Top 6?

[Dillon77]

As for Notre Dame, from my point of view they are probably the worst matchup for Oregon among the top teams. Prior to her injury, Hebard might have been able to do a better job against Shepherd than she did last year (at least Duck fans would like to believe that), but now-- with the injury and Turner also playing well--I think she would have very tough going, to put it mildly. And Young would once again likely be a nightmare. If Notre Dame has a badish game and Oregon a good one then Oregon could pull out a win, but if both teams play close to their potential then I think Notre Dame will surely prevail. Everything is to me a bit fuzzier vs. the other top teams, and I can at least imagine a victory (and, of course, a loss).

Jonson:
Jessica Shepard was, indeed, a nightmare for Oregon last year, scoring 18 points, snaring 9 rebounds and generally sending bodies flying underneath.

However, the leads in both rebounding and scoring belonged to other Irish: Jackie Young had 13 rebounds and 6 assists (although she "only" had 8 points). But the leading scorer for the Irish was the least expected: forward Kat Westbeld went for 20 points on her usual assortment of elbow jumpers, drives to the basket and put-backs. On the latter, she no doubt benefited from the tag-teaming of Shep and Young, but she was always a savvy player, able to find her spots. That was her optimal offensive game for the Irish in the playoffs.

In fact, all the Irish hit the boards that game. Kat also had 7 bounds, while guards Mabrey (15 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) and Ogunbowale (19 points, 6 rebounds) pitched in, too.

Turner does not have Westbeld's jump shots, but she is moving and leaping well again to tag team with Shepard. And I have no doubt Young will offer the mid-range jumper in lieu of Kat.

 

[connboy77]

I think that ND is dangerous because Turner is starting to get going. I remember in the 2016-17 season she was hitting some turn around and fadeaway shots consistently. She hasn't shown that this year until recently.

Stanford is a dangerous team because of Tara. Her defensive scheme's are great if she has the time to prepare.

Matchups are everything in this year tourney. Iowa is definitely the weakest link. Baylor would love to get them. Cox is pretty lengthy and bulky at the 4. Gustafson is about positioning and quick post moves. Per her post-UConn interview, Cox takes defense seriously. I think she would be up to the challenge of slowing down Gustafson. If she can't out position her, throw Brown on her. That would be tough to get around.

MSst should be a 2 seed IMO, and they are the most dangerous one. Oregon doesn't seem as dangerous to me because I don't think Graves is elite at adjustments on the fly. The two best samples I have are against Stanford and ND last year, so maybe he is but not at an elite level yet. Also, Sabally is very foul prone and Hebard can be neutralized a little bit with a decent shot blocker.

I think the E8 seedings will be
Baylor/Iowa
UConn/MSst
ND/Stanford
Lou/Oregon

I can see MSst and Lou trading places with their seeding, but I think the committee would rather have some fresher matchups. Not two matchups that have already taken place. Plus, Lou has the better resume vs MSst.

MSst will be a #1 seed. I look for Louisville to be the #2 seed in Albany.

 

[DefenseBB]

My comment wasn't about Mississippi State. It was about Iowa. There's probably a decent reason why MSU is likely to be a 1 seed or the 1st 2 seed and Iowa isn't in that discussion. Could be that...

MSU is a more complete team. They get 18 a game from their star and score 86, while Iowa is VERY dependent on Gustafson, who provides 28 of their 80 points a game.

Iowa is 11-6 away from home. Miss State is 16-1 (Oregon was the 1).

Iowa beats teams by 12 on average. Miss State by 28.

Massey also says MSU beats Iowa 3 outta 4 times by an expected 8 point margin.

I think it would be a war if they played, but would not fear that matchup nearly as much as any of the other possibilities among the Top 8.

MSU also went 18-1 vs that weak SEC this year winning by an average of 20 points. They were pretty dominant.

Here’s the current RPI
RealTimeRPI.com Women's College Basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ratings - A leading sports ratings and resources community on the Internet

Seems I am not the only one who has a discerning eye. Isn’t that your team looking up two spots at Iowa? Hey, I get it, you love your team. I happen to only like your team. I have NO Problem playing you again as there is NO WAY we lose. Too much revenge factor. But hey, I know I love my team as to most of my colleagues on here.

 

[uconnfan68]

Baylor will be tested by any team at a neutral site during the tournament. They’ve shown us year after year that they’re not a tournament team

2 very good bigs. Most teams are lucky to have 1.

 

[IWearShoes]

Here’s the current RPI
RealTimeRPI.com Women's College Basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ratings - A leading sports ratings and resources community on the Internet

Seems I am not the only one who has a discerning eye. Isn’t that your team looking up two spots at Iowa? Hey, I get it, you love your team. I happen to only like your team. I have NO Problem playing you again as there is NO WAY we lose. Too much revenge factor. But hey, I know I love my team as to most of my colleagues on here.

Did you actually just use RPI to make a case? I'll let this debate die right here.

 

[DefenseBB]

Did you actually just use RPI to make a case? I'll let this debate die right here.

I did only because that’s what the “committee is using”. Sort of moot now as MSU got#1 seed which seems so at odds with ANY METRIC but hey, good luck back up in the Northwest.