Sunday’s 5 can’t-miss games for women’s basketball tournament hopefuls

The spirit of March well and truly in the air, when women’s college basketball fanatics become consumed with not just their own team’s performance, but their potential NCAA Tournament peers as well. 

With the release of NCAA.com correspondent Autumn Johnson’s latest NCAA Tournament projections, here’s a look at five must-watch games on Sunday for March Madness hopefuls. 

Michigan State at Michigan | 12 p.m. ET on BTN

Johnson’s projections: Michigan State (10 seed), Michigan (No. 11 seed, Last Four In)

Just 14 hours after the men’s edition of Michigan and Michigan State’s famously hostile rivalry saw the Spartans emerge victorious, the Lady Wolverines will step onto the same floor in desperate need of an opposite outcome. The Wolverines watched as Caitlin Clark broke the all-time women’s DI scoring record last time out, and aside from an impressive 80-75 road win at Happy Valley, Michigan has struggled recently in a 2-4 slide. Protecting home court has been particularly troublesome for UM, with recent Ann Arbor setbacks to unranked foes Nebraska and Illinois. 

The Spartans, similarly, have lost two games on the bounce, albeit to a pair of the Big Ten’s best teams — the Spartans nearly escaped Assembly Hall with a win at No. 14 Indiana before suffering a non-competitive loss at No. 5 Ohio State. Michigan State would also love to improve its 2-6 mark in Quadrant 1 opportunities, with no such opportunities currently remaining on the Spartan schedule. A win tomorrow would go a long way toward securing either teams’ slot in the NCAA Tournament. 

Penn State at Maryland | 1 p.m. ET

Johnson’s projections: Penn State (No. 8 seed), Maryland (First Team Out)

Maryland’s remarkable active streak of 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament’s appears to be in serious jeopardy, at least in the eyes of Johnson, as the Terrapins currently lie outside of her 68-team field just four weeks from Selection Sunday. The Terps have looked stellar in recent weeks, nearly knocking off Clark and the Hawkeyes in College Park before dominating Rutgers and Illinois on the road, but with ten road losses already and upcoming road bouts at No. 2 Ohio State and No. 14 Indiana, taking care of Penn State could help Maryland avoid a lofty loss total. 

Conversely, Penn State looks to snap a four-game losing skid in the DMV and avoid floating toward the fringes of the NCAA Tournament picture. The Nittany Lions’ recent run tarnished a once blemish-free NCAA Tournament resume with three-straight Quadrant 2 losses, including a five-point setback against No. 127 Wisconsin, and Penn State is running out of opportunities to improve upon its 1-6 mark in Quadrant 1 games. 

No. 12 Virginia Tech at No. 18 Louisville | 2 p.m. ET on ESPN

Johnson’s projections: Virginia Tech (No. 3 seed), Louisville (No. 4 seed)

With two of the more…