Virginia vs. Arizona State: Preview

Virginia Women's Basketball will look to play their way into the first round of the NCAA Tournament tonight when they face Arizona State. The winner will take on No. 7 seed Georgia in the first round on Saturday.

The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, as well as its first under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton Virginia owns a 34-25 record in the NCAA Tournament UVA appeared in the tournament every year from 1984- 2003, including a run of three consecutive Final Fours from 1990-92. Virginia’s last win in the tournament came in 2018, a 68-62
upset win over seventh-seeded California.

Seven Cavalier players have a combined 19 games of NCAA tournament experience with 11 combined wins. Agugua-Hamilton has made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach at Missouri State (2021,2022) including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2021. In her first season at Missouri State, Agugua-Hamilton had her team positioned to make the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Here is how you can watch today's game:

Tipoff: Thursday, March 19, 2026 • 9 p.m. ET
Site: Iowa City, Iowa /Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Watch: ESPN2
Radio: 1070-AM/98.9-FM WINA– Luke Neer

Looking at the matchup

Virginia looks to record 20 wins in a season for the first time since the 2016-17 season. UVA recorded 11 ACC wins in a season for the first time since 1999-00, Virginia is averaging 75.3 points per game and limiting opposition to 64.3 ppg. The Cavaliers lead NCAA Division I with 6.7 blocks per game. UVA has broken the program record for blocks in a season (200) for the second consecutive season. UVA ranks No. 21 in NCAA Division I and leads the ACC with 17.2 assists per game. Virginia is in its 53rd season of women’s basketball, sporting a 1,012-575 (.638) record.

The Cavaliers are making their first-ever appearance in the First Four. The matchup marks the second meeting between the teams in series history. Arizona State earned a 60-50 win when the teams first
met in 2004 at the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic in Baton Rouge, La. Virginia’s Sa’Myah Smith and ASU’s Last-Tear Poa were teammates in 2023 as both helped LSU defeat Iowa to claim it’s first-ever national title in women’s basketball. Head Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton participated in the
first edition of the First Four when women’s basketball adopted the format in 2022. Agugua Hamilton’s Missouri State Lady Bears defeated FSU 61-50 to earn the 11 seed and advance to the first round.