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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 3896698, member: 2117"] Pretty weak analysis/explanations by ESPN. My immediate takeaways are: 1. I misinterpreted UCONN's path.... i think they lucked out massively avoiding SC/Maryland at the Final Four. They'll only face one of Stanford, SC and Maryland who I think are the three toughest foes for UCONN. NC State and A&M aren't chopped liver but they're far less imposing IMO. Maryland is playing at a ridiculous level offensively and SC is improved and would have revenge on their mind if they played UCONN again after the OT loss. I will say their regional is dangerous with Baylor/Tennessee as a potential Elite 8 match up, as neither team presents a great situation for UCONN. Baylor is very athletic and stellar defensively, it'd be a great battle between Richards and Bueckers to see who can get the better of each other. Tennessee wouldn't be a cake walk either...their length really frustrated UCONN earlier and Davis is playing at an AA level. Also going far back, Tennessee beat #1 UCONN in the 1997 Elite 8 as a 3 seed, led by Kellie Jolly who lit up UCONN for 20 points. Im sure that'll be brought up in the broadcast booth if that ends up being the Elite 8 matchup. Iowa too is dangerous if they can stop Kentucky since they spread the floor so well offensively and are loaded with shooters. UCONN will slaughter Kentucky if they meet, but I dont expect they'll beat Iowa. Teams that beat UCONN this decade have historically won with great ball movement and offensive sets. Iowa fit the bill but can't defend a chair. Luckily for UCONN, both Maryland and Stanford are on the opposite side of the bracket. 2. The SC region is loaded. Very compelling potential Sweet 16 match up between Maryland and UCLA. Maryland should be the heavy favorite but if Osborne gets hot, UCLA could pull the upset. SC vs Maryland is the most intriguing Elite 8 match up IMO. Maryland makes a living at spreading the floor and finding lanes to the basket, but they havent gone up against anyone like Boston before. 3. Glad to see Mississippi State and DePaul didn't sneak in like how Creme projected they might. Neither team deserves it this year. Very happy for BYU after that painful loss to Gonzaga. They'll do more damage the other bubble teams that just missed the cut. 4. Lots of potentially great match ups in the tournament: -Tennessee/MTSU, Hayes playing her old team -Kentucky/Iowa in round 2 with two of the best scorers in the country -Stanford/Arkansas in the Sweet 16 is a dangerous game for the Cardinal. -UCONN/Iowa to watch the freshman go head to head -Maryland/SC -NC State/A&M is another interesting one The field is wide open for the first time in quite a while, plus we have neutral games the entire way that will likely shake things up a big. Should be fun to watch. [/QUOTE]

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