The 2023 March Madness women's field has been revealed, and NCAA Digital's Autumn Johnson predicted the entire tournament live on Instagram and TikTok shortly after the end of the selection show. Click or tap here to watch Autumn's picks in full.
National champion pick 🏆: South Carolina
No surprises here. Autumn Johnson's pick to win it all is South Carolina. Johnson thinks the Gamecocks will complete an undefeated season (beating Indiana in the final) and lift the national title in Dallas. With Player of the Year contender Aliyah Boston and the incredible supporting cast including Zia Cooke, Kamilla Cardoso and Brea Beal, who is capable of knocking off South Carolina?
BRACKET CHALLENGE GAME: Make your March Madness women's picks
Autumn Johnson's Final 4️⃣: South Carolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Iowa
Iowa is the only 2-seed included here, as Johnson picked the Hawkeyes to break through top-seed Stanford in the Elite Eight and reach the Final Four. After falling to 10-seed Creighton in the second round of last year's tournament, reaching the final weekend would be a great redemption story for Iowa.
The rest of the three finalists are as you'd expect in their regions. Virginia Tech is riding high as winners of 11 straight (and a No. 1 seed for the first time in program history) and Indiana, despite losing to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament championship, has arguably been the best of the rest this season because — well... South Carolina is South Carolina.
PUT PEN TO PAPER: Click or tap here for a printable bracket
Notable upsets/Cinderella teams 👀
March Madness may traditionally run more chalk on the women's side than the men's, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for at least one Cinderella each year. Last year's wild first weekend included five double-digit seeds advancing. This year, Autumn thinks that will be 12-seed FGCU.
The Eagles have been here before. In 2022, they upset Virginia Tech, and Johnson thinks their depth of tournament experience from years past will see them past 5-seed Washington State and 4-seed Villanova on their way to a Sweet 16 berth.
- No. 12 Drake over No. 5 Louisville
- No. 11 Illinois over No. 6 Creighton
- No. 11 MTSU over No. 6 Colorado
