Can UConn women's basketball earn No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? ESPN's bracketologist weighs in

[LwrcasefaN]

Win six games. Win a NC. Same as always. Getter done!

 

[visitingcock]

If I’m right and UConn, Iowa, VT & SC are all #1 seeds, we could not possibly play Iowa again prior to the FF.

Scar
Indiana
Stanford
UConn or VaTech

 

[Tonyc]

Im ranking these teams by who I feel are the strongest teams

SC
UConn
Indiana
VaTech
Stanford
Iowa

UConn has too many weapons at every position. The only question for UConn is will Azzi and Caroline be healthy and with the time off I think they will be ready. There are no other 2 shooters on any top team that can compare to Lou and Azzi and most of the teams in my list dont have a Dorka and Aaliyah. I expect Azzi Lou and Caroline to come out scoring like we know they can and with that said UConn has the team that can put up alot of points which these other teams who have been healthy havent. We saw what this UConn team in the BET with Azzi and Caroline not at full strength. The answer would be can those other teams defend UConn or slow the game down to keep UConn from scoring alot of points? We will know that when the games are played.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Im ranking these teams by who I feel are the strongest teams

SC
UConn
Indiana
VaTech
Stanford
Iowa

UConn has too many weapons at every position. The only question for UConn is will Azzi and Caroline be healthy and with the time off I think they will be ready. There are no other 2 shooters on any top team that can compare to Lou and Azzi and most of the teams in my list dont have a Dorka and Aaliyah. I expect Azzi Lou and Caroline to come out scoring like we know they can and with that said UConn has the team that can put up alot of points which these other teams who have been healthy havent. We saw what this UConn team in the BET with Azzi and Caroline not at full strength. The answer would be can those other teams defend UConn or slow the game down to keep UConn from scoring alot of points? We will know that when the games are played.

IMO...if you're playing, then you're healthy enough.

 

[SLY63]

I don't care whether we are a 1 or 2 as long as we play Va Tech.

 

[oldude]

Scar
Indiana
Stanford
UConn or VaTech

Having watched Stanford a number of times, I just can’t buy them as a 1 seed. They have a 6’2” forward running their offense and mediocre guard play. To be sure the Cardinal are loaded with frontcourt talent. But 6 losses and numerous close wins just don’t pass the eye test.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Having watched Stanford a number of times, I just can’t buy them as a 1 seed. They have a 6’2” forward running their offense and mediocre guard play. To be sure the Cardinal are loaded with frontcourt talent. But 6 losses and numerous close wins just don’t pass the eye test.

My guess is Stanford is reaping the benefits of the dogfights that took place in the PAC 12 all season. This is the first year I watched most of their games and these games are exhausting to watch. Just physical. I don't even think the SEC was this physical this season.

 

[Rb335]

Teams I don’t want to see in our region are Sorh Carolina, Iowa, or Stanford. As long as that happens, I don’t care about the seed we get. It can be 1 or 2.

 

[Rowdy831]

In my opinion I think Geno would rather be a 2 seed and play closer to home than a 1 seed and have to travel to the west coast. UCONN will be as good as they can be and they will not be intimidated by the bright lights so I expect them to go far and no team short of SC will beat them if they play their best.

NCAAW has to make sure they have marquee teams make the final four or they risk not having an audience or interest in their biggest weekend of the year. UCONN has the biggest following by far and the most entertaining coach. Love him or hate him you have to acknowledge he is the face of the Women's NCAA and people love to hear his interviews.

 

[sun]

IMO UConn will be awarded a #1 seed.
The only difference between the top 4 teams in the NET vs. Massey rankings is whether LSU is in the top 4 (in the NET) instead of Indiana (as with Massey).
Since I doubt that LSU will be awarded a #1 that means that UConn should be a #1.
Even if LSU was made a #1, that would affect Indiana and not UConn.
And the same would apply to Stanford if they aren't a #1, it shouldn't affect UConn being a #1 seed.
AFAIK UConn hasn't been a #1 since 2017-2018 which should increase UConn's odds of being awarded a #1 this year.

 

[mbr33ct]

Stanford vs UConn

Tale of the tape, if one does a side by side comparison using only the below stats, UConn comes ahead for me.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I don’t believe you should be able to lose in your conference tournament and still secure a 1 seed. My four #1’s:

• SC
• Iowa
• VA Tech
• UConn

I couldn’t disagree more. The conference tournament is but one of a number of items that should be considered. To me it would make no sense if a team went undefeated for the entire regular season to deny them a top seed because they lost a close conference final.

 

[stamfordhusky]

AFAIK UConn hasn't been a #1 since 2017-2018 which should increase UConn's odds of being awarded a #1 this year.

It’s very unlikely how they were seeded in past years will have any effect at all on the committee. Especially because the people who were on the committee back then are gone by now.

 

[oldude]

I couldn’t disagree more. The conference tournament is but one of a number of items that should be considered. To me it would make no sense if a team went undefeated for the entire regular season to deny them a top seed because they lost a close conference final.

You are correct. The conference tournament is one of a number of considerations, specifically how a team is playing at the end of the season. As I pointed out in another post, UConn is at or near the top on many of the components that will also be included when the Selection Committee seeds the brackets, as follows:

• SOS - 2nd
• NET/4 quadrant rank - 2nd
• Entire Body of work - solid/top 3 to 5?
• Injuries/players back from injuries - UConn has all 10 players healthy again. In every single game that UConn lost Azzi was out, with the exception of ND when Azzi missed the entire 2nd half.

We can disagree about my belief that you should not get a #1 seed if you lose in the conference tournament. But when you look at all the factors considered by the selection committee, UConn should be a #1 seed.

 

[Carnac]

Feh. Same old, same old.

Don't shoot the messenger. I posted this because I thought some fans might be interested in reading it, and I thought it made good fodder. I don't necessarily agree with its content. I'm sure some (not all) of the 2K folks that viewed this got something out of it. It generated two pages of comments, so it did what I thought it might do.

 

[visitingcock]

In my opinion I think Geno would rather be a 2 seed and play closer to home than a 1 seed and have to travel to the west coast. UCONN will be as good as they can be and they will not be intimidated by the bright lights so I expect them to go far and no team short of SC will beat them if they play their best.

NCAAW has to make sure they have marquee teams make the final four or they risk not having an audience or interest in their biggest weekend of the year. UCONN has the biggest following by far and the most entertaining coach. Love him or hate him you have to acknowledge he is the face of the Women's NCAA and people love to hear his interviews.

The committee cannot “make sure they have the marquee teams MAKE the final four.”

They can only estimate the top 4/8 teams and give the seeding advantages to the top four. I won’t comment on the “most entertaining coach” but to say Kim’s show is more “ entertaining” than Geno for good or bad.

 

[mhshuskies]

CC said this may be a more difficult year to reach the FF, I would disagree. I think the full compliment of 10 players is a better team than last year and the only team capable of keeping them from the FF, if they play their game, is SC. If UCONN and SC end up in the same region, that would be the real championship game.

 

[sun]

I couldn’t disagree more. The conference tournament is but one of a number of items that should be considered. To me it would make no sense if a team went undefeated for the entire regular season to deny them a top seed because they lost a close conference final.

I think that the selection committee as a whole this year would find it very strange that UConn has made the FF every year since 2017 - 2018 while not being awarded a #1 seed as a top 4 team.
That makes the committee record of selecting the top 4 seeds look bad to the general public, like "Oh no, not again!"
Don't you think that they're aware of how bad that makes them look?
Especially when the NET criteria points to UConn deserving of a #1 seed this year.
If UConn were on the bubble this year then I could understand that previous years #1 seed selections wouldn't matter very much to this year's committee.
But I'll bet that the committee is well aware of their collective NCAA history regarding UConn's previous seeds and how they've managed to make it to the FF year after year despite not being a #1.
I think that the committee's past history can indeed have an influence on the present committee to try "Extra, extra, read all about it!" hard to do their best.
They need to be concerned about the public's perception of fairness from a historical perspective.

 

[Bald Husky]

If they are smart and want ratings, the committee will ensure that UConn and SC do not meet in the semis of the FF. Now, for that to happen, if they make UConn a #1, they can't be the fourth #1 because that will make the game with them in the semis. If they don't want controversy, they may leave UConn as a #2 and grouped with the overall #2 or 3, meaning we would be grouped with Indiana or Virginia Tech. (that is if the others stay the same as Creme says). So, to avoid SC before the NC game, they cannot be the fourth #1, or the best #2. The best #2 will be in the same region as the fourth #1, thus if we get there, we will play SC in the semis. That is why I would be satisfied if the present bracket doesn't change.

 

[visitingcock]

I think that the selection committee as a whole this year would find it very strange that UConn has made the FF every year since 2017 - 2018 while not being awarded a #1 seed as a top 4 team.
That makes the committee record of selecting the top 4 seeds look bad to the general public, like "Oh no, not again!"
Don't you think that they're aware of how bad that makes them look?
Especially when the NET criteria points to UConn deserving of a #1 seed this year.
If UConn were on the bubble this year then I could understand that previous years #1 seed selections wouldn't matter very much to this year's committee.
But I'll bet that the committee is well aware of their collective NCAA history regarding UConn's previous seeds and how they've managed to make it to the FF year after year despite not being a #1.
I think that the committee's past history can indeed have an influence on the present committee to try "Extra, extra, read all about it!" hard to do their best.
They need to be concerned about the public's perception of fairness from a historical perspective.

Uhm,

UConn was a 1 seed in the 2021 tournament - Paiges’ uninjured POTY freshman year

 

[Bone Dog]

Having watched Stanford a number of times, I just can’t buy them as a 1 seed. They have a 6’2” forward running their offense and mediocre guard play. To be sure the Cardinal are loaded with frontcourt talent. But 6 losses and numerous close wins just don’t pass the eye test.

Has Haley Jones grown an inch? She’s a big strong girl, to be sure, but she’s not 6’2”. This is why it would be interesting to see how she does against similarly physical players, like Aubrey or Siegrist or Morrow or Marotta or Karlen. The Big East is loaded with mobile strong girls in the 6’1”-6’2” range. Jones may be a better scorer than many of them, but she’s not better in all aspects of the game, and has the advantage of not having to play the low post. If we play Stanford this year and Aubrey mainly guards Jones, I think it will be an interesting game.

 

[BobbyJ]

My feeling right now is SC and UConn are the 2 strongest teams. Indiana is a very good team however coming down the stretch they faltered. I still think they are better the Iowa and Vatech. Stanford I agree is weak at the guards and has struggled. The biggest difference is IU Stanford Vtech and Iowa have all been healthy and UConn hasnt. UConn showed early in the season how a healthy UConn team can be dangerous and in the BET UConn showed again how strong they are. If UConn is a 2 seed I would be shocked because IMO you have to come up with excuses to rank them lower they a 1 seed. This healthy UConn can put up alot of points which the depleted UConn team we saw didnt. Many of the top teams havent put up alot of points.

Reflecting on all the polls and pollsters not giving any credit to UConn I have to wonder if UConn will face a home job in the NCAAs. The only way UConn can lose is foul trouble or injuries. Foul trouble bothers me. Just my opinion and FWIW. We will see tomorrow nite when the pairings come out who is in UConns bracket. Last year it was the most difficult road to the Final game. I would hope this season its not.

Thanks for the chuckle. Yes, those neutral tournament sites are notorious for home jobs. Happens all the time. But at least you've got the excuses lined up and ready.

 

[Boreifs]

I disagree. I’d rather face South Carolina with more than one day to prep and rest.

Do you want them to have time as well to prep and rest? Careful about what you ask for.

 

[cohenzone]

or VaTech for short short

Love Blacksburg even though it’s near nothing. My son did his PhD there at VTech.

 

[Hayven]

At this point, I don’t care about seeding. Recently UConn has made it to the FF as the 2 seed.
I just want SC and Stanford to be on the same side of the bracket. And UConn being on the opposite side of the bracket from SC and Stanford