Picking every women's March Madness Sweet 16 game - ESPN

The next stage is set for the 2025 women's NCAA tournament. While upsets were largely scarce across the first two rounds, that guarantees us some heavy-hitting showdowns at the regionals in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The regional semifinals will feature the first Duke-North Carolina showdown in the NCAA tournament, rematches from November in LSU-NC State and TCU-Notre Dame, the next chapter in two of the most storied programs in the sport in Texas-Tennessee, and much more.

But the Sweet 16 unfortunately will not feature USC star and national player of the year favorite JuJu Watkins, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury early in the Trojans' second-round game Monday night.

Still, there is much to look forward to. ESPN breaks down what to expect from each matchup in the Sweet 16 and predicts the winner for each game. Games are listed in chronological order.

(2) Duke vs. (3) North Carolina

Friday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Why North Carolina will win: The first time these teams met (a grueling 53-46 overtime North Carolina win) Alyssa Ustby was the best player on the court, notching one of her nine double-doubles on the season. She missed the next clash (a comfortable Duke win) with a knee injury. Ustby has played well since her return, except in the ACC tournament semifinals against NC State — not coincidentally, the Tar Heels' only loss since she returned to the lineup.

Why Duke will win: How do the Blue Devils win any game? With their defense. Their recent offensive strides make them an intriguing Final Four pick, but their success is fundamentally derived from defense. They allowed 70 points in only six games this season — all against NCAA tournament teams — and were 2-4 in that stretch. They certainly