2026 Women's March Madness: Every NCAA Tournament first-round game, schedule and location

Selection Sunday just dropped the women’s bracket, and the overreactions are already flying. Sleeper picks are getting crowned, Final Four paths are being mapped out, and fans everywhere are convincing themselves they’ve found the one matchup that is about to wreck the whole field.

That is part of what makes Women’s March Madness so fun. The stars are everywhere, the opening-round storylines hit immediately, and the format gives the first weekend a completely different feel from the men’s tournament. Instead of starting at neutral sites, the women’s first-round games are played on campus courts, which means top seeds open with home crowds behind them and visiting teams have to walk straight into someone else’s building. Here’s a full look at every 2026 women’s NCAA Tournament first-round game, along with the schedule and host site for each matchup.

2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament matchups

Now that the bracket is locked in, the path to the Final Four is finally taking shape. Below is a full breakdown of the 2026 women’s NCAA Tournament matchups, including the First Four and every first-round game organized by region. The official bracket places the field into Fort Worth 1, Sacramento 2, Fort Worth 3 and Sacramento 4.

First Four matchups

The women’s First Four tips off on Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19 before the 64-team bracket gets underway. Because the women’s tournament uses campus hosts for opening weekend, each First Four game feeds directly into a top-seed host site rather than a standalone neutral-site setup.

Fort Worth 1 first-round matchups

Fort Worth 1 opens with a mix of blue-bloods, dangerous middle seeds, and one of the more interesting Friday-to-Saturday splits in the bracket. UConn headlines the region, but there is plenty of intrigue behind the Huskies, too.

Sacramento 2 first-round matchups

Sacramento 2 has one of the most entertaining first-round mixes in the field, with UCLA on the top line and a bunch of teams that could make the opening weekend uncomfortable for higher seeds.

Fort Worth 3 first-round matchups

Fort Worth 3 brings a little bit of everything: a No. 1 seed with major expectations in Texas, several strong host environments, and a handful of games that could get tense in a hurry.

Sacramento 4 first-round matchups

Sacramento 4 feels like one of the most volatile quadrants in the bracket. South Carolina anchors the region, but there are several first-round games here that look like real headache potential for favorites.

How to Get Women’s March Madness Tickets on SeatGeek

Women’s March Madness is especially fun to see live because the first weekend does not feel like a copy of the men’s tournament. The campus-site format changes the whole vibe: louder student sections, stronger home-court energy, and opening-round games that feel more personal from the start. The NCAA’s opening-weekend host list includes schools like UConn, LSU and South Carolina, which gives fans a chance to catch the tournament in some of the sport’s best home environments.

That is where SeatGeek comes in. Fans can browse women’s NCAA Tournament tickets by host school and round, whether they are trying to catch a No. 1 seed at home, target a first-round upset spot, or just get into the building now that the bracket is live. Interactive seat maps make it easy to compare sections before checkout, while Deal Score helps surface listings that stand out for value.

Whether you’re hoping to see Texas open in Austin, UConn defend home court or South Carolina start another run in front of its own crowd, SeatGeek makes it easier to find the right Women’s March Madness tickets for your budget and your bracket plans.