March – always a marquee month on the women’s basketball schedule.
Many states are wrapping up their high school basketball tournaments. In addition, the hype train for the WNBA Draft is preparing to pick up steam and make its eventual final destination in Midtown Manhattan. This March has been further amplified by the conclusion of the inaugural Unrivaled League season and a trade involving Natasha Cloud to the New York Liberty.
And then, of course, that is that NCAA Tournament thing that captures the nation’s attention for the latter half of March into early April.
Following South Carolina’s triumphant victory over Iowa in last season’s national championship game, there are 67 other teams looking to be where Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks were at the conclusion of last season.
That field of 68 has indeed been unveiled. And as was predicted by many, the Gamecocks – along with UCLA’s Bruins, USC’s Trojans and Texas’ Longhorns are entering this year’s rendition of March Madness as one seeds.
The big prize will be claimed by one of these teams in a few weeks in Tampa as its Amalie Arena is once again serving as the site of this year’s Final Four. The last time it did so was in 2019 when Baylor – whose team included Kalani Brown and DiJonai Carrington – was the last team standing.
Without further ado, here are five thoughts about this season’s tournament.
Hard to Pick
Moreso than in recent years, it appears difficult to choose a winner if one is filling out a bracket.
There is a strong case to be made for South Carolina. There is a strong case to be made for Southern Cal. There is a strong case to be made for UCLA. There is a strong case to be made for Texas. There is a strong case to be made for UConn. There is even a strong case to be made for Notre Dame or LSU.
Even last season, one could see South Carolina as the odds on favorite as it became clear as the season wore on that the Gamecocks were still the team to beat. That is no longer the case as South Carolina has suffered some crushing defeats this season.
In fact – no team is unbeaten entering this year’s rendition of March Madness. That is why it may be smarter than ever this season to roll the dice on some early round upsets.
Travel Favoring South Carolina?
One reason why the Gamecocks could very well be favored in may office pools will have a lot to do with its travel situation.
It is certainly more favorable than that of other top seeds in this tourney. South Carolina should not face much resistance in the first two rounds. They will play those games at Colonial Life Arena. The Birmingham regionals are things could get dicey for Dawn Staley’s assembling but that is not too treacherous of a trek for South Carolina.
Then – there is the Final Four in Tampa – again, not that arduous a journey from the Palmetto State. If travel becomes a factor, smart money could be on South Carolina once again.
Notre Dame a 3 seed?
Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo, Coach Nielle Ivey and the rest of Notre Dame had to be watching Sunday night’s selection show on ESPN fully expecting that the Fighting Irish would be among the two seeds.
Instead, the luck of the Irish was not on Notre Dame side as the selection committee threw South Bend a massive curveball in the form of a 3 seed.
It had to be a gut punch for a Notre Dame team that, earlier in the season, was being talked about as if it could be the team that dethrones South Carolina. We have seen in the past teams that feel slighted by the committee use that as fuel for a deep tournament run.
Especially considering Miles knows WNBA scouts are keeping a close eye on her in advance of next month’s draft, Notre Dame could be a popular pick by many to advance to the Final Four – where they would presumably match up with those Gamecocks.
Cinderellas
With the talent pool of women’s basketball becoming more spread out, it means upsets will become more and more common in March.
Two teams that could become popular upset picks could be Harvard and Norfolk State.
Harvard has a chance to embark on a Cinderella run because of the emerging star that is Harmoni Turner. The same applies to Norfolk State because of the emergence of Diamond Johnson.
When looking at rising stars with golden opportunities to increase their draft stock and become household names, Turner and Johnson should be at the top of many lists.
Darkhorse, Thy Name is Duke?
Because of teams such as USC, South Carolina and UConn, a team such as Duke may not necessarily come up in terms of the Final Four or national championship conversation.
Overlook Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils at one’s own peril. There is a reason why this team is a two seed in the same region as South Carolina. Duke can easily see itself in a Sweet 16 matchup against arch rival North Carolina. Then we may see the Blue Devils vs. South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
Ashlon Jackson. Taina Mair. Oluchi Okananwa. Reigan Richardson.
One may not expect the Blue Devils to defeat the Gamecocks, but given how South Carolina has struggled against other upper echelon teams like UCLA, Texas and UConn, a team like Duke can give the defending champions a massive scare.
