Breaking down the opening weekend of women’s March Madness

.The GIST: Eight of next weekend’s Sweet 16 teams are already locked in, while today’s jam-packed eight-game slate will determine the other half of the field. That’s right, the Madness is in full swish.

✨ A weekend of highlights: We’d be remiss not to start with No. 4 Minnesota senior Amaya Battle’s last-second game-winner against No. 5 Ole Miss yesterday, a shot that sent the Golden Gophers to their first Sweet 16 since 2005. There were also the offensive fireworks of No. 8 Iowa State’s Audi Crooks (albeit in a loss) and USC freshman Jazzy Davidson’s historic outing. Nothing quite like March.

💪 Top seeds taking care of business: Save No. 10 UVA and a pair of No. 9 upsets, the tourney’s been mostly chalk. No. 2 Michigan silenced No. 7 NC State 92–63, LSU senior Flau’jae Johnson dropped 24 points in the No. 2 Tigers’ lopsided 101–47 win over No. 7 Texas Tech, and No. 1 Texas dismantled No. 8 Oregon 100–58 behind a whopping 40 points from junior Madison Booker.

• And there’s likely more dominance on the way when the rest of the No. 1 seeds hit the hardwood today: UConn hosts No. 9 Syracuse at 6 p.m. ET, South Carolina plays No. 9 USC at 8 p.m. ET, and UCLA lines up vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State at 10 p.m. ET.

🍿 The game of the day: If Monday is Mondaying and you only have time for one tilt, make it No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 4 West Virginia at 5 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers’ full-court press is the stuff of nightmares, while the Wildcats protect the halfcourt like no one else, anchored by six-foot-five junior Clara Strack. Buckets, loading blocked.