The Madness has officially arrived as teams prepare for battle in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. While not as likely as the men’s tournament, there are still some double-digit seeds on the women’s side who are poised to pull off a first-round upset.
With first-round games set to tip off on Friday, here are three teams that should be on upset alert in the women’s NCAA Tournament:
After a third-quarter runaway against 11-seed Richmond in Wednesday’s First Four contest, the lower-seeded Cornhuskers actually head into Friday’s matchup with the six-seed Bears (24-8, 13-5 Big 12) as 1.5-point favorites, per FanDuel.
Even though Nebraska (19-12, 7-11 Big Ten) has dealt with injuries and is only 1-10 against Quad 1 opponents, it has a better NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking (28) than Baylor (32) and scores the 18th most points per game in the country (79.3 PPG).
Although Baylor is tied for the third-most blocks per game (6.2 BPG) and is led by sophomore guard Taliah Scott, who averages 20 points and shoots a ridiculous 90 percent from the free-throw line, the Bears come in with four losses in their last seven games.
Nebraska had lost seven of its last nine until the First Four win, but it is battle-tested in a loaded Big Ten conference. If sophomore guard Britt Prince, who leads the team with 17.6 points and shoots 54.1% from the floor, can keep the hot hand after a 22-point showing against Richmond, the Cornhuskers could pull the upset.
The Crimson Tide (23-10, 7-9 SEC) should pull this one out, but for a team that ranks 224th in the country in offensive rebounding rate, this is not the most favorable opponent for them.
Rhode Island (28-4, 16-2 A-10), meanwhile, ranks 347th in pace of play and has allowed 50 points or fewer in 13 of its 28 wins this season. Senior guard Brooklyn Gray is the team’s leading-scorer at just 12.5 points per game, which speaks to how the Rams like to slow it down and limit possessions.
For Alabama to avoid the upset, it needs to rely on its three-point shooting, which ranks 19th in the country (36%). The Crimson Tide have three wins against ranked opponents this season, but with seven losses in their last 11 games, they could be ripe for an upset if they are not careful.
Unlike the other higher-seeded teams on this list, the Fighting Irish bring in a lot of momentum with wins in seven of their last eight games. With that said, they do not need to overlook the Stags in this one.
Not only did Fairfield win the MAAC and at least 28 games for a third consecutive season, but they lead the country in made threes per game (11.4). A potential weakness the Stags can exploit is the offensive glass, where the Fighting Irish rank just 251st in Division I.
If Notre Dame is going to avoid the letdown, junior guard Hannah Hidalgo will need to have another stout performance. She averages the third-most points in the nation (25.2 PPG) and leads DI in steals per game (5.4 SPG), which is 1.1 steals more than anyone else. As a team that takes care of the ball and has six players averaging at least 1.2 steals, that may be the difference maker against a Fairfield squad that is plenty capable of coming out on top.
