The Bracket

[Plebe]

Did the womens' committee release its 1-68 rankings? The men's committee did.

I would sure love to see this but I haven't yet. The men's committee has been releasing its 1-68 ranking for at least a couple years now.

 

[maple]

I disagree. They have the easiest bracket compared to the others.

Agreed. I think South Carolina has far and away the easiest bracket. Which is their reward for being the #1 overall, of course.

 

[visitingcock]

Applying your “reasoning” ~ should the number 2 ranked team in the country have the toughest bracket? Or should they defer to USC and TX?

Not reasoning. Rule.

The number 2 team is supposed to have the second easiest bracket.

 

[LETTERL]

Some interesting storylines in the Raleigh sub-regional:

-- Wes Moore and NC State open with Chattanooga, where Moore coached for 15 seasons before taking the NC State job

-- In a possible second round game, Kellie Harper with a potential revenge game against the program that fired her after 4 mediocre seasons, paving the way for Wes Moore to restore luster to a sleeping giant

 

[LETTERL]

I was shocked Norfolk State wasn't sent to Raleigh.

 

[WLT1717]

Not reasoning. Rule.

The number 2 team is supposed to have the second easiest bracket.

And they did not.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Some interesting storylines in the Raleigh sub-regional:

-- Wes Moore and NC State open with Chattanooga, where Moore coached for 15 seasons before taking the NC State job

-- In a possible second round game, Kellie Harper with a potential revenge game against the program that fired her after 4 mediocre seasons, paving the way for Wes Moore to restore luster to a sleeping giant

They do that kind of thing. Rutgers had a few of those set-ups in history, as well, and I caught a couple others as they were announcing the brackets, although I don't remember them off-hand.

 

[triaddukefan]

Texas A&M and Nebraska play each other in both the men's and women's tourney. Old Big 12 Foes.

 

[JstVisiting]

Might change this with more reflection, but first impressions Final Four:

South Carolina vs Texas
LSU vs UConn

 

[bballnut90]

Agreed. I think South Carolina has far and away the easiest bracket. Which is their reward for being the #1 overall, of course.

For SC, Notre Dame is red hot, though I don’t think they match up well with SC, particularly without Watson. Oregon State could provide a challenge as a 3, but I’m not fully sold. I don’t love facing UNC in the second round if I’m SC. Oklahoma/Indiana aren’t threatening though for Sweet 16, particularly if Holmes is out. They avoid UCONN in Albany too, so it’s an ideal draw.

I think USC got a great draw as well. They likely get a Kitley-less VT in the Sweet 16 (or Baylor who has been trending down), and the Elite 8 is either a streaky OSU team or a UCONN team who hasn’t beat anyone notable this year. I wouldn’t count out Duke as a dark horse either.

Iowa got a brutal draw. Kansas State is easily the hardest 4 seed for them to match with and playing the winner of LSU/UCLA is brutal. They could make it to Cleveland still but it’s a very tough path.

I will say I am stunned the committee didn’t put UCONN in Albany nor OSU in Portland. Fortunately I think both locations will draw well and we’ll see teams play on neutral courts which I’m a fan of.

Texas’s regional will be fun to see. Stanford/Iowa State will potentially be a great second round matchup with Brink/Cooks.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Possible UConn-OhioSt rematch!

I love my Huskies, but I’m sure Geno and his staff will remind them not to overlook any team. So approach it one game at a time.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Columbia has no business being in this tournament.

You have to watch them play. They are pretty good at just the right time. They are one of those teams that are sneaky, not a lot of flash and well coached.

 

[visitingcock]

And they did not.

In your opinion

 

[Nash83]

Some interesting storylines in the Raleigh sub-regional:

-- Wes Moore and NC State open with Chattanooga, where Moore coached for 15 seasons before taking the NC State job

-- In a possible second round game, Kellie Harper with a potential revenge game against the program that fired her after 4 mediocre seasons, paving the way for Wes Moore to restore luster to a sleeping giant

Believe Kellie was an assistant coach under Wes at Chattanooga too.
Has Mimi Collins played LVs since transferring after freshman season?

 

[cancontent]

IA’s regional is so much harder than SC’s

A friend and I joked it's the equivalent of the World Cup of Soccer's pool of death. It's also quite the petty revenge tour if you look at some of the potential match ups.

 

[southie]

Texas A&M and Nebraska play each other in both the men's and women's tourney. Old Big 12 Foes.

And, Texas A&M just poached Nebraska's athletic director, Trev Alberts, last week.

 

[LETTERL]

Believe Kellie was an assistant coach under Wes at Chattanooga too.
Has Mimi Collins played LVs since transferring after freshman season?

Oh yeah...I forgot about the Mimi Collins connection.

 

[jdote33]

Am I right that LSU v Louisville is a potential 2nd round match-up?

If it happens... especially with Jeff walz. He pulls no punches.

 

[GamecockFam]

For SC, Notre Dame is red hot, though I don’t think they match up well with SC, particularly without Watson. Oregon State could provide a challenge as a 3, but I’m not fully sold. I don’t love facing UNC in the second round if I’m SC. Oklahoma/Indiana aren’t threatening though for Sweet 16, particularly if Holmes is out. They avoid UCONN in Albany too, so it’s an ideal draw.

I think USC got a great draw as well. They likely get a Kitley-less VT in the Sweet 16 (or Baylor who has been trending down), and the Elite 8 is either a streaky OSU team or a UCONN team who hasn’t beat anyone notable this year. I wouldn’t count out Duke as a dark horse either.

Iowa got a brutal draw. Kansas State is easily the hardest 4 seed for them to match with and playing the winner of LSU/UCLA is brutal. They could make it to Cleveland still but it’s a very tough path.

I will say I am stunned the committee didn’t put UCONN in Albany nor OSU in Portland. Fortunately I think both locations will draw well and we’ll see teams play on neutral courts which I’m a fan of.

Texas’s regional will be fun to see. Stanford/Iowa State will potentially be a great second round matchup with Brink/Cooks.

Maybe I'm naive but as a South Carolina fan, I'm more worried about Oregon State than Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame is a horrible matchup and we would absolutely dominate the paint. A rematch of Hidalgo vs Fulwiley would be a fun game within the game, though.

 

[JstVisiting]

For SC ... I don’t love facing UNC in the second round if I’m SC.

 

[Coburn]

couple of things about a potential SC / UNC rematch.

1/ first game w/ Heels was early in the season and the first true road game (sold out, hostile crowd, border rival) for a youthful and somewhat game inexperienced squad. Overcame a sluggish start and won the second half and the game, passing an important early season road test.

2/ IF we play again, the rematch is in the CLA where SC has not lost in over three years . This season only one home game was decided by less than 10 points. most, including UConn, Ol Miss, Alabama (all NCAA Tournament teams) were by 20/30 or more. crowd will be close to capacity and loud.

3/ Lay Fulwiley played 3 minutes in the first game b/c of a few lapses on D/freshman mistakes. She will play a much bigger role on both sides of the ball & in transition in a possible rematch. she has a particular set of skills, speed, & excitement coming off the bench that is hard to plan for in a home game environment

could be a close game into the 4th if SC is not playing their best or it could be in hand & decided by the mid/end of the third if they’re on. that’s usually how it goes with this year’s team. more so the latter, when playing at home.

 

[Darwin]

Haha - if you say so. Not 3 times harder IMO. But at least you have 5 players to suit up in the first game.

SC’s bench could make the sweet 16 and EE.

 

[cancontent]

Haha - if you say so. Not 3 times harder IMO. But at least you have 5 players to suit up in the first game.

Cardoso is the only player who won't be playing Friday. The announcers misspoke last weekend about how many players were going to be disqualified from the first round.

 

[Darwin]

And who knows what shape McKenzie Holmes is in?

Holmes is good to go. When IU is cooking from 3 (they were the top 3 point team in the nation) they can beat ANYBODY.

 

[bballnut90]

Most intriguing potential matchups IMO:

1st Round:

Iowa State-Maryland. Maryland ended their season in a big way by blowing out Ohio State. Iowa State similarly torched Oklahoma in the Big 12 semifinals. Both have Cinderella potential and some really talented players.

2nd Round:
South Carolina-North Carolina. UNC gave SC one of its toughest games of the year earlier in the season. They're physical and tough, two traits needed to hang with South Carolina.

Stanford vs. Iowa State. Crooks vs. Brink would be a blast to see.

Duke vs. Ohio State. Celeste Taylor plays her former team. Duke is very dangerous and Ohio State has struggled finishing the season. I think the Buckeyes could be ripe for an upset.

Oregon State vs. Nebraska. Both teams have strong bigs and I think Nebraska has proven they're incredibly dangerous with their showings vs. Iowa. If they bring the same energy and intensity, they could find themselves in the Sweet 16.

Louisville vs. LSU. Hailey Van Lith vs her old team. Hailey Van Lith losing to her old team after leaving to form a super team would be an unbelievable storyline.

Kansas State vs. Colorado. This is the most intriguing 2nd round matchup IMO. Colorado has struggled to end the year but they are a very dangerous team with their size inside, perimeter shooting and great PG play. Kansas State has an immovable post player in Lee. This will be a battle.


Looking a little further ahead:

Sweet 16:
UCLA vs. LSU. This is one of the best regional matchups and kind of a shame we see these 2 playing before the Elite 8. Both teams have championship potential.

Iowa vs. Kansas State/Colorado. Either matchup is deadly for Iowa. Colorado is a more complete team in my opinion but Iowa playing KState a 3rd time this year would make it a toss up.

UCONN vs. Ohio State. Rematch of last year, though both teams looks markedly different. I think UCONN is better suited to beat Ohio State this year but it's going to be a great match up. Sheldon/Taylor guarding Bueckers is can't miss TV.


Elite 8:

LSU vs. Iowa. Will be one of the most viewed games ever if these 2 meet.

Texas vs. Stanford. Rematch of the 2022 Elite 8 where Tara made some comments about Texas's style of play that offended the Longhorns. Texas is better suited to beat Stanford than they were in 2022 but the last matchup was a battle. Both teams were the clear #4/#5 squads too.

USC vs. Ohio State. These 2 opened the season playing each other and it was where Watkins exploded on the women's scene. USC upset Ohio State but a 1-2 battle would be a great matchup should these 2 face.