NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2016: Monday's Schedule, Bracket Predictions

The NCAA women's basketball tournament will conclude its second round on Monday night, when eight more matchups feature on the packed slate. 

Looking to take one step closer to a finals rematch, No. 1 seeds Connecticut and Notre Dame headline Monday's schedule, both fresh off demonstrative first-round victories. Apologies for ruining the suspense, but they will almost certainly advance to the Sweet 16. 

Luckily for viewers, not every contest is as predictable. Some even bouts figure to produce close calls, and there's plenty of star power present outside of the division's two powerhouses.

Sifting through Monday's schedule, courtesy of NCAA.com, these games should provide intrigue for those uninterested in watching a UConn or Notre Dame blowout.

Region	Time (ET)	Matchup	Prediction
Dallas	6:30 p.m.	No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 Florida State	Florida State
Lexington	6:30 p.m.	No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Indiana	Notre Dame
Lexington	6:30 p.m.	No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 7 Washington	Maryland
Lexington	6:30 p.m.	No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Oklahoma	Kentucky
Bridgeport	9 p.m.	No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 9 Duquesne	UConn
Bridgeport	9 p.m.	No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 South Florida	UCLA
Bridgeport	9 p.m.	No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 Missouri	Texas
Lexington	9 p.m.	No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 12 South Dakota State	Stanford

Florida State vs. Texas A&M

Chuck Burton/Associated Press/Associated Press

On Sunday, No. 5 Mississippi State edged out No. 4 Michigan State in a 74-72 thriller. The tournament's other No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup looks poised to offer another close call, as Florida State and Texas A&M— ranked No. 17 and No. 18, respectively, in the last AP Top 25 poll—go head-to-head.

Without the indefinitely suspended Courtney Williams and Shlonte Allen, the Aggies advanced past Missouri State behind a tournament-record 27 rebounds from Anriel Howard. Per ESPN Stats & Info, the freshman forward individually grabbed more boards than some teams:

She may meet her match, however, in Florida State's Shakayla Thomas. The superb athlete has registered 16.9 points per game on 54.6 percent shooting while brandishing enough hops to dunk in practice. 

Texas A&M coach Gary Blair hyped the head-to-head showdown to the Associated Press' Kristie Rieken.

"The great matchup is going to be Shakayla Thomas and Howard," Blair said. "They're both 5'11". They can both jump out of the gym…it's going to be a tremendous matchup—who can stay out of foul trouble."

Thomas stayed relatively quiet in the opening round, but three other starters reached double digits in the Seminoles' 72-55 victory over Middle Tennessee. The Aggies, on the other hand, will depend on continued dominance from Howard and Courtney Walker, who tallied 29 points during the opening round.

Despite feeling the wrath of UConn and Notre Dame during the regular season, the Seminoles sport a plus-17.1 point differential and plus-12.5 rebounding margin to keep Howard in check. There's a strong case for them deserving a higher seed and home-court advantage, but they'll overcome a road environment to top the short-handed Aggies.

Prediction: Florida State 68, Texas A&M 64

Maryland vs. Washington

Gail Burton/Associated Press/Associated Press

Notre Dame's biggest threat to conquer the Lexington region, No. 2 Maryland will trot out its prolific offense against No. 7 Washington. 

As noted by the Associated Press' David Ginsburg, these two adversaries are polar opposites. While the Terrapins utilize their depth to score 83.7 points per contest, the Huskies rely exclusively on their starting unit.

Ten Terrapins, led by Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, play over 10 minutes a night. Head coach Brenda Frese plans on maximizing her squad's advantage.

"From our end, we want to continue to utilize our depth," Frese told Ginsburg. "We don't have to play through fatigue. We want to be uptempo. Our depth allows us to be able to play that way."

Fresher players aren't Maryland's only advantage. According to the team's official Twitter page, no other college program cleans up the glass as well:

The Huskies, meanwhile, lean heavily on Kelsey Plum, whose 26.2 points per game rank first among all NCAA tournament participants. The guard was one of three starters to play the full 40 minutes in a 65-53 first-round victory over No. 10 Penn.

Per the Diamondback's Kyle Stackpole, head coach Mike Neighbors is considering carving down his six-woman unit against the Big Ten Conference champions:

For all their differences, both sides possess stifling defenses that have limited the opposition to a 36.5 field-goal percentage. Most underdogs don't wield a star like Plum to keep things interesting, and Washington's starters are too well-rounded to allow a rout.

Yet depth, defense, size and offensive firepower make Maryland too formidable to overpower.

Prediction: Maryland 79, Washington 70