The UCLA women’s basketball team has had a season of milestones, and on Sunday the Bruins added another: For the first time, they’re the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA tournament. The Bruins have reached the 30-win mark for the first time in program history and are hoping to make their first Final Four in the NCAA era, which began for women’s sports in 1981-82.

The Bruins are among the big winners as we look at the women’s March Madness bracket. But what do the committee’s decisions mean for standout players such as USC sophomore JuJu Watkins and UConn senior Paige Bueckers, who met in an epic Elite Eight game last year? And how do things look for defending national champion South Carolina?

The No. 1 seeds were as expected: UCLA is atop the Spokane 1 Regional, South Carolina is No. 1 in the Birmingham 2 Regional, Texas is No. 1 in Birmingham 3 and USC is No. 1 in Spokane 4. The top seeds are split between the Big Ten and the SEC, and both conferences were winners Sunday. The Big Ten has 12 teams in the field — four in the top 16 — and the SEC has 10, with five in the top 16.

Bruins center Lauren Betts, who began her career at Stanford, has excelled in her two seasons at UCLA and could be a key factor in whether the Bruins live up to their top seed and make it to the season’s final weekend. UCLA won the AIAW national championship in 1978, but it has never progressed beyond the NCAA Elite Eight.

Meanwhile, USC is trying to make the program’s first Final Four since 1986 (if it met UCLA there, it would be the fourth “Battle of Los Angeles” this season: The Trojans won both regular-season matchups before UCLA won the Big Ten championship game). UConn, the No. 2 seed in the Trojans’ region, is seeking its 12th NCAA title and has made the Final Four every year but one since 2008.

The makeup of the Spokane 4 region means there could be a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game in Portland, where the Huskies beat the Trojans 80-73 to advance to their 23rd Final Four. Bueckers had 28 points and 10 rebounds in that game, and Watkins 29 and 10.

Three-time national champion South Carolina looks to have a winning path to the program’s fifth Final Four in a row. Two teams in the Gamecocks’ regional are also past national champions — No. 4 seed Maryland (2006) and No. 3 North Carolina (1994) — but that success for both was quite a while ago.

As for Texas, which is trying to make its first Final Four since 2004, the Longhorns were a No. 1 seed last year, too, but were defeated in the Elite Eight by NC State. Co-champions in the SEC with South Carolina, the Longhorns could meet the Gamecocks for a fourth time this season if both make the Final Four.

Here’s a deeper look at the winners and losers in the bracket, and their paths ahead.

WINNERS

UCLA

The Bruins have a lot of size, great experience at guard and depth. If seeds hold, they will face No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 NC State in the Elite Eight in Birmingham. The Wolfpack made the Final Four last season, and Baylor (under former coach Kim Mulkey) has won three NCAA titles. But overall, the matchups look like they should be favorable for the Bruins, who fell to LSU in the Sweet 16 last year, to make it to Tampa.

South Carolina

When you’ve lost a total of four games in the past three seasons, it’s hard to feel underestimated. But with the Gamecocks not getting the overall top seed, coach Dawn Staley has another motivational chip to use. Not that the Gamecocks really need that: Their losses to UConn and Texas in February feel far away, while their strong run to a ninth SEC tournament title feels like the true version of the Gamecocks. South Carolina is a No. 1 seed for the ninth time in Staley’s career.

North Carolina triangle teams

All will be hosting the early rounds: Spokane 1 No. 2 seed NC State, and Birmingham 2 No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 seed North Carolina. Those are the highest seeds for Duke since 2017 and for UNC since 2013. If seeds hold, one of the great rivalries in sports — Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels — will take place in the Sweet 16. It would be the first time those programs have ever met in the NCAA tournament; they’ve never been in the same region before.

Lone Star State hoops

With Texas No. 1 and TCU No. 2 in the Birmingham 3 Regional, this is the first time since 2013 that the top two teams in a region are from the same state. That year, Stanford was No. 1 and Cal No. 2 in a regional in Spokane.

Texas is a No. 1 seed this year for the seventh time. No. 2 is the best-ever seed for TCU, whose previous high was No. 6 in 2004.

Ivy League

How great were the celebrations by Spokane 1 No. 10 seed Harvard and First Four No. 11 seeds Columbia and Princeton? It’s always fun to see teams truly excited on Selection Sunday, which this year was historic for the Ivy League. For the first time, the conference will have three teams participating in the NCAA tournament. The Crimson beat Princeton in the Ivy semifinals and Columbia in the championship game, led by star Harmoni Turner, who had a combined 68 points in those games.

Ultimate Cinderellas

Speaking of happy teams, congrats to the six schools who are in the women’s NCAA tournament for the first time: Arkansas State, FDU, George Mason, Grand Canyon, UC San Diego and William & Mary. Spokane 1 No. 13 seed Grand Canyon enters the tournament having won 30 in a row, the longest active Division I winning streak.

LOSERS

USC

There are no easy Elite Eight matchups, but odds are that the Trojans didn’t want to have to potentially face UConn again for the chance to go to the Final Four. That might sound strange, considering USC beat UConn 72-70 in Hartford, Connecticut, on Dec. 21. But that loss could provide the Huskies a lot of motivation.

There’s also the fact that Big Ten regular-season champion USC beat UCLA, the overall No. 1 seed twice, yet ended up with the fourth No. 1 seed after losing in the league tournament final to the Bruins. The Trojans probably see that as a sign of disrespect. On the bright side for USC, the Trojans will have last year’s Elite Eight loss to the Huskies to avenge.

Notre Dame

In recent weeks, the Irish went from a projected No. 1 seed to an expected No. 2 seed to a No. 3 seed Sunday. Realistically, there isn’t that much difference between a 2 and 3, since if seeds hold, they have to play each other in the regional semifinals. However, the potential regional matchups in the Birmingham 3 bracket could be tricky for the Irish.

They could face two teams that are very strong in the post: No. 2 seed TCU with 6-foot-7 center Sedona Prince, and No. 1 seed Texas, with 6-6 Kyla Oldacre and 6-4 Taylor Jones. Notre Dame’s strength all season has been more with its guards: Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron.

Ole Miss

To be fair, the Rebels are winners in this respect: Their No. 5 seed in Spokane 1 is their best seed in more than three decades, when they were also No. 5 in 1994. But you could see the expression on coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin’s face during the selection show: She is disappointed Ole Miss is not among the top 16 seeds and won’t host the early rounds.

It would have been great for Ole Miss to play at home and/or be in one of the Birmingham regionals, as that city is about a 2.5-hour drive from Oxford, Mississippi. Alas, the bracket didn’t work out that way.

Big 12

There weren’t any good surprises for the conference on Selection Sunday: It got the seven teams it expected into the field, but no more. That put the Big 12 behind the other Power 4 leagues, as the Big Ten has 12 teams, the SEC has 10 and the ACC eight.

The teams that were hoping they might sneak in were Arizona and Colorado, who came to the Big 12 this season after the dissolution of the Pac-12. The Wildcats were looking for their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and the Buffaloes for their fourth.