We are still in the middle of conference tournament season, but the major conference tournaments have wrapped up and given us plenty to talk about. While some of the results didn’t necessarily affect NCAA Tournament seedings, some of them did have major implications ahead of Selection Sunday.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one of the teams that have fallen into a bit of a slump, and their struggles cost them some hardware. Others like the TCU Horned Frogs are enjoying a revitilization.
Conference realignment certainly played a role in this year’s chaos. Cori Close’s UCLA Bruins are thriving, while the Stanford Cardinal, also a former Pac-12 team, might soon be seeing the end of a historic streak.
Without further ado, here are some winners and losers from the major conference tournaments:
Winner: UCLA continues historic season
The Bruins have only lost two games this season and both were to rival USC. Getting revenge made their win in the Big Ten championship a little bit sweeter.
Big Ten Tournament: UCLA storms back from double-digit deficit, beats JuJu Watkins, USC in championship game
Jack Maloney
Big Ten Tournament: UCLA storms back from double-digit deficit, beats JuJu Watkins, USC in championship game
That was UCLA’s first conference tournament title since winning the Pac-10 in 2006. That victory also helped the Bruins return to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings, marking their 13th week at the top spot this season. Before this year, UCLA had never been ranked No. 1 before. This is also the first season the program has registered 30+ wins.
It’s already a historic year for the Bruins, and it’s only getting better as winning the Big Ten Tournament means UCLA can feel more confident about getting a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Loser: Notre Dame slumping at wrong time
Falling to Duke 61-54 in the ACC Tournament semifinals pretty much cost Notre Dame the potential to earn a No. 1 seed.
The Fighting Irish were a Sweet 16 team in 2024 and also one of the hottest teams this season thanks to the nation’s best backcourt in Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles. They have also quietly been one of the top rebounding teams with players like Liatu King.
That being said, Niele Ivey’s team has had some lackluster performances lately on both sides of the court, and consequently they will enter the 2025 NCAA Tournament having lost three of their last five games.
Loser: Stanford’s NCAA Tournament streak likely over
Stanford fell to Clemson 63-46 in the first round of the ACC Tournament, and without a strong resume this season, the Cardinal will likely miss out on the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The program has not missed the Big Dance since 1988, and through that time Stanford has won three national championships and made 15 Final Four appearances. The Cardinal’s 36-year streak is second only to Tennessee (42) for the longest all-time.
The Cardinal have been a West Coast powerhouse for a while, but a lot of change has taken place there lately. Stanford went from the Pac-12 to the ACC after conference realignment, plus legendary coach Tara VanDerveer retired. Despite now-head coach Kate Paye being on the staff since 2005, the program had to go into rebuilding mode after losing Cameron Brink, Hannah Jump and Kiki Iriafen from last year’s squad.
Winner: TCU, Hailey Van Lith are a great fit
TCU has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2010, but winning the Big 12 title gave TCU an extra boost to be considered a No. 2 seed.
TCU finished last in the Big 12 two years ago with a 1-17 record, and now the Horned Frogs have won both the regular season and the conference tournament. Big 12 Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith played a key role in this success. She has shined all season and earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor with 20 points in the tile game against Baylor.
Van Lith started her career at Louisville and spent last season under Kim Mulkey at LSU. She competed in three conference title games before, but this year she finally earned a victory.
Neutral: LSU misses out on SEC title, but gets healthy
LSU was originally going in the “loser” category, but in the grand scheme of things, the Tigers are doing just fine. While a conference title is always nice, LSU didn’t need to win the SEC Tournament because the Tigers did well enough in the regular season to earn the right to host in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers got bounced by Texas in the SEC semifinals, which means Kim Mulkey has still not won an SEC title since taking over the program in 2021 — but she did win a national championship in 2023.
That being said, the Tigers were competing without leading scorer Flau’Jae Johnson, who is resting while dealing with shin inflammation. That was Mulkey’s decision because she wants Johnson to be fully healthy for the NCAA Tournament.
Also, Aneesah Morrow was carried off the floor during the third quarter against Texas, and that injury scare had LSU fans holding their breath. However, Mulkey later gave a positive update, saying Morrow will be good to go for the NCAA Tournament.