Hidalgo isn’t the only super-scorer on a team that came in with high expectations yet now faces a difficult path.

Audi Crooks is second in the country with 25.5 points per game, and leads an Iowa State Cyclones team that was ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP poll, one ahead of Notre Dame. Now, Iowa State is a No. 8-seed, forced to likely face No. 1-overall seed UConn if they advance to the Round of 32.

The Cyclones’ chances of toppling the Huskies are much slimmer than the Irish’s hopes of getting past the Buckeyes, but all Crooks needs to focus on right now is putting up a monster scoring performance against No. 9-seed Syracuse on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Her season-low is 10; neither her nor Hidalgo has failed to score in double figures even once this year. Crooks, like Hidalgo has reached at least 20 in all but seven games, having played in 30.

Of course, they achieve their offensive greatness in different ways.

Hidalgo is just 5-foot-6 but one of the fastest players you’ll ever see, and also one of the best defenders. Her nation-leading 5.4 steals per game lead to easy buckets in transition, and she can also weave her way to the basket in the half court and display some highlight-worthy finishes. Her efficiency from 3 is off this year, but she was at 40 percent last year with 62 makes. The fact that she is actually scoring more when her long-distance numbers are down speaks to just how special she is as a driver and finisher.

Crooks, on the other hand, is a dominant inside scorer with a feathery touch and a lethal one-foot fadeaway shot. She is second in the country with a field goal percentage of 64.7.

Crooks’ career-high is 47. Hidalgo’s is 44. Both were achieved this season in November.

Who do you think will post the more gaudy number on Saturday? And do you think both will lead their team to victory?

Can USC pick up a tournament win without JuJu Watkins?

The expectation this year for No. 9-seed USC is not a national championship. With the aforementioned Watkins, the 2025 National Player of the Year, out for the season with a torn ACL, it would not be a failure to not reach the mountain top.

However, the Trojans entered the season ranked at No. 18 in the AP poll, rose as high as No. 8 and even picked up a huge win over current No. 2-seed Iowa. They don’t want this to be a completely wasted season, and it would be a disappointment if they were to not win at least one contest in the Big Dance.

The story for USC has of course been all about the No. 1 freshman recruit who has tried to fill the void left by Watkins, who was a particularly hyped-up No. 1 recruit herself.

Jazzy Davidson is the one who has had all eyes on her this season.

Davidson has lived up to expectations by leading the Trojans in all five of the main categories with 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, two steals and two blocks per game. It is extremely rare to see a player do that; undoubtedly, Davidson is a versatile and special talent.

But the Trojans have had their fair share of bumps in the road this year, and it is far from a guarantee that they will be able to defeat No. 8-seed Clemson (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in the first round.

Do you think Jazzy will shine in her NCAA Tournament debut and pull out the win for the Trojans? Do you think one win isn’t enough? Is this season a disappointment if the team fails to reach the Sweet 16, and do you think they have any hope of defeating No. 1-seed South Carolina to get there?

Can Princeton win one for the Ivy League?

Columbia and Harvard were not able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament, leaving Ivy League regular-season and Tournament champion Princeton as the only Ivy representative in this year’s Big Dance after the conference earned a record three bids last year.

The No. 9-seed Tigers take on No. 8 seed Oklahoma State on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Over the last 17 years, 12 times has Princeton been Ivy champions in some way (regular-season or tournament or both). This year, they spent time in the Top 20 for the second time in program history and broke their 2014-15 record for weeks spent in the poll by one with 12. They have just three losses on the season: two to second-place Ivy finisher Columbia and one to current No. 5-seed Maryland. Certainly, it would be a disappointment to not make their fourth trip to the Round of 32.

But really, the Tigers are aiming to advance not just for themselves, but also for their entire conference, which has shown so much progress, and for all mid-major conferences who aspire to one day send multiple teams to the Big Dance.

Last year’s Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner, who led Harvard to an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, said it best:

Do you think Princeton will defeat the Cowgirls? Are you pulling for the Ivy league?