Who's challenging South Carolina in the women's NCAA Tournament?

South Carolina is an overwhelming favorite to win the women's NCAA Tournament.

Dawn Staley's squad, which enters the tournament 32-0, has size with 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, elite outside shooting with guards Te-Hina Paopao and Bree Hall and excellent depth with freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins.

The Gamecocks defend the three-point line, rebound, share the basketball and are smart with their shot selection. 

But a talented field behind South Carolina is nipping at its heels. Here are four teams with the best chance of pulling off a March (or April) stunner.

Iowa Hawkeyes (29-4, 15-3 in Big Ten) [Albany 2, No. 1]

What better team to start with than the one that has already done it? Last season, Iowa defeated South Carolina, 77-73, in the Final Four, spoiling Aliyah Boston's college finale and a potential perfect season. It takes a Herculean effort to beat the Gamecocks, which major college basketball's all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark had in last year's national semifinal. Clark finished with 41 points, and she'll likely need that type of performance again for the Hawkeyes to win a potential rematch in the national title game.

LSU Tigers (28-5, 13-3 in SEC) [Albany 2, No. 3]

Another possible championship game opponent, LSU had two cracks at beating South Carolina this season but fell short. That doesn't mean the Tigers can't beat the Gamecocks. If anything, their two 2023-24 matchups showed how evenly matched the two teams are. LSU has an elite rebounder, Angel Reese, who can negate South Carolina's advantage on the boards. Six Tigers average at least 10 points per game, and that depth could help lead to a breakthrough against the Gamecocks in the finals.

UConn Huskies (29-5, 18-0 in Big East) [Portland 3, No. 3]

UConn is 31st in the country in opponent's three-point percentage (27.9 percent) while ranking 21st on their attempt (36.3 percent). The Huskies have the third-best shooting percentage in the country overall (50 percent) and are led by star guard Paige Bueckers. Returning from a torn ACL, she's shooting 42.4 percent from deep this season. Forward Aaliyah Edwards gives UConn a physical inside scoring presence; she averages 17.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. South Carolina defeated UConn in the 2022 National Championship game, 64-49 when Bueckers and Edwards were sophomores, and both would likely relish the opportunity to enact a measure of revenge.

Stanford Cardinal (28-5, 15-3 in Pac-12) [Portland 4, No. 2]

Teams must be able to rebound against the Gamecocks, and head coach Tara VanDerveer's team certainly knows how to do that. Forwards Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink both average at least 11 rebounds per game, and the Cardinal ranks seventh in total rebounds per game (44.6). Fifth-year senior guard Hannah Jump averages 2.2 threes per game and is a career 40.8 percent shooter from deep. Stanford also takes care of the basketball. Per Her Hoop Stats, it ranks ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46). 

In 2021, VanDerveer led the Cardinal to a win over the Gamecocks in the Final Four en route to a national title. Brink and Jump were only underclassmen then and could play bigger roles in an even bigger upset this year.