The Athletic’s debate series features two writers breaking down a topic. In this edition, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman debate which teams are capable of winning the national championship.

Ben Pickman: We’re less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday and the whole world caring about seed lines, bracket draws and Cinderellas. Before March Madness begins, let’s undergo an exercise to predict the teams we think have a shot at winning this year’s national title before seeing the matchups. We’ve been talking about the parity across the women’s basketball landscape throughout the season. Four teams have been No. 1 in the AP poll, tying the record most recently set in 2021.

Champions often have commonalities. Over the last 10 NCAA Tournaments, only one winner (Notre Dame in 2017-18) has been outside the top-10 NET rating. Only two champions, that Fighting Irish team and 2016-17 South Carolina, have been outside the top-10 in defensive rating.

So, Sabreena, how many teams do you think have a legitimate chance at cutting down the nets come the evening of April 7?

Sabreena Merchant: There are five teams I can envision holding that trophy — as in, I don’t have to stretch my imagination to see any of these teams winning six games in the NCAA Tournament.

UConn is the betting favorite, and it’s the team with the most additional upside in the tournament because the Huskies don’t play their stars a ton during the regular season. Texas is the AP No. 1 team and elite on both ends of the floor. USC has the best player in the country, plus an outstanding defense. Notre Dame has a dominant backcourt and beat each of the previous three teams during the regular season.

My shakiest inner-circle national title choice is probably South Carolina.

Pickman: Oooh! Why do you say that?

Merchant: The Gamecocks’ frontcourt still concerns me. Without Ashlyn Watkins, they’re a little thin in the post and a little small. Taller centers have given them difficulty, including the Taylor Jones/Kyla Oldacre duo from Texas, Kentucky’s Clara Strack, and even UConn’s Jana El Alfy in spurts. That’s a more significant weakness than the other four title contenders have. Plus, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall haven’t been as consistent as last season.

Pickman: That may be true, but South Carolina is still No. 1 in defensive rating, according to Her Hoop Stats. The Gamecocks feature an experienced backcourt and coach, and they’re efficient on offense. Though their frontcourt might not be as good as last year (or previous years), it’s also notable that South Carolina is in the nation’s top 15 in turnovers per game (averaging just 12), and is sixth, per HHS, in foul rate. Avoiding turnovers and fouls makes a recipe for success in March.

“No ma’am,” @supremenia (definitely) pic.twitter.com/e9sH7SVLyQ

— South Carolina Women’s Basketball (@GamecockWBB) March 2, 2025

Merchant: All those elements push South Carolina into Tier 1, but if I had to pick a Final Four without looking at the bracket, the Gamecocks would be on the outside looking in.

Do you think I’m being too restrictive? Does anyone else warrant title consideration for you?

Pickman: I have another school on my title shortlist. UCLA spent the most weeks (12) at No. 1 this season. They’re in the top five in offensive and defensive rating; they have arguably the most dominant post player in the country in Lauren Betts; and they boast experience in the backcourt. I picked the Bruins to win the title last year for similar reasons. On paper, yet again, they have the résumé of a national title contender.

Merchant: On paper, I agree with you about UCLA, but the Bruins don’t come through in big games. Beating South Carolina earlier in the year suggested they had turned a corner, but they finished the season in less than inspiring fashion and were essentially noncompetitive in their regular-season finale against USC — which doubled as the Big Ten title game.

Pickman: All fair. Perhaps I’m holding on to their victory over South Carolina too much. Plus, after the loss to USC, coach Cori Close seemed to acknowledge the need for some kind of shakeup in critical games. Maybe I’m betting on them doing some soul-searching in the leadup to the NCAA Tournament. I could, yet again, look foolish in a month.

LSU was on my short title contender list as of two weeks ago, but losses to Alabama and Ole Miss (albeit the latter without Flau’jae Johnson) have dampened my expectations. Johnson is out through the SEC tournament, which gives me pause. And though LSU is No. 2 nationally in free throw attempts, its backcourt — apart from Johnson — is inexperienced and has been inconsistent throughout the year.

Merchant: I’d be surprised if the Tigers even made the Final Four because they rely so much on their top three players. Kim Mulkey’s track record in the NCAA Tournament is impressive, but I don’t think this is the year she adds another banner to her collection.

Pickman: Even without LSU, there might be more than 10 teams that could make the Final Four. History says that unlike national champions, Final Four participants can be elite at either offense or defense and struggle on the other end of the floor. (Think Iowa of the past two seasons and Oregon in 2018-19.) TCU falls into that bucket for me, as the Horned Frogs are No. 2 in offensive rating and No. 35 in defensive rating. They’re the oldest team in the country, top 10 in blocks and turnovers per game and No. 1 in 3-pointers made. It’s hard to imagine the Horned Frogs going from winning their first Big 12 title to winning a national title — TCU has never even made a Sweet 16, let alone Final Four — but this has been a historic year for the program.

Merchant: As long as we’re on the subject of long shots, another Big 12 team interests me by being elite on one end of the floor. That’s West Virginia. “Press” Virginia has the nation’s best defense thanks to the Mountaineers’ full-court pressure. With the short turnaround of the NCAA Tournament, this team could produce upsets. We saw West Virginia nearly take down Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes in Iowa City during the 2024 second round, and the defense has only gotten stouter in the interim. Depending on the draw — because big centers generally wreck them — the Mountaineers could make some noise.

🌟 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝟏𝟐 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 🌟#HailWV pic.twitter.com/vFwIuhFAYc

— WVU Women’s Basketball (@WVUWBB) March 4, 2025

Pickman: We agree that Mountaineers could pull off some upsets early in the bracket. However, of the teams that have made the last five Final Fours and had a significant offense-defense disparity, only Arizona in 2020-21 has made it as a defense-first team.

Merchant: Maybe the teams we should keep an eye on are Florida State and Vanderbilt. We’ve already seen Ta’Niya Latson obliterate the defense of one of our top-tier teams (Notre Dame) within the last week, and Mikayla Blakes put up 50-plus points twice on SEC opponents. The Seminoles are more experienced in the NCAA Tournament, so this could be the year they break through and win a game or more.

Pickman: For FSU, and almost everyone else, the draw is critical. Nobody is as dominant as South Carolina was a season ago. That’s what will make this year’s tournament so exciting.

(Photo: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)