The highest seeds fell into place as predicted. Stanford, the reigning champions; South Carolina, North Carolina State and Louisville garnered the highest 4 seeds within the 2022 girls’s Division I match — however that doesn’t make it any simpler to observe the chalk when filling out your individual bracket.
If something, these 4 groups’ static standing atop projections has betrayed a few of their weaknesses. Analysts have already picked aside their worthiness, whereas late-surging groups like Iowa and Kentucky are coming into the match seeded decrease, however with all of the momentum.
Listed here are some concepts on tips on how to make your girls’s bracket sing.
Decide extra upsets within the Bridgeport area.
No area appears extra fraught for top seeds than Bridgeport. North Carolina State drew the highest seed, however the Wolfpack will rapidly face spectacular competitors in the event that they advance out of the primary spherical as anticipated. The junior Kansas State middle Ayoka Lee, who set the N.C.A.A. Division I girls’s single-game scoring report earlier this 12 months with 61 factors, might make even a ninth seed pose an early risk if Kansas State can handle to win its first sport towards No. 8 seed Washington State. Groups with excessive ceilings are scattered up and down the Bridgeport area, from fifth-seeded Notre Dame and fourth-seeded Oklahoma to a Kentucky staff that simply upset the No. 1 general seed, South Carolina, to win the Southeastern Convention match — and the Wildcats are a No. 6 seed.
Much more formidable is No. 3 seed Indiana, which got here tantalizingly near successful the Massive Ten title per week in the past — and, after all, UConn, a No. 2 seed, which could have a determined home-court benefit. Selecting this part of your bracket appropriately shall be practically inconceivable — there’s a case to be made for any of the highest 4 seeds to make it to Minneapolis for the Ultimate 4.
To your 5-12 upset, you might have two good choices.
The clearest selection for a 5-12 upset is Florida Gulf Coast, a No. 12 seed, over Virginia Tech, a No. 5. Each groups like to shoot from behind the arc, however the Eagles accomplish that at an unmatched clip, making a mean of 11.4 3-point photographs per sport. Florida Gulf Coast’s scoring potential makes it a formidable opponent for any staff, and although the Hokies have a stable protection, they haven’t been notably efficient at defending 3-point shooters.
There may be another choice, for bolder bracketeers: No. 12 Stephen F. Austin over North Carolina. This isn’t a selection justified by any of the numbers. North Carolina was undefeated getting into convention play, and it continued to carry out properly due to the management of the sophomore guard Deja Kelly. However in final 12 months’s match, Stephen F. Austin, which was additionally then a No. 12 seed, took North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast Convention colleagues, fifth-seeded Georgia Tech, to the brink within the first spherical, arising only a couple factors in need of an additional time victory.
Select one or two double-digit seeds, a minimum of.
Neglect no matter you could have heard concerning the girls’s match missing upsets and pleasure. Final season’s match had three double-digit seeds triumph within the first spherical — as clear a sign as any of the sport’s rising parity. Missouri State, Florida State, DePaul and Dayton will all be enjoying within the First 4 for No. 11 seeds, however whichever of the 4 makes it into the highest 64 will deserve consideration as an upset decide.
One other one to observe: No. 13 Buffalo. Those that have been watching the match for a minimum of a couple of years will bear in mind a Buffalo staff that gave UConn’s juggernaut a significant push within the second spherical in 2019. The Bulls are again this 12 months behind the junior guard Dyaisha Honest, who’s averaging 23.4 factors per sport. Her expertise, in addition to the consistency of coach Felisha Lagette-Jack and Buffalo’s match expertise, make it a promising potential decide.
Solely let a most of three prime seeds into your Ultimate 4.
Though South Carolina has dominated Division I because the tip-off of the 2021-22 season, not even the Gamecocks are infallible going into the match. Each prime seed has a minimum of one notable loss, in addition to flaws that make them look much less formidable to their lower-seeded friends. Statistically talking, nonetheless, many of the prime 4 groups will most likely nonetheless be enjoying in April.
Stanford is in the identical area as an ascendant No. 2 Texas staff that beat it earlier this season. N.C. State has a veritable gantlet to get by way of in Bridgeport, although followers will argue that the truth that Louisville can also be a prime seed reveals how Atlantic Coast Convention play has already been a trial — one during which the Wolfpack proved their endurance by turning into convention champions. Louisville would possibly face No. 2 Baylor and its dominant star NaLyssa Smith, whose measurement and expertise current a difficult matchup. South Carolina may need to get previous the explosive Caitlin Clark and her Iowa squad. Taking a danger on a second or third (or fourth!) seed in a number of of their locations could possibly be the important thing to a profitable bracket.
Supply: NY Times