Women's basketball has not slowed down at all this season as March Madness arrives.

A year ago, the women's NCAA championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men's title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark. The question was whether some fans would step away as Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and other standouts headed to the WNBA.

Instead, the women's game has featured a compelling bunch of stars all over again, from Paige Bueckers at UConn to JuJu Watkins at USC, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and Madison Booker of Texas.

It is UCLA that takes the overall No. 1 seed into this year's tournament.

The season has been must-watch viewing for another reason, too: Parity. Four teams held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, tying the mark for the most ever, and this NCAA Tournament will be only the second one in the past 19 years to have no teams with zero or one loss. The other time was in 2022.

Games to watch

No. 10 seed Harvard and Harmoni Turner take a shot at No. 7 seed Michigan State.

No. 10 seed Oregon travels across the country to play 7 seed Vanderbilt and prolific freshman scorer Mikayla Blakes.

No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast has to play 3 seed Oklahoma on the Sooners' home floor but this is a team whose 23-year head coach left early in the season for the WNBA and hasn't lost since Dec. 16 while going 30-3.

How can I watch the tournament?

Every game of the women's tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.

Who are the favorites?

The top four betting favorites as the tournament arrives are (in order): defending champion South Carolina, UConn, UCLA and USC, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Who is playing?

There are 31 automatic bids that went to conference champions and they were combined with 37 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. Selection Sunday unveiled the bracket matchups.

When are the games?

The First Four matchups are Wednesday-Thursday and first- and second-round games run Friday-Monday on campuses across the country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) will see games in two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 4, with the championship game on Sunday, April 6.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

North Carolina State's Mallory Collier (42) and North Carolina's Maria Gakdeng (5) reach for a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown

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Duke players celebrates after defeating NC State in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Greensboro, N.C., Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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UCLA players celebrate after an NCAA college basketball game against Southern California in the championship of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts shoots over Texas forward Taylor Jones during the second half during of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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TCU guard Hailey Van Lith (10) drives past Baylor guard Waiata Jennings (7) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game for the Big 12 women's tournament championship Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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TCU players celebrate after winning an NCAA college basketball game for the Big 12 women's tournament championship against Baylor Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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UCLA players celebrate after an NCAA college basketball game against Southern California in the championship of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo (3) gathers a loose ball ahead of Duke's Vanessa de Jesus (2) and Jordan Wood (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

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