Over the weekend, Austin became a hub of Women's March Madness excitement, as fans gathered at the Moody Center to support their teams, including the top-ranked University of Texas women's basketball squad. Fans like Eli Lara expressed confidence in their team, predicting scores and voicing their faith in the Longhorns' ability to "win the whole thing," according to CBS Austin. Local sports bars also experienced an uptick in fan activity; Debrah Hallum, co-owner of 1972 Women's Sports Pub, shared her establishment's bustling atmosphere.

However, while Austin might have been rocking, the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament played out with little shock and awe. A significant number of the games were decided by wide margins, dampening the thrill that upsets provide. As CBS Sports noted, there were more matchups decided by 30-plus points than single digits, with only a handful of true upsets to speak of. The Big Ten conference, though, stood out as a winner, managing to send both UCLA and USC as No. 1 seeds, and achieving a 10-2 record overall in the first two rounds.

However, for individual players like UConn’s Sarah Strong, the tournament was a platform to showcase talent. Strong's performance in her debut NCAA Tournament game was nothing short of phenomenal, earning her potential nods for national freshman accolades. On the flip side, teams such as Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State fell short of expectations, suffering defeats against lower-seeded opponents—an outcome that was highlighted by the fact that few genuine surprises graced the Round of 64.

Amidst the predominantly uneventful round, Richmond did manage to shine, securing their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. Their triumph was not just a win but also a testament to the work of coach Aaron Roussell, who has been steering the team towards becoming a force in the Atlantic 10. Richmond's efficiency metrics are not to be overlooked either; as noted by CBS Sports, they led the country in true shooting percentage and were among the top teams in 3-point rate and percentage, which could possibly help them to cause more upsets in the later rounds.