The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship — starting with the first-ever First Four…
The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship — starting with the first-ever First Four games. The tournament returned to some normalcy this year after it was played in its entirety in San Antonio last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The top 16 seeds will host the first rounds, with the Final Four in Minneapolis. When picking a bracket there are a couple of rules to live by: NO.1 RULES: A No.1 seed has won the national championship the past nine years and 13 of the last 14. All four of the 1 seeds have reached the Final Four three times since the 2012 tournament. WHERE HAVE ALL THE UPSETS GONE?: Looking to pick a 14,15 or 16 seed for an upset? Might want to look elsewhere as there has been only one victory by any of those seeds in the 38-year history of the tournament. That was when 16th-seeded Harvard knocked off No.1 Stanford in 1998. The No.14,15 and 16 seeds are winless since. Last season 13th-seeded Wright State knocked off Arkansas. There have only been 10 wins by 13 seeds in the tournament. Only three double-digit seeds made it out of the first round last year when games were played on neutral sites. WATCH OUT FOR THOSE 12s: Just like in the men’s bracket, the 12 seeds have some success in recent years upending the 5s. At least one 12 has made it out of the first round in four of the last five tournaments. And now the picks, with a small disclaimer that it’s no fun to just pick all the favorites to win, so there are some potential upset choices in here: GREENSBORO REGION Analysis: South Carolina has gone 11-0 when playing other Top 25 teams this season, although the Gamecocks enter the NCAAs coming off a loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship game. Dawn Staley’s team is the favorite to win the national championship and it’s hard to see anyone in the region knocking them off before a potential matchup with No.2 Iowa in the regional final. Players to watch: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina, Caitlin Clark, Iowa, Ashley Joens, Iowa State, Aneesah Morrow, DePaul. Upset watch: If DePaul makes it through the play-in game against Dayton, the Blue Demons could make a run to the second weekend of the tournament. Morrow is the best freshman in the country and Doug Bruno’s team loves to put points on the board.
