Women’s NCAA Tournament picks: Will South Carolina go back-to-back?
▪ Predicting the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament:
FINAL FOUR
No. 1 seed South Carolina. Dawn Staley is clear about how she has built her program: Even five-star players have to wait their turn. What has resulted is a bench full of players who would start on most teams across the country who are ready to relieve one of the most dynamic and dangerous starting lineups in the history of the women’s game.
No. 2 seed Iowa. National player of the year candidate Caitlin Clark leads a team that fell short last year in an unexpected round-of-32 loss to Creighton at home. The Hawkeyes, fresh off a Big Ten Tournament title, bring the top scoring offense in the country with 87.5 points per game.
No. 1 seed Indiana. This is the best team IU has ever had, bar none. Teri Moren has her squad locked and loaded for a deep tournament run following last year’s Sweet 16 exit at the hands of UConn. Mackenzie Holmes (22.3 points) and former Sacred Heart star Grace Berger (12.5) are an effective one-two punch for one of the nation’s most balanced offenses.
No. 2 seed UConn. Nobody in the country has more top-25 NET wins than the Huskies, who boast 11. Though this isn’t your mom’s UConn, what with puzzling recent losses to Marquette and St. John’s and an overall record of 29-5, you can never count out Geno Auriemma’s team in March.
NATIONAL CHAMPION
South Carolina over Indiana. If any team in the field of 64 could pose a legitimate threat to the undefeated reigning national champions, it would be the Hoosiers. But we haven’t seen a team with the depth and talent of South Carolina in a long time, if ever.
KENTUCKY’S TEAM
No. 5 seed Louisville. Louisville is the lone representative from the state of Kentucky, and the Cardinals have been dealt far from an easy draw. Forced to travel to Austin, Texas, for the opening rounds, Louisville will need to overcome Missouri Valley Conference champion Drake and the winner of the No. 4 seed Texas-No. 13 seed East Carolina game to reach the Sweet 16.
UPSET SPECIALS
▪ No. 11 seed Illinois will oust No. 6 seed Creighton.
▪ No. 11 seed UNLV will beat No. 6 seed Michigan.
▪ No. 10 seed Alabama will beat No. 7 seed Baylor.
▪ No. 9 seed Gonzaga will defeat No. 8 seed Ole Miss.
BRACKET BREAKDOWN
1. We’re looking at 10 straight seasons where a No. 1 seed has come out on top. Overwhelming favorite South Carolina will look to be the fourth program to win consecutive titles, joining the likes of Southern Cal (1983-84), Tennessee (1996-98, 2007-08) and UConn (2002-04, 2009-10, 2013-16).
2. Fourteen of the 15 John Wooden Award finalists for the best player in women’s college basketball will participate in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Cameron Brink (Stanford), Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Aaliyah Edwards (UConn), Mackenzie Holmes (Indiana), Ashley Joens (Iowa State), Haley Jones (Stanford), Liz Kitley (Virginia Tech), Ta’Niya Latson (Florida State), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame), Diamond Miller (Maryland), Alissa Pili (Utah), Maddy Siegrist (Villanova) and Hailey Van Lith (Louisville) are all vying for the game’s top individual honor.
3. Four programs are reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time via automatic bids. The Atlantic 10’s Saint Louis (17-17), the Big Sky’s Sacramento State (25-7), the Southland’s Southeastern Louisiana (21-9) and the WAC’s Southern Utah (23-9) will all participate in March Madness following conference tournament victories.
4. The ACC leads the way with eight bids. Since 2018, the ACC has had at least eight teams make the cut, besting all other conferences apart from 2022, when the SEC also had eight teams receive bids.
5. The five programs with the longest streaks of NCAA Tournament appearances are Tennessee (41 seasons), Stanford (35), UConn (34), Notre Dame (27) and Baylor (19).
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 1:15 PM.
