NCAAW: What to watch during the Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament tips off on Friday with four games: No. 3-seed Oregon State vs. No. 2-seed Notre Dame (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), No. 4-seed Indiana vs. No. 1-seed South Carolina (5 p.m. ET, ESPN), No. 3-seed NC State vs. No. 2-seed Stanford (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and No. 4-seed Gonzaga vs. No. 1-seed Texas (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Here’s something to watch in each of Friday’s consequential contests:

Does Notre Dame have a “Big 3”?

Through much of Notre Dame’s season, the Fighting Irish have been the Hannah Hidalgo Show. And it’s been quite entertaining, as the freshman guard, with her high-motor, two-way do-it-all play, delivered several incredible performances for an often injury-plagued Notre Dame team.

However, might Notre Dame be better off if Hidalgo does less? In Notre Dame’s run to the ACC Tournament title and their two tourney games thus far, junior forward Maddy Westbeld and junior guard Sonia Citron have stepped up as co-stars to the ACC Freshman of the Year. In the ACC Tournament championship game, Westbeld carried the second-half scoring for the victorious Irish; she also led Notre Dame in scoring in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In Notre Dame’s first-round win, Citron dropped a game-best 29 points.

As Eric Nemchock…