The NCAA women's basketball bracket for the 2023 tournament is live, and it's filled with unexpected seedings and the potential for loads of upsets.

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Now, here are the winners and losers before the first day of competition.

Winners

South Carolina Gamecocks

They have won every single game this year (32-0), so of course they'd be winners again here. But they're getting a special shoutout considering the relatively easy region they were handed.

They've already beaten No. 2 seed Maryland by 25 this year (albeit with the Terps' missing their best player, Diamond Miller), No. 3 seed Notre Dame is unsure if it'll have its best player in Olivia Miles (knee injury), and No. 4 seed UCLA was just upset in the Pac-12 Tournament by Washington State. If SC has any threats, they don't appear to be here.

Washington State Cougars

Their epic Pac-12 Tournament run was rewarded handsomely with a No. 5 seed, and a not-super-scary potential Round of 32 matchup with No. 4 Villanova.

Virginia Tech Hokies

They're a No. 1 seed after all — and not even the final one (that honor went to Stanford). Their region is stacked with No. 2 seed UConn, No. 3 seed Ohio State, No. 4 seed Tennessee, No. 5 seed Iowa State, and shockingly low seed No. 6 UNC waiting. But this isn't a team most thought would achieve a top spot.

Tennessee Volunteers

This is not the year they'd hoped for, but securing a top-4 seed and homecourt in the first two rounds is massive.

Middle Tennessee

An 11-seed against a Colorado team that lost three of its last five games is as sweet of a draw as the mid-major could've hoped for. A potential winnable date against No. 3 seed Duke could come next.

UConn Huskies

Even despite the injuries, UConn is a deserving 2-seed and now has Azzi Fudd back in the fold. Best of all, they avoided having to play South Carolina or Iowa until the championship game, and Indiana until the Final Four.

Indiana Hoosiers

Like UConn, Indiana gets to avoid either Iowa or South Carolina until a potential championship matchup, and the top seeds in its regions aren't as harsh as they could've been. Utah, LSU and Villanova are tough outs but not the toughest for 2-, 3- and 4-seeds — and No. 5 seed Washington State is probably over-seeded as well.

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Losers

Maryland Terrapins

Congrats on being the No. 2 seed. Your reward is the 32-0 South Carolina Gamecocks awaiting you in a potential Elite Eight matchup.

LSU Tigers

A two-loss season only earned them a No. 3 seed. That's what happens when you schedule a weak non-conference. Had the Tigers beaten Tennessee in the SEC semis, maybe they'd have been a No. 2 seed elsewhere. Regardless, they could have a tough date against a two-loss UNLV team, or battle-tested Michigan squad in the second round.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes have ridden a number of highs and lows this season perfectly encapsulated by their comeback win over Indiana in the Big Ten semifinals only to be kicked to the curb by Iowa in the finale. Their earning a 3-seed was fair, but a potential second-round matchup with UNC is a tough draw.

(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)


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