Women's March Madness winners and losers: ACC teams shine, while Tennessee and Iowa State fall flat

The first and second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament gave us a little bit of everything. Overtime, double overtime, controversial calls, a Cinderella team and even multiple new records. 

The No. 1 seeds -- UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina -- have dominated as expected, perhaps even exceeded expectations. However, this tournament has not been all chalk and there are no more perfect brackets remaining. There is a lot to analyze ahead of the Sweet 16, so we made a comprehensive list of winners and losers to help recap the action.

Loser: Tennessee's historically bad season

The Lady Vols ended their season on an eight-game losing skid with a loss to NC State in the first round. This was just their third first-round loss in program history. That result also put them at a 16-14 overall record, which is the lowest winning percentage ever for Tennessee women's basketball. Kim Caldwell, who is in her second season at the helm of the program, described this as the worst year of her professional career and said her team deserved better.

A down year like this is particularly tough for Tennessee, one of the most successful programs in women's basketball history with eight national championships during the Pat Summitt era. This is also the only program to have made the NCAA women's basketball tournament every single year since its inception. However, the Lady Vols are far from being the dominant program they used to be. Caldwell and company will have to regroup during the offseason, but one bright spot is knowing the Lady Vols will be getting Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 5 player in the 247Sports class of 2026 rankings. -- Isabel Gonzalez 

'Players deserve better': Kim Caldwell takes blame for Tennessee's historic collapse after first-round exit

Isabel Gonzalez

Winner: Virginia's Cinderella run

The No. 10 Cavaliers are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000 after a double-overtime victory over No. 2 Iowa. They are also the first team ever to reach the Sweet 16 after playing in the First Four.  

The Cavaliers gave it everything they had and more, as their first-round win over Georgia also required an extra period. They are the only team in NCAA women's tournament history to win overtime games in the first and second round. Kymora Johnson had a game-high 28 points against Iowa and somehow played all 50 minutes. 

"The fact we didn't fold this season even when we had ups and downs, even the way we ended the regular season, things like that, that's growth, and that's going to help them when this ball stops bouncing," coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said postgame. "I'm proud of everything. I'm proud of our program. I'm proud of their growth. I'm proud of winning. I'm proud of just the resiliency." -- Isabel Gonzalez

Loser: The Big 12 

Earlier this season, it looked like the Big 12 was gaining a lot of ground on the ACC in the conference power rankings. But that was just a mirage, it seems. There is only one Big 12 team (TCU) in the Sweet 16. The conference had eight teams make the tournament, only one fewer than the ACC, but amassed a 6-7 record in the first weekend. The biggest disappointments for the Big 12 were Iowa State (we'll get to the Cyclones more in a moment), and West Virginia. The No. 4 Mountaineers, who won the Big 12 tournament earlier this month by stunning TCU, were trying to get to the program's first Sweet 16 since 1992. But ultimately, they fell to No. 5 Kentucky, 74-73. 

"This is a hard one," head coach Mark Kellogg said after the game on Monday. "I'm disappointed we didn't win because I think we all obviously wanted this win really bad. I felt like this was our best chance since we've been here just because of the home court and how good we are in here, but I thought our players stepped up, had a few moments obviously where we lost our way, but continued to battle and represent the right way. That's all you can ask for as a coach." – Lindsay Gibbs

Winner: The ACC

There was a lot of concern about the ACC earlier this season -- including from yours truly. I even highlighted the conference in my "biggest disappointments" column in mid-January. But I have to give credit where credit is due: The ACC has turned things around and then some.

In total, five ACC teams made the Sweet 16. The only conference that can top that is the SEC with six. Elsewhere, the Big Ten has four teams and the Big 12 and Big East have one each.

The ACC went 13-4 in the first weekend, just barely trailing the SEC's record of 14-4. This is more impressive when you add in that four of the ACC's wins were upsets, while only one of the SEC's was. It helps that Virginia, the tournament's lone Cinderella, is from the ACC. But Syracuse also got a first-round upset over Iowa State and Notre Dame upset Ohio State in the second round to get to the Sweet 16. The only ACC team to lose as a higher seed in the first two rounds was No. 8 Clemson, who lost by milliseconds to No. 9 USC. – Lindsay Gibbs

Loser: Iowa's shooting woes

There are two sides to everything, and Iowa was on the unfortunate side of Virginia's Cinderella run. Taylor Stremlow missed what could have been the game-winning 3 as the first overtime period was winding down. Ava Heiden got the offensive rebound but she had a tough time getting the tip in layup. The Hawkeyes fell short in the second overtime period and now they are missing the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Stremlow's miss was just one of many for Iowa. The Hawkeyes shot 36.2% from beyond the arc during the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament. Once the Big Dance started, they fell all the way down to 14.3%. They were 1 of 13 from 3-point range against Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round and 5 of 29 against Virginia.  

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But perhaps the most painful stat in a double overtime loss is going 8 of 16 from the free throw line. Coach Jan Jensen was proud of the overall season the Hawyekes had, but admitted they made too many crucial mistakes when they got to the big stage.

"Overall, a heck of a year. This type of ending, definitely disappointing," she said postgame. "But when I briefly looked at the box score, I don't believe we deserved to win it. Virginia, hats off...They played really, really well. But with us, I believe we took 20 more shots and we weren't able to win it. I think we out-rebounded them... All the things you should do. But when you look at categories that need to happen, the free throws, the shooting percentage, you just -- that hurts because those things are a little bit more controllable." -- Isabel Gonzalez

Winner: Mikayla Blakes' scoring records

The Vanderbilt star set a new program single-season scoring record with her 30-point game against High Point in the first round. In the process, she also broke into the top 10 of Vanderbilt's all-time scoring list despite just being a sophomore.

Blakes followed that up by flirting with a triple-double in the Commodores 75-57 win over No. 7 Illinois. She registered 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help her team reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. That performance also helped her break the NCAA all-time sophomore scoring record. -- Isabel Gonzalez

Loser: Clemson's heartbreaking overtime loss

Clemson made its first NCAA Tournament since 2019 and was milliseconds away from reaching the second round. Mia Moore hit what appeared to be a buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of regulation and the Tigers started celebrating. But after review, officials determined that the ball had not left Moore's hand early enough. 

Moore could have had another chance to win the game because USC guard Jazzy Davidson fouled her during that shot. However, officials explained that the illegal contact occurred after the expiration time. USC went on to outscore Clemson 10-6 in the extra period to earn the second-round ticket.

"Tough, tough day for Tigers," Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said postgame. "Unfortunately, today, Southern Cal is one possession, or 0.1 second better than us."

Despite the loss, Clemson is a sleeping giant that should not be overlooked next season.  -- Isabel Gonzalez

Winner: Hannah Hidalgo's dominance

Notre Dame's Hidalgo had 26 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and was just two steals shy of a triple-double as the Fighting Irish upset Ohio State and advanced to the Sweet 16. The same afternoon, she passed Arike Ogunbowale for the Notre Dame single-season scoring record. 

The intensity Hidalgo plays with has earned her the respect of basketball elite. Ahead of the first round, Diana Taurasi highlighted Hidalgo as a player she was excited to watch in the NCAA Tournament because she is "one of those dynamic players that can get hot and can really put her team on her back."

The Fighting Irish have had ups and downs during this rebuilding season, but Hidalgo has been a constant force. Her first round performance was just another reminder of what she can do, as she registered 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists in the 79-60 win against Fairfield.  -- Isabel Gonzalez

Loser: Iowa State

The Iowa State Hawkeyes were ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP top 25. In late November, that ranking rose to No. 10 and stayed that way until the calendar turned to 2026. Since January, it was a free fall. The Cyclones lost five straight games in January, and even when Addy Brown returned from injury, never regained their footing. They went from being in contention to host NCAA Tournament games and win the Big 12 tournament to being winless in the postseason, losing to Arizona State in the second round of the Big 12 tournament and Syracuse in the first round of the Big Dance.

Audi Crooks had 37 points and five rebounds in the first-round loss. But the rest of her team only combined for 26 points. To make matters worse for the Cyclones, Crooks was noncommittal about her future with the program in press.

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After the devastating loss, head coach Bill Fennelly tried to put a positive spin on things.

"I love my job, and it's hard," head coach Bill Fennelly said. "This job has gotten so hard. So hard. But I'm lucky that I have a really good group of kids that did it the right way. We didn't win enough games, I get it. That's my fault, but I get to do it with my family, my grandkids. So, no, no what-ifs for me. As long as those guys are here with me, no what-ifs." – Lindsay Gibbs

Winner: LSU's historic offense

The Tigers earned their Sweet 16 ticket with a 101- 47 victory over Texas Tech. That was LSU's 16th 100-point game of the 2025-26 campaign, which set a new NCAA Division I record for most 100+ point games in a single season.

They had also won their first round game 116-58 against Jacksonville, which made this roster just the fifth team in women's basketball history with multiple 100-point games in a single NCAA Tournament, joining Long Beach State in 1988, Stanford in 1990, UConn in 2000 and LSU in 2025. 

LSU is also only the second program to ever get multiple 50-point victories in the Big Dance. UConn has done it three times, 2010, 2015 and 2016, and won the national title each of those years. -- Isabel Gonzalez

Loser: Cotie McMahon's foul

Ole Miss suffered a 65-63 loss to Minnesota in the second round after having to play the last four minutes and 22 seconds without star player Cotie McMahon, who only was only on the court for 21 minutes due to foul trouble. 

At the time of her fifth foul, the Rebels held a 59-54 lead in what had been a very competitive game. McMahon was trying to score while going against Amaya Battle. As she went for the bucket, she made contact with Battle who fell to the ground and was credited for taking a charge. Coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin said postgame that she did not agree with the call.

 "From my point of view, the last call was incorrect," McPhee-McCuin said. "We watched it 1,500 times. One of the things I do understand is that officials are human and environments create them to officiate in a particular type of way. I don't think that's why we lost the game. I just know that Cotie is leading scorer, Newcomer of the Year, all of the things, and she plays 20 minutes. And it's disappointing. These fans deserved more than that. The game deserves more than that."

What added to the controversy was Battle saying postgame that McMahon had gotten a lot of buckets on her team because she was powering through, so she was "going to try and fall and see what happens." Regardless, Battle did much more than hit those free throws. She actually hit the buzzer-beater that sent her team to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. -- Isabel Gonzalez