UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts during the first half Monday against South Dakota State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Storrs, Conn. Associated Press

The women's NCAA Tournament has reached the Sweet 16.

Of the 16 teams remaining, 15 are members of Power Four conferences and other is perennial juggernaut UConn, raising questions about whether the tournament needs expansion. The big news from the second round was the season-ending injury to Southern California's JuJu Watkins, costing the tournament one of its brightest stars and dropping the Trojans out of the betting favorites to win it all.

There are plenty of stars left, from Paige Bueckers of UConn to Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and Madison Booker of Texas.

3 seed North Carolina (29-7) vs. 2 seed Duke (28-7), Friday. There is nothing like a conference rivalry game, and these two ACC teams know each other well, splitting their two regular-season meetings. The two have never met in the women's NCAA Tournament. All three schools in North Carolina’s Triangle region — UNC, Duke and N.C. State — reached the Sweet 16 together for the first time since 2007.

3 seed LSU (30-5) vs. 2 seed N.C. State (28-6), Friday. A clash of wills with power forwards and athleticism all over the court. The Tigers got at least 20 points from three players, led by Mikaylah Williams, in their second-round win over Florida State. N.C. State made an NCAA Tournament program-record 15 shots from 3-point range in its last game.

3 seed Notre Dame (28-5) vs. 2 seed TCU (33-3), Saturday. Notre Dame's spectacular guards against TCU's formidable duo of Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince, who have the Horned Frogs in their first Sweet 16.

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.

The top four betting favorites as Sweet 16 week arrives are (in order): UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

First- and second-round games concluded Monday on campuses across the country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) put games at two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 4, with the championship game Sunday, April 6. A year ago, the championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.