Biggest flaw for each No. 1 seed in women's March Madness

The 68-team field for the women's side of the NCAA Tournament is now set. 

The Connecticut Huskies (Regional 1 Fort Worth), UCLA Bruins (Regional 2 Sacramento), Texas Longhorns (Regional 3 Fort Worth) and South Carolina Gamecocks (Regional 4 Sacramento) have secured the No. 1 seeds in their respective regions. The full bracket can be found here (via ESPN). The tournament begins with the First Four on Wednesday. 

These squads are clearly in a great position. March Madness, however, is rife with upsets. With that in mind, here's the biggest flaw for each No. 1 seed: 

UConn (34-0, 20-0 Big East) | Not having a player of the same caliber as Paige Bueckers

The Huskies won the national title last season due in part to a spectacular showing from 2025 No. 1 WNBA Draft pick Bueckers (now with the Dallas Wings). In six NCAA Tournament games, she averaged 24.8 points per game on an eye-popping 52.8 percent shooting from the field. 

The Huskies didn't finish the regular season unbeaten last season, but head coach Geno Auriemma has pushed back against claims that they're a better team this season. 

"We have different options. But none of those guys I bring off the bench are Paige," the 12-time national champion said before the Big East Tournament. 

The coach added that the team has made more mistakes without Bueckers this season that the common fan may not notice. Teams could exploit those in March Madness. 

UCLA (31-1, 18-0 Big Ten) | Inability to consistently get to the free-throw line 

UCLA ranks first in the Big Ten in points per game (85.1), but that total could be even higher if it drew more fouls this season. The Bruins have averaged 15.3 free throws per game this season, the sixth fewest in the 18-team conference. 

The positive for UCLA is that it takes advantage when it gets to the charity stripe. The Bruins have shot 78.2 percent from the free-throw line this season, the fourth-best mark in the Big Ten. 

Considering that, the Bruins must find a way to shoot more foul shots in the NCAA Tournament. It will only bolster their already potent offense. 

Texas (31-3, 13-3 SEC) | Defensive rebounding

Texas' inability to crash the defensive glass is one reason Longhorns 21st-year head coach Vic Schaefer called this season's squad one of "the softest [teams]" he has coached after an 86-70 road loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Feb. 12. 

Texas ranks 14th among 16 SEC teams in defensive rebounding (24 RPG). The Longhorns had just 19 defensive rebounds in the aforementioned loss to the Commodores. 

Texas must box out more in the NCAA Tournament. If the Longhorns can do that, they should create more scoring opportunities for their high-powered offense. They rank fourth in the SEC in scoring (85 PPG). 

South Carolina (31-3, 15-1 SEC) | Three-point shooting 

South Carolina HC Dawn Staley is among the best in college basketball, but her teams generally don't shoot many three-pointers. Last season, when the Gamecocks reached the national title game, they averaged 16.9 three-pointers per game, No. 10 in the SEC. This season, they're averaging slightly fewer (16.3). 

Now, South Carolina does have a sharpshooting guard in junior Tessa Johnson. She ranks seventh in the SEC in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and has shot a career-high 44.1 percent from three. When she goes cold, though, the Gamecocks don't have another consistent three-point shooter they can count on. 

The weakness was apparent in a 78-61 loss to Texas in the SEC Tournament final in Greenville, South Carolina. Johnson made just one three-pointer in that matchup, and the Gamecocks shot 3-of-12 from downtown.