Michael Vopel
The UCLA Women’s Basketball Team has entered a milestone season. On Sunday, the Bruins added another. For the first time, they are the overall seed of the Women’s NCAA Tournament. The Bruins hope to reach 30 wins for the first time in program history and make the first Final Four of their NCAA era, which began in women’s sports in 1981-82.
The Bruins are one of the big winners when looking at the women’s March Madness Bracket. But what does the committee’s decision mean for standout players like USC sophomore Juju Watkins and UConn senior Paige Bueckers whom he met in the epic elite eight games last year? And how are things looking for the South Carolina defending national champion?
The No. 1 seed was as expected. UCLA is above the Spokane 1 region, with South Carolina ranked number one in the Birmingham 2 region, Texas ranked number one in the Birmingham 3 and USC ranked number one in the Spokane 4 region. The Big Ten has 12 teams on the field, four in the top 16, and the SEC has 10, with five in the top 16.
Laurenbetts, a Bruins center who began his career at Stanford, has excelled in two seasons at UCLA and could be a key factor in whether the Bruins endure the top seed and reach the final weekend of the season. UCLA won the AIAW National Championship in 1978, but has never made any progress beyond the NCAA Elite Eight.
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Meanwhile, USC has been trying to make its first Final Four of its program since 1986. If UCLA meets there, it will be the fourth “Battle of Los Angeles” of the season. The Trojans won both regular season matchups before UCLA won the Big Ten Championship Game. The second seed in the Trojan region, UConn is seeking the 12th NCAA title and has won a non-one Final Four since 2008.
The composition of the Spokane 4 region means that last season’s Elite Eight Game could have a rematch in Portland. There, the Husky defeated the Trojan horse 80-73 to advance to the 23rd Final Four. The Bueckers had 28 points and 10 rebounds in that game, with Watkins 29 and 10.
The three-time South Carolina national champion appears to continue his winning path to the program’s fifth Final Four. The two teams at Gamecocks’ Regional are also national champions, past No. 4 Seed Maryland (2006) and No. 3 North Carolina (1994), but their success was long ago.
As for Texas, looking to make its first Final Four since 2004, the Longhorns were also the No. 1 seed last year, but were defeated in the Elite Eight in NC State. In the South Carolina SEC co-champion, the Longhorns were able to meet the Gamecocks for the fourth time this season if both made the Final Four.
This lets you take a deeper look at the winners and losers of the brackets, and the path ahead.
winner
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Dawn Staley “Surprised” South Carolina
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has argued why her team should be the overall seed for the women’s NCAA tournament.
UCLA
The Bruins come in many sizes and have an amazing experience with guard and depth. If seeds are retained, they will face No. 2 NC in Sweet 16 and Spokane’s Elite Eight No. 2. The Wolfpack won the Final Four last season, while Baylor (under former coach Kim Mulkey) won three NCAA titles. But overall, the matchup seems to be in the advantage to reach Tampa for the Bruins, who fell to LSU at Sweet 16 last year.
South Carolina
It’s hard to feel underrated when you’ve lost a total of four games in the last three seasons. However, coach Dawn Staley has another motivational tip to use, as Gamecocks doesn’t get the overall top seed. It’s not that you really need GameCocks. While the losses to UConn and Texas in February feel far apart, the strong run to the nine-second tournament title feels like a true version of GameCocks. South Carolina is Staley’s first seed for the ninth time in his career.
North Carolina Triangle Team
All three will host early rounds: Spokane 1 No. 2 Seed NC State, Birmingham 2 No. 2 Seed Duke, Birmingham 2 No. 3 Seed North Carolina. These are the best species of UNC since 2017 and since 2013. If the species is retained, one of the great rivalries of the sport, the Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels – will be held at Sweet 16. This is the first time these programs have met at an NCAA tournament. They have never been in the same area before.
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Lone Star State Hoop
The Birmingham 3 Regional Texas No. 1 and TCU No. 2 are the first since 2013 when the top two regional teams come from the same state. That year, Stanford was No. 2 in the Spokane region.
Texas is the seventh seed of this year. No. 2 is the highest seed ever for TCU, with Maetaka ranked 6th in 2004.
Ivy League
How wonderful was the celebration by Spokane 1 No. 10 Seed Harvard and the first four No. 11 seed Columbia and Princeton? It’s always fun to see the team really get excited about Selection Sunday, which has been historic for this year’s Ivy League. For the first time in the meeting, three teams will be participating in the NCAA Tournament. Crimson beat Princeton in the Ivy semi-finals and defeated Columbia in the championship game.
The ultimate Cinderella
Speaking of Happy Teams, congratulations to six schools that will first appear in the Women’s NCAA Tournament at Arkansas, FDU, George Mason, Grand Canyon, San Diego and William & Mary. Spokane 1 No. 13 Seed Grand Canyon entered the tournament and won for 30 consecutive wins.
loser
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The biggest takeaway from the women’s NCAA tournament bracket
Rebecca Robo, Charlie Cream, Carolyn Peck and Andraya Carter give a storyline to watch in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
USC
There’s no easy elite eight matchups, but that means they didn’t want the Trojans to face UConn again for their chance to go to Final 4. That may sound strange considering the USC Beat UConn 72-70 in Hartford, Connecticut on December 21st. However, that loss can provide a lot of motivation for the Husky.
Also, the Big Ten regular season champion USC beat UCLA, the overall No. 1 seed twice, but became the fourth seed after losing in the Bruins’ league tournament final. The Trojans probably see it as a sign of disrespect. On the bright side of USC, the Trojans lose eight to the Husky revenge last year.
Notre Dame
In recent weeks, the Irish have become the third seed Sunday on Sunday from the expected first seed. Realistically, there’s not much difference between 2 and 3, as if seeds are retained they have to play each other in the regional semifinals. However, potential regional matches for the Birmingham 3 Bracket can be difficult for Irish people.
They were able to face two very strong teams in the post. It is a 2nd seed TCU with 6-foot 7 center Sedona Prince and 1st seed Texas with 6-6 Kiraoul Cre and 6-4 Taylor Jones. Notre Dame’s strength is with security guards such as Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron.
Olemis
To be fair, the Rebels are the winners in this respect. The No. 5 seed in Spokane 1 is the best seed in over 30 years, ranking fifth in 1994.
With the drive around 25 hours from Oxford, Mississippi, it would have been great to see Ole Miss play from home or be in one of the Birmingham areas. Alas, the bracket didn’t work that way.
Big 12
There were no good surprises at the meeting on Sunday’s selection. They got seven teams expected on the field, but nothing more. With the Big Ten having 12 teams and the SEC having 10 and an ACC 8, the Big 12 was placed behind the other Power 4 Leagues.
The teams they wanted to sneak in were Arizona and Colorado. The Wildcats were looking for a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and a fourth Buffalo.
