WOMENS BASKETBALL

Sweet 16 primer: 16 things to know about Texas, Stanford, Gonzaga and North Carolina State

Austin American-Statesman

After Texas cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Moody Center, Longhorns forward Aaliyah Moore is ready for a change of scenery.

"I'm ready to kind of get out of our gym. I'm ready to travel," Moore said Tuesday. "March is the best time of the year."

Moore will get her wish this weekend as Texas is in Portland, Ore., for the Sweet 16 and, it hopes, Elite Eight rounds of the NCAA Women's Tournament. Two wins this weekend would secure a spot in next week's Final Four in Cleveland.

Texas point guard Madison Booker leads the top-seeded Longhorns into a Sweet 16 weekend in Portland, Ore., that includes three 30-win teams. Texas will open with Gonzaga in Friday night's Sweet 16, preceded by the Stanford-North Carolina State game.

The top seed in the Portland 4 region, Texas (32-4) will play No. 4 Gonzaga (32-3) on Friday. The winner of that game will advance to the Elite Eight round against either No. 2 Stanford (30-5) or No. 3 North Carolina State (29-6), which will play the first game Friday.

Here are 16 things to know about the Sweet 16 games in the Portland 4 region:

1. Lots of wins this season

The four teams in the Portland 4 region have combined for 123 wins. That's the most of the four regions. Texas last won 32 games during the 1987-88 season. Gonzaga's 32 wins are a school record.

2. How did these four teams get to Portland?

Texas never trailed in its first- and second-round wins over Drexel and Alabama. Stanford blasted Norfolk State and then outlasted Iowa State in overtime. North Carolina State didn't make any friends in the Volunteer State when it recorded 64-45 and 79-72 wins over Chattanooga and Tennessee. Gonzaga beat UC Irvine and Utah by a combined 30 points.

3. An All-American feel this weekend

The Portland region features two honorees on the Associated Press All-American teams. Stanford forward Cameron Brink received the second-most votes among all the All-Americans. Texas freshman point guard Madison Booker was a second-team selection. Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim and North Carolina State guard Saniya Rivers were recognized as honorable mentions.

4. Hello, nice to meet you

Texas and Gonzaga have never played each other. Stanford owns a 2-1 record in its all-time series with North Carolina State, but the two teams last met in 1994.

5. This Sweet 16 went through ’Zona

This season, three of the four teams in this region played Arizona: Texas won 88-75; Stanford split with the Wildcats, winning 96-64 but also losing 68-61; and Gonzaga won 81-69. Liberty also played three of the four teams in this region: Texas (75-57), North Carolina State (80-67) and Gonzaga (102-59) all won.

Gonzaga's Brynna Maxwell reacts after making a 3-point shot against Utah in Monday night's second-round victory in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga leads the country in 3-point shooting percentage.

6. Racking up the travel miles

Gonzaga and Stanford have roughly 350 and 675 miles separating their home gyms from Portland's Moda Center. There's a 2,000-mile gap between UT's Moody Center and Moda. North Carolina State will be nearly 2,900 miles away from home this weekend.

7. What do the Texas Longhorns do best?

Among 349 Division I teams, Texas ranks fifth-best in field-goal percentage (49.3%) and eighth-best in turnover margin (6.39).

8. What do the Stanford Cardinal do best?

Stanford ranks fourth nationally in rebounding margin (12.3) and ninth in field-goal percentage defense (35.5%).

9. What do the North Carolina State Wolfpack do best?

North Carolina State ranks ninth nationally in rebounds per game (43.43) and 11th in fewest turnovers (12.2 per game).

10. What do the Gonzaga Zags do best?

Shoot 3s. Gonzaga is No. 1 nationally in 3-point percentage (40.1%), is fifth in free-throw percentage (79.7%) and is eighth in field-goal percentage (48.6%).

Stanford's Cameron Brink blocks the shot of Iowa State's Isnelle Natabou during their NCAA second-round game Sunday. Brink is the only player among all four of this weekend's Portland, Ore., teams who hails from Oregon.

11. Stanford's national championship pedigree

Stanford's Brink, who leads the country with her 120 blocks, and starting guard Hannah Jump are the only players remaining from the Cardinal's 2021 national championship team. Rivers won a national title with South Carolina in 2022 as a reserve guard.

12. They have a history

Texas' Booker and Stanford sophomore guard Talana Lepolo were teammates last summer on Team USA's U19 squad at the FIBA World Cup. Team USA secured the gold medal with a 69-66 win over Spain that featured a start by Lepolo and Booker's seven-point, 10-rebound effort.

13. They have a history, Part II

North Carolina State guard Madison Hayes and Texas forward DeYona Gaston were the foundation of Vic Schaefer's last recruiting class at Mississippi State. Hayes, who is averaging 10.7 points over 35 starts this season, never played for Schaefer and transferred after one year in Starkville. Gaston, who won the Big 12's sixth player award this season, followed Schaefer to Austin and never made it to Mississippi State.

14. Racking up the wins like no one else before her

Stanford's Tara VanDerveer became college basketball's all-time winningest coach this season. Twelve of her 1,216 career wins came against Gonzaga, eight came against Texas, and two were against North Carolina State.

North Carolina State guard Saniya Rivers shoots over Tennessee's Sara Puckett during the Wolfpack's second-round NCAA Tournament win Monday.

15. Is it all about the seeds?

In the history of the NCAA Tournament, Texas is 15-4 in games played as a No. 1 seed, Stanford is 40-12 as a No. 2 seed, North Carolina State is 6-3 as a No. 3 and Gonzaga is 2-0 as a No. 4.

16. Feeing right at home

A Beaverton product, Stanford's Brink is the only Oregonian on any of these four teams' rosters. But Texas forward Taylor Jones did play three seasons at Oregon State, which is technically hosting this regional.