SAN ANTONIO (AP) – This year’s NCAA women’s tournament may be one of the most open in years, with almost a dozen teams having a good chance of winning the championship.
The uncertainty seems appropriate after a season stressed by the pandemic of stops, breaks and cancellations.
The main Stanford, South Carolina, NC State and UConn seeds are definitely favorites to win the title on April 4 at Alamodome. The four numbers 2 are also among the favorites to win, with Louisville, Maryland, Baylor and Texas A&M all contending for the title.
“This year is as open as any other. Last year, maybe it was Oregon or people can say South Carolina, ”said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. “In recent years there has been Baylor with Brittney Griner or Connecticut with Maya Moore, but I think this year is open. There are many different teams that can win this tournament. I think it will be very exciting and great for TV ”.
History is on the side of the best teams. One or two seeded players have won all women’s tournament titles since 1997, including the last eight by number 1.
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who led the Aggies to the 2011 national championship, said his advice is to always play the game “without fear”.
“This is how you advance in the NCAAs. If you come in thinking that this team is No. 1 or No. 2, you have no chance, “said Blair, whose Aggies are two seeds.” But if you come in with a fearless attitude, the Cinderella happen every hour.
“I was a team with few seeds in Arkansas. I am still the lowest ranked team that ever made it to Final Four when I was in Arkansas as number 9 in the ranking. We had the opportunity at Stanford to see a No. 16 defeat a No. 1 … That has always been a great teaching lesson for me. “
Even if this trend does not change, there are more teams capable of pulling surprises and at least reaching the Final Four, especially since there were less games and training in the regular season than during the normal year.
The talent also seems to be more widespread now.
A look at the AP All-America team and, for the first time, there were 15 different schools represented on it. Over the course of the season, the No. 1 poll team has changed four times – the second highest number ever. NC State and Stanford lost games to unqualified teams this season.
In addition, with the entire NCAA Tournament being played on neutral courts, there is a better chance of more surprises, as teams with less seeds will not have to win on the court of a team with more seeds to advance to Sweet 16.
Any team that runs a deep race will have to deal with the mental aspect as well. A school that wins the national championship will have spent nearly three weeks in San Antonio confined to its hotel.
Stanford, the No. 1 seed overall, may be in the best position to overcome this. The cardinal spent nine weeks away from home because of the virus. If they can, VanDerveer can win its first national championship since 1992.
“I think it helps,” said the Hall of Fame coach. “We are used to taking tests every day and eating in our rooms. He prepared us for this. We have done this, we can handle it. “
VanDerveer tells players that their middle name must be “flexible”.
Some other things to note in the tournament:
FRESH FACES:
There are many freshmen and talented sophomores who are making their NCAA debut. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark led the country with a score of 26.7 points per game and UConn’s Paige Bueckers became the third freshman to receive America’s first team honors.
South Carolina sophomore Aliyah Boston, also an All-American, will be playing in her first NCAA tournament after last season’s was swept away by the pandemic.
FIRST TIMES:
Four teams will make their debut at the NCAA Tournament, although they all have a difficult task to make a long stay. Bradley, High Point. Stony Brook and Utah Valley. With 11 seedlings, Bradley has the best chance of getting out of the first round, as the other three teams would need monumental surprises like 15 and 16 seed.
MISSING YOUR LEADER:
UConn, who has participated in the Final Four in all tournaments since 2008, will not have coach Geno Auriemma in his first two games because he contracted coronaviru last week. Auriemma should be back for Sweet 16.
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