South Florida Women’s Basketball vs. Rice

For the first time, coaches have made Rice the American's preseason favorite, on the strength of a 29–6 season: 17–1 in league play, the program's fifth regular-season title and its first since 2020–21, then a loss to UTSA in the tournament final and a WBIT win over Louisiana Tech before a defeat at Kansas. Victoria Flores, the reigning conference player of the year, was the unanimous preseason choice. South Florida went 20–12 under interim coach Michele Woods-Baxter and was picked third.