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 ladies’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 below are some concepts on how one can make your ladies’s bracket sing.
Choose extra upsets within the Bridgeport area.
No area appears to be like 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 heart Ayoka Lee, who set the N.C.A.A. Division I ladies’s single-game scoring document earlier this yr with 61 factors, may make even a ninth seed pose an early menace 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 total 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 Large Ten title per week in the past — and, after all, UConn, a No. 2 seed, which could have a determined home-court benefit. Choosing this part of your bracket accurately might be practically unattainable — there’s a case to be made for any of the highest 4 seeds to make it to Minneapolis for the Remaining 4.
On your 5-12 upset, you may have two good choices.
The clearest alternative 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 achieve this at an unmatched clip, making a median of 11.4 3-point pictures 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 significantly efficient at defending 3-point shooters.
There may be an alternative choice, for bolder bracketeers: No. 12 Stephen F. Austin over North Carolina. This isn’t a alternative justified by any of the numbers. North Carolina was undefeated coming into convention play, and it continued to carry out effectively because of the management of the sophomore guard Deja Kelly. However in final yr’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, developing only a couple factors wanting an time beyond regulation victory.
Select one or two double-digit seeds, a minimum of.
Overlook no matter you will have heard in regards to the ladies’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 yr 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 Remaining 4.
Though South Carolina has dominated Division I for the reason that 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, nevertheless, many of the prime 4 groups will in all probability 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 via in Bridgeport, although followers will argue that the truth that Louisville can also be a prime seed exhibits how Atlantic Coast Convention play has already been a trial — one by 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 dimension and expertise current a difficult matchup. South Carolina might 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 might be the important thing to a profitable bracket.