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Women’s March Madness Elite Eight breakdown: Best players to watch

  • All four No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas — advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament.
  • South Carolina will face Duke, UCLA will take on LSU, Texas will play TCU, and UConn will face USC in the Elite Eight.
  • Star players like UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow have put up big numbers in the tournament so far.

Despite the growing parity in women’s college basketball, all No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas — advanced to the Elite Eight, which tips off on Sunday and concludes Monday. The lowest seed to advance to the regional finals is No. 3 LSU, a seeding head coach Kim Mulkey says has been ‘good to us.’ (LSU won its first national championship in program history in 2023 as a No. 3 seed.)

No. 1 seeds have historically had the most success in the tournament, winning 32 national championships in the tournament’s 42-year history. No. 2 seeds have won the tournament seven total times, while the lowest seed to ever win a title has been a No. 3 seed three times.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, including a breakdown of each region and the best players to watch in the Elite Eight.

WOMEN’S 2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT: Big upsets are rare in women’s March Madness

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke women’s basketball

Time, TV: 1 p.m. Sunday (ABC)

Both South Carolina and Duke did just enough to advance to the Elite Eight. The defending champion Gamecocks trailed No. 9 Indiana and No. 4 Maryland at halftime in the second-round and Sweet 16 respectively, marking the first time South Carolina has faced a halftime deficit in two straight games since 2017. The Gamecocks rebounded and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a go-ahead layup with 2:22 remaining to secure a 71-67 win over Maryland to advance to its fifth straight Elite Eight. Meanwhile, Duke also struggled in the Sweet 16 and only scored 47 points in its win over rival North Carolina, marking its second-lowest point total of the season (31% FG, 5-of-24 3PT). Only two Duke players reached double digits and the Blue Devil’s bench outscored the starters, 26-21. The Elite Eight matchup will mark a rematch of a regular-season game in December, when South Carolina defeated Duke 81-70 after leading by as many as 25 points. Chloe Kitts tied her career high at the time with 21 points in the regular-season matchup. If South Carolina wants to beat Duke and keep its title defense alive, the Gamecocks will need contributions from more than just Kitts and Fulwiley. South Carolina is in pursuit of its fifth consecutive Final Four, while Duke looks to move on to the Final Four for the first time since 2006.

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU women’s basketball

Time, TV: 1 p.m. Sunday (ABC)

Two of the most dominant post players in the nation will face off in the Elite Eight in UCLA’s Lauren Betts and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow. Both are on a tear. Betts recorded a historic 31-point, 10-rebound performance in UCLA’s 76-62 win over No. 5 Ole Miss, shooting 93.8% from the field, which ties the record for the highest field-goal percentage in an NCAA Tournament game with a minimum 15 attempts. She’ll meet her match in Morrow, who had 30 points and 19 rebounds in LSU’s 80-73 win over No. 2 NC State. Flau’Jae Johnson was held to a season-low three points in the win and suffered a scratch to the eye that caused double vision, but Mulkey said Johnson will be ‘good to go.’ Sunday’s matchup will mark a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16, where LSU defeated UCLA 78-69. The Bruins are in search of their first Final Four appearance, while LSU looks to return to the Final Four for the first time since their title run in 2023.

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 TCU women’s basketball

Time, TV: 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN)

TCU continues to rewrite record books following a dominant performance from veteran guard Hailey Van Lith, who scored a game-high 26 points (10-21 FG, 2-5 3PT), nine rebounds and four assists in TCU’s 71-62 win over Notre Dame, the most points she’s dropped in all five of her career Sweet 16 appearances. The Horned Frogs advance to their first Elite Eight appearance (and Van Lith’s fifth) riding a 13-game win streak. Van Lith, the Big 12 Player of the Year, will meet No. 1 Texas and Madison Booker, the SEC Player of the Year, in the Elite Eight. The Longhorns outlasted No. 5 Tennessee 67-59 to advance to the regional final for the fourth time in five years. Texas’ offense has grabbed all the headlines, but the Longhorns defense has stepped up in the NCAA tournament. Texas forced the nation’s top scoring offense into 18 turnovers, nine of which came in fourth quarter.

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 USC women’s basketball

Time, TV: 9 p.m. Monday, ESPN

When the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament bracket was first unveiled on Selection Sunday, many circled the potential Elite Eight matchup between the No. 1 USC Trojans and the No. 2 UConn Huskies, setting up a highly anticipated rematch between JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers. We got the matchup, but it will look a different as one superstar will be missing. Watkins suffered a season-ending injury early in the Trojans’ 96-59 win over No. 9 Mississippi State. USC proved they are fully capable of winning without Watkins in a 67-61 win over No. 5 Kansas State. Freshman guard Kennedy Smith led the way with 19 points. The Trojans will be tasked with slowing down a red-hot Bueckers, who’s in midst of a legendary streak in the final women’s NCAA Tournament of her career. She scored a career-high 40 points in UConn’s win blowout win over No. 3 Oklahoma, days after tying her previous high of 34 points in UConn’s second-round win over South Dakota State. The veteran is now No. 4 on the UConn’s all-time scoring list (2,375 career points), surpassing Katie Lou Samuelson (2,342) and Tina Charles (2,346). She’s 27 points away from passing Napheesa Collier (2,401). 

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Mulkey blasts women’s NCAA super regional format: ‘We sold our soul’

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey joined UConn’s Geno Auriemma in voicing her displeasure over the super regional format.

No. 3 seed LSU traveled over 2,000 miles away from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for its Sweet 16 matchup against No. 2 seed NC State in Spokane, Washington. The Lady Tigers defeated the Wolfpack 80-73 following a dominant 30-point, 19-rebound performance from Aneesah Morrow. LSU advanced to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year to face No. 1 overall seed UCLA. The regional winner will then make a cross-country trip to Tampa Bay, Florida, for the Final Four, which tips off Friday.

‘I agree with Geno on everything he said about these super regionals only being in two places. We sold our soul too early,’ Mulkey said on Friday. ‘This game has gotten better. And, man, if you still had four regionals, can you imagine the attendance? I know our fan base. They can’t afford to come to Spokane. But they could if it was a little bit closer.’

The NCAA dropped from hosting games at four locations to two regional sites for the women’s tournament in 2023. The women’s March Madness event will have two regional sites through 2028: Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California, next year; Philadelphia and Las Vegas in 2027; and Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. in 2028.

Mulkey said the NCAA must step up and ‘fix this.’ She added, ‘We don’t have to wait until the contract’s up. Let the people keep their super regionals. Just go add two now. I’ve never ever been one to believe that you can’t work things out if it’s better for the game.’

Mulkey’s main objection about the super regional format involves fans.

‘I wish our fans were here,’ Mulkey continued. ‘I know those of us who came from far have great fan bases. … It matters a lot. Maybe it doesn’t win a game for you, but the reason it matters is you build programs a lot of times, and you can sell to recruit your fan base, your attendance.’

What did Geno Auriemma say about super regionals?

Meanwhile, Auriemma’s main issue with two super regionals is the jam-packed scheduling. For example, UConn and Oklahoma had to be at the Spokane Arena early on Friday, with the Sooners’ press conferences starting just after 8 a.m. while the Huskies practiced at that time. 

‘In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here. Which means there would be no games (Friday), the games would be (Saturday). Which means we wouldn’t have to get up at 6 a.m. to have an 8 o’clock practice here this morning for an hour,’ Auriemma said. ‘Which means we wouldn’t have to get up at 5 a.m. to have a 7:30 shoot around for half an hour. Takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court, okay? God bless whoever wins Monday night, okay, and they have got to fly cross country, which is all day Tuesday, then they have two days, Wednesday and Thursday, to play the biggest game of their life.’

UCONN coach Geno Auriemma rips super regional format. ‘They ruined the game’

Women’s NCAA Tournament scores, upcoming schedule

All times Eastern; Numbers listed are seeds.

Sweet 16 — Friday, March 28

  • No. 2 Duke 47, No. 3 North Carolina 38 
  • No. 1 South Carolina 71, No. 4 Maryland 67
  • No. 3 LSU 80, No. 2 State 73
  • No. 1 UCLA 76, No. 5 Ole Miss 62

Saturday — Saturday, March 29

  • No. 2 TCU 71, No. 3 Notre Dame 62
  • No. 1 Texas 67, No. 5 Tennessee 59
  • No. 2 UConn 82, No. 3 Oklahoma 59
  • No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State | 8 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Elite Eight — Sunday, March 30

  • No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke, 1 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
  • No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU, 3 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)

Elite Eight — Monday, March 31

  • No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 TCU, 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
  • Winner of No. 1 USC/No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 2 UConn, 9 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Final Four — Friday, April 4

At Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida

  • Semifinal 1: 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
  • Semifinal 2: 9:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

National championshp — Sunday, April 6

At Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida

  • Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
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Paige Bueckers taking UConn on one last, incredible ride

SPOKANE, Wash. — Paige Bueckers knows how to throw a going-away party.

A day after confirming she’ll enter next month’s WNBA draft, where she is all but guaranteed to be the No. 1 pick, Bueckers dropped a career-high 40 points on Oklahoma on Saturday and sent UConn into the Elite Eight for the fourth time in her career.

“Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season going as long as possible,” Bueckers said after the 82-59 win. “We all love playing together, we love playing here. We just love this program and everything it means, so we want it to keep going as long as possible.”

The 40 points is a UConn record in the NCAA tournament, mind-boggling when you consider the players who have come before Bueckers. Diana Taurasi. Sue Bird. Maya Moore. Breanna Stewart. Napheesa Collier. And on and on.

Still, even that milestone can’t convey how sublime ‘Paige Buckets’ was. With UConn trailing Oklahoma at the half, Bueckers simply took over. She single-handedly outscored the Sooners in the second half, 29 to 23. She had 19 in the fourth quarter, on 8-of-9 shooting, despite playing only seven minutes.

She shot almost 60% for the game, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Bueckers also had six rebounds, three steals and an assist.

“Paige was spectacular,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “That was as good a game as I’ve seen her play the whole time she’s been here. At the most important time.”

Again, given the Who’s Who of UConn’s former players, that’s about as high praise as it gets.

But that’s Bueckers.

She arrived at UConn as one of the most heralded prospects in the school’s history and has done nothing but meet the expectations and then some. On and off the court.

She was the first freshman ever to win player of the year honors. She has taken UConn to the Final Four in each of her previous three seasons. (She missed the 2022-23 season with a torn ACL.) Before Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins took the country by storm, it was Bueckers who showed there could be a market and a mania for female athletes.

She has used her platform to lift up not only other women, but people of color. She is humble, aware of her spotlight but not enthralled by it. She is more comfortable sharing the credit with her teammates, even when she could claim all of it for herself.

She is, in every sense of the word, a real one. And she’s not going to waste a second of whatever she’s doing.

“We see this every day at practice, right? Every day at practice there’s long stretches of exactly what you saw today and little by little it’s dawned on her, I think, that there is no next year. There is no, ‘I can get this anytime I want,” Auriemma said.

“You’re going to have to get it now or it won’t be available anymore.”

That this is Bueckers’ last season was always assumed. She has another year of eligibility because of the knee injury but, at 23, she’s been at UConn for five years now. WNBA teams are salivating over her the same way they did Clark last year. UConn honored her at its final home game.

But Bueckers didn’t make it official that she’s headed for the W until Friday, which automatically made the expectations on her and UConn, already outsized, even larger.

‘Paige is held to a different standard than a lot of other kids,’ Auriemma said. ‘Paige can do things during the course of a game that most people can’t do. But she’s certainly not going to win tonight’s game or Monday’s game by herself. And if we lose, it’s not because she lost it.

‘So we’ve been talking about that a lot these last couple of weeks to just kind of put her at ease, because the outside pressure just keeps growing and growing and growing.”

That pressure, though, pales in comparison to the prospect of not ever playing for UConn again. Bueckers knows the day is coming. She knows she has, at most, three games left with Auriemma and her teammates. She knows her college career is now measured in minutes rather than months or years.

And while she is ready for whatever comes next, as a player and a person, she’s not ready to go just yet. As a result, this last ride might wind up being Bueckers’ best yet.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

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Bruce Pearl claims Auburn is underdog to Michigan State, but nobody is buying it

ATLANTA – Bruce Pearl had an interesting framing for overall No. 1 seed Auburn’s matchup with Michigan State on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

And by interesting, we mean utterly nonsensical.

“We’re a team made up of only one five-star (recruit),” Pearl said Saturday. “One of the things I reminded my guys of, there are several guys on the Michigan State roster that are McDonald’s All-Americans. I have one, and that’s Tahaad Pettiford. He’s pretty good.

“Most of our guys are guys that were mid-major (transfers) or junior college or Division II. I’m not going to let Michigan State play the underdog card even though we’re the No. 1 seed and they’re the No. 2 seed. No, they’re Michigan State. They’re Kansas, they’re Duke, they’re North Carolina, and we’re Auburn. We know our place.”

These blatant mind games are disingenuous on multiple levels, but that’s no surprise. We are talking about Pearl, after all, who has been the sport’s preeminent carnival barker (in addition, of course, to being a great coach) since he hit the big time 20 years ago.

Still, it’s worth pointing out that Auburn is rated higher than Michigan State in the predictive metrics like KenPom.com (No. 4 versus No. 7) and the Torvik ratings (No. 3 versus No. 12). The oddsmakers have made Auburn a 4½-point favorite. And as far as the McDonald’s All-American hit, he’s wrong about that one, too.

The Spartans have two former Burger Boys on the roster, and one of them – Xavier Booker – averages 12.8 minutes and didn’t even play in their Sweet 16 victory over Ole Miss.

And while it’s true that Auburn’s roster is heavily influenced by transfers from places like Morehead State (Johni Broome), Florida International (Denver Jones) and Alabama-Huntsville (Chaney Johnson), Pearl can’t exactly play the poverty card when it comes to recruiting. Since 2020, he’s had five former McDonald’s All-Americans in his program while Izzo has had just three.

So the idea that Auburn, a team that stands at 31-5 and mowed down arguably the toughest regular season schedule in the history of the sport, has now flipped to underdog status is ridiculous on its face. And in response, Izzo brought out an old story from his time as a 28-year old assistant when former Spartans great Kevin Willis was trying to get out of class.

“I remember (then-MSU coach Jud Heathcote) saying, ‘Kevin, I’ve been conned by the very best in the world. So don’t try it.’”

One of the great things about Izzo is that, even if he can come off at times as a whiny old guy lamenting how much better things used to be in college basketball, he’ll always give it to you straight.

And he’s secure enough in who he is as a coach that he doesn’t need to lower himself to engage in head games or misdirection. Because it’s all baloney.

“Listen, Bruce and I are friends,” Izzo said. “We’ve been friends since he was (a young assistant) at Iowa. He’s done an incredible job there. I’ve been through so many of these, I’ve been the 2 seed got beat by a 15. I’ve been a No. 1 seed that hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend. So I don’t buy any of that stuff. But if it makes him feel better, I’ll be the favorite. Whatever they want me to be, I’ll be, but the game will be won by the players. Not the bettors, not the media, not even the coaches. The game will be won by the players who play the game.”

In other words, when it comes down to one 40-minute basketball game with a chance to reach the Final Four, none of that stuff matters. The expectations, the pedigree of the program, how many stars the recruiting analysts gave players two or three years ago – it’s all irrelevant.

The simple test is this: Would you rather have Auburn’s roster or Michigan State’s roster to play this game? And would you rather play it in Atlanta or Detroit?

On both counts, advantage Tigers – everywhere except in the vicinity of Pearl’s lying lips.

“Auburn. Auburn,” Pearl insisted when he was asked directly who the underdog is in this game. “This is the third time in our history we’ve gone to the Elite Eight. This is uncharted water for us. We’re talking about Michigan State. We’re talking about Tom Izzo.”

And that’s where, to be slightly fair to Pearl, you can do enough mental gymnastics to at least find an advantage for Michigan State. Izzo is 8-2 in Elite Eight games. He specializes in these exact scenarios, particularly in the short 40-hour turnaround coaching staffs have to navigate to get a team prepared for a completely different opponent than the one they played in the Sweet 16.

Pearl is just 1-1 in Elite Eight games, and that loss came in 2010 when his Tennessee team lost to Michigan State 70-69.

So, yes, Izzo’s experience in these scenarios matters. And if Michigan State pulls the upset – yes, upset – we will get a whole week of “Izzo did it again” storylines after it looked like his program had declined a bit the previous four years.

But it’s strange that Pearl believes he needs to pump up his team by sending a message that Michigan State is the big bully on the block this time. All season long, Auburn was right around the No. 1 ranking and seemed to take great pride in being college basketball’s best team.

Now, suddenly, they’re the Little Sisters of the Poor playing against a so-called blueblood that hasn’t won a national title in 25 years and mostly recruits from the bottom end of the top-50?

It doesn’t make sense. But it also isn’t going make much difference, other than giving Izzo a reason to laugh.

“You get to this point, there are no underdogs,” Izzo said. “If he wants to make us a favorite, I’m cool with that. And he wants to make us an underdog, I’ve been in that role before, too. I think that’s the advantage of being where I’ve been. I don’t know if seed matters. I don’t know if the underdog matters. I think the players matter. The players play the game.”

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Crypto Market Recap: SEC Nominee Atkins Grilled on Crypto, UAE to Launch CBDC

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (March 28) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at US$83,780.06, a 3.7 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. The day’s trading range has seen a low of US$83,609.35 and a high of US$85,503.88.

Bitcoin performance, March 28, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

Deribit’s US$16 billion Bitcoin options expiry on Friday had US$75,000 max pain, down from the projected US$85,000, and a 0.58 put/call ratio. There was a high amount of call option open interest at the US$100,000 strike price.

Bitcoin’s subsequent decline indicates post-expiry market adjustments.

Ethereum (ETH) is priced at US$1,875.25, a 6.4 percent decrease over 24 hours. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday low of US$1,866.54 and a high of US$1,900.19.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) is currently valued at US$129.44, down 6.9 percent over the past 24 hours. SOL experienced a low of US$129.17 and a high of US$131.56 on Friday.
  • XRP is trading at US$2.18, reflecting a 6.9 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency recorded an intraday low of US$2.16 and a high of US$2.22.
  • Sui (SUI) is priced at US$2.49, showing a 9.7 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. It achieved a daily low of US$2.49 and a high of US$2.56.
  • Cardano (ADA) is trading at US$0.6961, reflecting a 5.2 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. Its lowest price on Friday was US$0.66925, with a high of US$0.7031.

Crypto news to know

SEC onboards Musk’s DOGE team members

Reuters reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun onboarding members from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.

“Our intent will be to partner with the DOGE representatives and cooperate with their request following normal processes for ethics requirements, IT security or system training, and establishing their need to know before granting access to restricted systems and data,” said an email to SEC staff, according to Reuters.

Atkins questioned at Senate confirmation hearing

SEC nominee Paul Atkins testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday (March 27).

During the hearing, he was questioned by Senate lawmakers regarding the sale of his consulting firm, Patomak Global Partners, which advised bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

“Your clients pay you north of US$1,200 an hour for advice on how to influence regulators like the SEC, and if you’re confirmed, you will be in a prime spot to deliver for all those clients who’ve been paying you millions of dollars for years,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren during the hearing. She also requested that he disclose the firms potential buyers, whom she suggested may “buying access to the future chair of the SEC.’

Atkins said he will abide by the process of government ethics, but did not directly answer Warren’s question.

Senator John Kennedy also grilled Atkins about whether he will pursue the parents of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who Kennedy alleges may have been involved in and profited from his business affairs. Kennedy said if his position with the SEC is confirmed, he would “pounce on you like a ninja” to investigate the matter further.

UAE set to launch Digital Dirham CBDC

The United Arab Emirates is moving forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans, announcing that the Digital Dirham will be launched for retail use by the last quarter of 2025, the Khaleej Times reported.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has developed an integrated Digital Dirham platform that will support retail, wholesale and cross-border transactions.

The CBDC will be accessible through licensed financial institutions, including banks, fintech firms and exchange houses, and will be accepted alongside physical cash across all payment channels.

This initiative follows the United Arab Emirates’ efforts to regulate stablecoins and aligns with global trends, as countries like China, Russia and Sweden also push forward with CBDC pilot programs.

The United Arab Emirates’ Digital Dirham is expected to enhance financial security, streamline transactions and provide regulatory oversight beyond what private stablecoins can offer.

UK regulator plans to enforce stricter crypto authorization regime

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it will introduce a new authorization framework for crypto firms in 2026, significantly increasing regulatory scrutiny in the sector.

Under the proposed ‘gateway regime,’ crypto companies, including major exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini, will need to obtain authorization to operate beyond existing anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.

The FCA has been tightening its oversight, with only 50 out of 368 applicants successfully registering under its AML framework since 2020. Upcoming consultations will define which crypto activities require authorization, with a focus on stablecoins, trading platforms and staking services.

Industry participants have just over a year to prepare for these stricter compliance measures, which are expected to reshape the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the UK.

BlackRock expands Bitcoin ETP to Europe

BlackRock has launched its iShares Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe, making it available on major exchanges like Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris.

This expansion is a significant milestone for institutional Bitcoin adoption in the region, following the success of BlackRock’s US-based iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which has accumulated over US$49 billion in assets.

However, analysts believe that demand for the European ETP will be more muted, citing differences in market structure, investor appetite and regulatory clarity.

While Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US have benefited from deep institutional participation, the European market is still developing. Experts suggest that BlackRock’s entry into Europe could encourage further institutional involvement, but widespread adoption may take time as regulatory frameworks evolve.

Nasdaq files to list Grayscale’s spot Avalanche ETF

Nasdaq is seeking permission from the SEC to list Grayscale Investments’ spot Avalanche ETF. The proposed AVAX ETF would be a conversion of Grayscale Investments’ close-ended AVAX fund launched in August 2024, which currently holds around US$1.76 million worth of assets under management.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Tech 5: CoreWeave IPO Falls Short, OpenAI Close to Completing US$40 Billion Funding Round

This week brought a fresh set of challenges to the tech sector, beginning with an announcement from the US Bureau of Industry and Security on Tuesday (March 25) of new export restrictions targeting 80 companies across Asia and the Middle East, impacting some of Big Tech’s key customers.

Consumer confidence weakened, further dampening market sentiment.

This was evidenced by the release of the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index report on Tuesday, and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey, released on Friday (March 28).

Also on Friday, the latest US personal consumption expenditures price index data showed underlying inflation rising by 0.4 percent, renewing concerns over stagflation.

Combined, the latest data weighed on equities, and tech stocks led a broad market selloff on March 28 (Friday).

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) ended the week 8.52 percent lower from its opening price on Monday (March 24), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) logged losses of 6.22 percent and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined by 4.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) share price pulled back by a modest 1.41 percent for the week.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its price stage a bit of a recovery, ending the week 2.12 percent above Monday’s opening price, while other automotive companies like Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) nursed losses following US President Donald Trump’s implementation of a 25 percent tariff on all auto imports.

Here’s a look at other key events that made tech headlines this week.

1. BYD shares Q4 results, Tesla sentiment improves

BYD (OTC Pink:BYDDF,SZSE:002594), China’s top car brand, reported its fourth quarter results on Monday, with net profits totaling 15 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion), a 73.1 percent increase compared to the previous year, and revenue growth of 52.7 percent to 274.85 billion yuan (US$37.89 billion) for the same period.

Looking ahead, BYD expects to ship up to 5.5 million vehicles in 2025.

The company also said this week that 500 of the approximately 4,000 super-fast charging stations needed to support its electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in China will be ready by April.

These projections from BYD come as rival EV maker Tesla staged a partial comeback this week after suffering a roughly 25 percent decline in its share price earlier this month.

Investor sentiment may have been lifted by analysis from CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson, who said Tesla is the “least exposed” to Trump’s sweeping 25 percent automobile tariffs, announced on Wednesday (March 26).

According to Nelson, Tesla, which builds its cars in the US, stands to benefit from a projected reduction in consumer choices coupled with an increase in the prices of foreign-made vehicles.

“There are very few winners,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Consumers will be losers because they will have reduced choice and higher prices.”

Analysts are projecting that Trump’s auto tariffs could severely impact the economy.

“I think yesterday’s [tariff announcement on automobiles] is a bigger deal than the market is making it out to be,’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha, global chairman of research at Barclays, told CNBC on Thursday (March 27). ‘I think it reduces the risk that April 2 is something that markets can dismiss,’ he added. ‘I think we will be negatively surprised.’

2. Big Tech companies make AI advances

This week also saw significant advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) image generation and reasoning with the introduction of enhanced product offerings from some of Big Tech’s most prominent players.

OpenAI released 4o Image Generation to replace DALL-E 3 as the default image generation model for ChatGPT.

According to the company, the model can generate more realistic images than older image-generating models, as well as create lengthy, detailed, and precise text strings within images.

Meanwhile, Microsoft unveiled ‘deep reasoning agents’ for 365 Copilot, powered by OpenAI’s o1 and o3-mini models, featuring ‘agent flow’ for enhanced reliability. Elsewhere, Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) DeepMind introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro, which it claims has superior reasoning capabilities over older iterations and competing models

3. CoreWeave downsizes IPO

CoreWeave’s initial public offering (IPO) journey concluded on Friday, following significant market scrutiny.

The company initially filed for a New York IPO on March 3, targeting a US$4 billion raise and a valuation exceeding US$35 billion. Its filings revealed US$1.9 billion in 2024 revenue but also substantial debt and escalating net losses, reaching US$863 million. This expansion was fueled by US$14.5 billion in debt and equity financing.

On March 20, CoreWeave announced the launch of its IPO, registering 49 million Class A shares with a projected price range of US$47 to US$55. The company was aiming to raise up to US$2.7 billion in an offering led by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), with 11 other advisers participating. Analysts at CNBC projected the deal would value CoreWeave at US$26.5 billion, although that figure could go as high as US$32 billion.

However, the company opted to decrease the size and price of its IPO, setting levels at US$40 per share for 37,500,000 shares, resulting in a valuation of approximately US$23 billion.

CoreWeave’s lower IPO was due to a confluence of factors that dampened investor enthusiasm, including market conditions and financial concerns. A confidential investor survey reported by the Information found that 90 percent of respondents do not consider CoreWeave a favorable long-term investment.

“One respondent summed up a broader perception about CoreWeave: ‘It’s radioactive, and I think every investor knows that,’” market analyst Cory Weinberg wrote.

4. OpenAI revenue and funding rumors circulate

It was a big week for OpenAI, marked by reports on its expansion and projected financial growth.

According to a Wednesday report from the Information, OpenAI is exploring the construction of its first data center, which would be located in Texas near the Stargate data center site.

Concurrently, Bloomberg cited an anonymous source projecting OpenAI’s revenue to potentially triple to US$12.7 billion this year and reach $29.4 billion in 2026, driven by its paid software plans. Additionally, reports surfaced of a record-breaking funding round worth US$40 billion led by Stargate co-contributor SoftBank Group (TSE:9984). The deal is reportedly near completion and would double OpenAI’s valuation, bringing it near US$300 billion.

These developments emphasize OpenAI’s position as a dominant force in the AI landscape

5. Microsoft reportedly cuts data center plans

Shares of Microsoft closed down on Wednesday after an analyst note from TD Cowen alleged that the tech conglomerate had abandoned plans for new data centers in the US and Europe, citing potential oversupply.

According to Bloomberg, Google and Meta have taken over some of the affected leases, although neither company has responded publicly to the note. In a statement from Microsoft obtained by the publication, the company said “significant investments” have left it “well positioned to meet our current and increasing customer demand.”

“While we may strategically pace or adjust our infrastructure in some areas, we will continue to grow strongly in all regions,” the spokesperson said. “This allows us to invest and allocate resources to growth areas for our future.”

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Trump commutes sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson

President Donald Trump commuted the criminal sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Friday, just hours before Watson was due to begin serving a 116-month prison term for a multi-million-dollar scheme that included falsely claiming the start-up had deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey, a senior White House official said.

Watson had expected to surrender Friday afternoon to the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California, before he received word of Trump granting him executive clemency, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Trump also commuted the sentence of one year of probation imposed on Ozy Media for the defunct news and entertainment company’s conviction in the same case.

Trump’s actions remove the criminal penalty imposed on Watson and Ozy.

Watson, 55, was convicted at trial in Brooklyn federal court last July of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced in December.

In February, a federal judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution.

Watson’s defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, declined to comment Friday when contacted by CNBC.

A spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Watson, also declined to comment on the commutation of his sentence.

Glenn Martin, a criminal justice reform advocate, in a tweet on Friday wrote, “We did it,” above a photo of him and Watson.

“President Trump commuted the sentences of Ozy Media and Carlos Watson hours before his surrender,” the tweet said.

″@CarlosWatson is not going to prison today,” Martin wrote.

“First and foremost, thank God for His grace, mercy and the power of redemption. A very special note of appreciation to @AliceMarieFree,” he added, referring to his fellow criminal justice reform advocate Alice Marie Johnson.

“Your advocacy, compassion, and relentless pursuit of fairness have made this moment possible for people like Carlos.”

When Watson was sentenced, then-Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said, “Carlos Watson orchestrated a years-long, audacious scheme to defraud investors and lenders to his company, Ozy Media, out of tens of millions of dollars.”

Prosecutors said that Watson and his co-conspirators between 2018 and 2021 defrauded investors by misrepresenting Ozy’s financial performance, its ongoing business relationships and its acquisition prospects, as well as its contract negotiations.

Ozy abruptly shut down in October 2021, after The New York Times reported that the company’s chief operating officer, Samir Rao, had impersonated a YouTube executive on a conference call with Goldman Sachs.

The investment bank was considering a $40 million investment in Ozy at the time.


This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Silver Cross Index Tops Beneath Signal Line on SPY

One of the indicators that Carl Swenlin developed is the Silver Cross Index. It is one of the best participation indicators out there! Here’s how it works:

We consider a positive 20/50-day EMA crossover a “Silver Cross”. If a stock has a Silver Cross it has a bullish bias. The opposite of a Silver Cross is a Dark Cross. Stocks with a Dark Cross have a bearish bias.

The Silver Cross Index measures the percentage of stocks holding Silver Crosses. The current percentage on the Silver Cross Index is just 37% so this tells us that 63% have bearish biases. This condition suggests to us that the market has more downside to absorb.

The Silver Cross Index was nearing a Bullish Shift across its signal line, but instead has topped. It is likely to continue declining given less stocks are above their 20/50-day EMAs versus the Silver Cross Index percentage.

Participation measured by the percent of stocks above their key moving averages are all below our bullish 50% threshold. Stochastics have topped and the PMO topped Friday. The short-term rising trend has been broken. This looks like a textbook reverse flag formation that was confirmed with Friday’s decline. The minimum downside target of the pattern would put price near 480. This sure has the earmarks of a failed bear market rally.

Conclusion: The Silver Cross Index is at a very low 37% and has now topped beneath its signal line. Participation, as measured by the %Stocks > 20/50EMAs, is mediocre at best and reading below the Silver Cross Index. This looks like the end of a bear market rally based on the bear flag that was confirmed on Friday.

(Note: This chart is from our “Under the Hood” ChartList on DecisionPoint.com. We have these charts with the Silver Cross Index for all the major indexes, sectors and select industry groups. All subscriptions include access to these charts!)

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Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

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4 Mins Read

Stocks In Focus: Three Charts to Watch

This week, we get back to earnings and, sadly, the pickings are slim.

Given these turbulent times, we have two Consumer Staples stocks to examine — Lamb Weston (LW) and Conagra (CAG). They may not be the most exciting charts, but they show clear levels of interest that are worth noting.

There’s also the highly volatile stock Restoration Hardware (RH), which is trading close to a support level. This stock can be considered a high-risk, high-reward trade.

Let’s dive in…

Lamb Weston (LW)

Lamb Weston, best known for its iconic french fries, has gone on one of the wildest rides over the last four years. After a two-year uptrend, the stock has slowly and steadily gone on a two-year downtrend, giving back all its gains.

Earnings have been quite harsh over the last four quarters. There was one gain of 2.6%, with three losses that included a -19.4%, a -28.2%, and most recently a -20.1% decline. Shares now sit 54% off of all-time highs as the company heads into Thursday’s earnings report.

Technically, there is some hope.

Shares made a full roundabout from trough to peak and back to trough again, where they were able to find some major support. The $47.50/$48 level was the original double bottom that started the rally years ago, and now, when re-tested, it held again.

The risk/reward set-up appears to favor the bulls, barring another epic post-earnings drawdown. If shares sell off, the $47.50 level should get tested and could be a good entry point. However, the path to least resistance looks higher from this level. A mean reversion back to its long-term downtrend around the declining 200-day simple moving average would be good for a 23% gain.

Overall shares continue to act rather soggy, but one little quarter could spice things up and lead to a quick and satisfying return.

Restoration Hardware (RH)

Restoration Hardware has become one of the most volatile stocks after earnings over the last year-and-a-half and is one to watch with the report on Wednesday afternoon. Shares have moved an average of +/- 17% over the last six reports with gains of 17% and 25.5% over the last two.

Since last December’s 17% jump after results, the stock has declined as much as 50% from its recent highs. One major factor is the slowdown in the housing market, influenced by rising interest rates, which has dampened demand for home furnishings.

Technically, shares reached a major support level going back four years and held. It was the fourth time in four years that shares moved towards that $210 level and held. Clearly, we have a major level of interest to watch from a risk/reward set-up.

Shares hit extreme oversold levels in its relative strength index (RSI) in early March and have finally bounced. The rally back from oversold levels and a hold of key support should favor the bulls for now.

If you were to trade this into Wednesday afternoon’s earnings, you must watch that support level carefully. It has held time and again, and this would be a great area to dip into the stock with a stop-loss for protection just below support to minimize losses. Any positive reaction could see a fast snapback rally towards the 200-day moving average, which sits 35% above current levels. A simple mean reversion could equate to a nice return, while the stock remains in its longer-term downtrend.

ConAgra (CAG)

ConAgra, the parent company of Duncan Hines, Birds Eye, and Slim Jim, has struggled after earnings, as it has fallen five of the last six times it has reported.

Technically, shares sit in the middle of a range between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The consumer staple has held up relatively well compared to the overall market and has only declined -4.5% year-to-date. It pays a 5.3% dividend and is considered a safer haven in these turbulent times.

The $24.50/$25 level has acted as solid support and could be a good entry point given current market uncertainty. However, the upside has overhead resistance at the 200-day moving average and the $27.50/$28 level.

Overall, this may be a nice place to hide out during turbulent times, but the overall risk/reward is marginal, at best. It may be more rewarding to eat their products than to trade the stock.

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S&P 500 Dives After Failed Test of Price Resistance; Bears Are in Control

The key resistance level I’ve been watching on the S&P 500 hasn’t wavered. It’s 5782. The bulls had a real chance this past week to clear this important hurdle and they failed. Badly. If this was a heavyweight fight, the ref would have called it after the first round. It simply wasn’t close. Resistance failed, rotation turned bearish, volatility again expanded, and the bears are celebrating another short-term victory.

Check out this S&P 500 chart:

I’ve written about this to EarningsBeats.com members. I posted this exact chart in my StockCharts.com article a few days ago. I’ve discussed it on my YouTube shows. 5782 is THE key short-term price resistance and you can see above that the S&P 500 literally did an “about face” as soon as it touched this resistance. Sellers were lined up. Now that we’ve failed at 5782, it only makes this resistance level that much more important on any future rallies.

The serious technical damage occurred over the past 3 days as consumer discretionary stocks have been absolutely TROUNCED, while consumer staples hangs near its recent highs. If you recall, it was this HUGE disparity in consumer stocks on February 21st that triggered the massive selling episode. Now here we are again with consumer staples stocks (XLP) outperforming discretionary (XLY) by a mile. Check out this chart:

Doesn’t the action in consumer stocks the past 3 days exactly mirror the action we saw in the 2nd half of February and into the first week of March? Folks, this isn’t good.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Bear Market Ahead?

The S&P 500, from its recent all-time high to its subsequent low, fell 10.4%, which marks correction territory. The rally we saw off the March 13th low was likely due to oversold conditions, along with March options expiration. On Tuesday, March 18th, we discussed with our EB.com members that odds favored a short-term rally, based on max pain and we laid out key resistance from 5670 to 5782, with the 20-day EMA falling in the middle of this price range. Once we failed at 5782, it was very important to gauge the nature of any new selloff. That’s what I’ve been evaluating this week and it’s not pretty. As you can see in the chart above, money has once again started rotating into the XLP and out of the XLY. This is one of the most important intermarket relationships and it’s screaming BEARISH ACTION AHEAD!

It’s only one signal, however. I announced a few days ago that we’d be hosting a FREE webinar on Saturday morning, March 29th, at 10:00am ET. I plan to discuss several signals that are pointing to exactly what we saw on Friday – more selling. To get a better handle on current market conditions and where we’re heading, I’d encourage you to join me Saturday morning by REGISTERING HERE. If you can’t make the live webinar, we’ll still send out the recorded video to all who register, so ACT NOW!

And here’s a little secret. Shhhhhhh! Market makers are playing some serious games manipulating some of the biggest stocks. I’ll talk a bit about how we can take advantage of that Saturday morning. Hope to see you there!

Happy trading!

Tom

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