- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 398,768
- Reaction score
- 43
The Sweet 16 is upon us with a field of teams we mostly expected to see. All of the top three-seeded teams are represented in Birmingham, Ala. and Spokane, Wash. for the regional rounds, which will be played on Friday and Saturday.
No. 5 seeds Kansas State, Ole Miss and Tennessee qualify as minor surprises, but anyone watching this season of women’s college basketball will understand these are tenacious competitors capable of advancing. How much further? It’s a little hard to see the road continuing for these three teams, which will now be faced with slaying No. 1 seeds in USC, UCLA and Texas, respectively. No. 4 seed Maryland will take on No. 1 seed South Carolina — another daunting task.
Of course, the tournament conversation will still center on who’s not there.
The loss of USC’s JuJu Watkins to a season-ending knee injury in the second round has cast a pall over the tournament and made the Trojans’ path toward a national championship look far more uphill than it had. How they’ll handle the Wildcats will be an enticing matchup as the Trojans are sure to bring emotion and motivation into the Sweet 16 on their Win One for JuJu campaign.
The open tournament rounds brought us plenty to celebrate. Who will forget the Maryland-Alabama double-overtime thriller and the Terrapins’ Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 45-point outburst and cool free-throw shooting?
Here’s how the teams stack up against each other:
How good is South Carolina? An 11-point second-round victory feels like a squeaker. The Gamecocks hurdled a familiar foe, ousting Indiana in Columbia, S.C., in the second round. South Carolina’s second-half performance stood out, as it handled the Hoosiers with a stellar third quarter. South Carolina doesn’t necessarily have a singular star that everything runs through, but the Gamecocks’ depth makes them dangerous. They find multiple ways to win, adapt and grind a game into their favor. That will be critical in the Sweet 16 against Maryland.
The Huskies just keep churning. They disposed of South Dakota State behind a career-best-tying 34 points from Paige Bueckers in her likely last showing at Gampel Pavilion. She also shot nearly 70 percent from the floor without turning over the ball. This was a box office performance from the UConn star and presumptive No. 1 pick in the coming WNBA Draft. What makes UConn so special is the roster cohesion coach Geno Auriemma has welded together this season. Each role player comes in, tweaks a part of the offense or defense, adjusts the formula, and UConn goes on a run or stifles opponents’ runs.
Similarly to South Carolina, UCLA was tested in the second round, even if the final score doesn’t fully indicate that. The Bruins’ depth and versatility continue to shine even as Lauren Betts scored 30 points. After a full half of Richmond’s defense collapsing on Betts, while largely ignoring UCLA’s perimeter threats and making interior passes difficult, Kiki Rice came alive for 23 points. Every hole you poke in the Bruins’ lineups, spacing or defensive game plans can be tweaked and altered for each matchup. They look primed to come out of Spokane and enter their first Final Four in school history.
The Longhorns came into the NCAA Tournament and have continually proven why they deserved a No. 1 seed. They are a devastating defensive team. They don’t deploy any weak defenders, offer a ton of size and length and have been locked in on the game plan, allowing just below 14 points per quarter in the tournament. Moving Jordan Lee into the starting lineup and playing her more has made Texas more mobile, a little more open on offense, and has made Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda a dominant sixth player. The dynamic of defending Madison Booker and Taylor Jones, operating from differing spots on the court, has proven problematic all year for opponents, but those tweaks make Texas even harder to guard. The looming Sweet 16 matchup with Tennessee is fascinating.
The Fighting Irish look like a Final Four team again, recapturing the dynamic two-way play that set them apart for the majority of the season. Notre Dame’s guards are sharing the ball, and every player is involved. With more offensive decisiveness, the Irish have been able to set their defense consistently, and the attention to detail has stood out. A significant test awaits in Birmingham with a rematch against a dynamic TCU offense, but Notre Dame looks much more prepared to take on a challenge than they appeared in the ACC tournament just two weeks ago.
When the Wolfpack play like they did in the second round, a demolition of Michigan State, they look like a shoo-in for the Final Four. NC State finished with 18 assists in the game, a significant reason for its 15 3-pointers. Including the second-round performance, the Wolfpack are 18-1 this season when they have 15 or more assists in a game, according to Basketball Reference. Sharing the ball and playing with collective intention sets coach Wes Moore’s team apart. If this is a glimpse of what we’ll see in the Sweet 16, expect NC State to rise.
JuJu Watkins’ season-ending knee injury put a damper on the NCAA Tournament and the Trojans’ chances. The basketball community was stunned by her loss, but from a basketball standpoint, everything gets harder for the Trojans. There is some hope: Forward Kiki Iriafen put together her best game of the season (36 points) against Mississippi State after Watkins went down, and USC’s offense was clicking. USC is built on a remarkably strong defense, and that won’t be fading any time soon, even without Watkins.
Try as they might to slow down the Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince’s two-player game, Louisville was unsuccessful. Van Lith has gotten to a level within the offense that she can manipulate when teams send extra help, a big problem for the Cardinals as she picked apart a more aggressive defense, leading to a 10-assist game and 11 3s as a team. A flaw still emerged as the Horned Frogs struggled mightily to contain Louisville’s Jayda Curry, who erupted for 41 points. TCU can win games in a shot-making battle, but against teams with more length and defensive dynamism, can they contain star guards as well? That question looms large in a rematch with Notre Dame.
Duke survived the matchup nightmare presented by Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei, made more notable by the absence of freshman phenom Toby Fournier in the paint due to illness. While this game wasn’t pretty, with a slower pace and quite a few turnovers, it presented a blueprint for Duke. Defend, control the pace of play, and win the shooting battle. Ashlon Jackson shined brightly, playing with confidence out of screens and raining down from outside, much like senior teammate Reigan Richardson did last March. In Jackson and Richardson, coach Kara Lawson has one of the more dynamic shot-making tandems. When they play to their fullest potential, it opens the door for the rest of the team to play to its full potential.
The Tigers are fully healthy as Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson played in both tournament wins. When LSU is locked in, siting down on defense and getting out to run in transition, it’s remarkably tough to beat. A significant reason for optimism with LSU is the version of Sa’Myah Smith we’ve seen in Big Dance thus far, putting up double-digit scoring efforts in the first two rounds, including a 20-point showing against Florida State. NC State, its Sweet 16 opponent that plays smaller, presents a fun matchup with the teams’ clashing styles. Adding to the intrigue, LSU beat the Wolfpack 82-65 in November.
Facing Ole Miss is not enviable for most opponents. The Rebels have depth they can use to mix and match lineups to play more guard-heavy (as they did against Baylor), or with more size, which they could employ against UCLA. Every player can defend, rebound and make a play on offense. With their versatility and experience, it’ll be easier said than done to handle the Rebels. While outside shotmaking ability is a fair question for Ole Miss (six made 3s in total in the first two rounds), that hasn’t stopped it from advancing.
The Wildcats claimed a signature one-point win against Kentucky in the second round, and they have an opportunity for an even bigger marquee victory on Saturday against top-seeded USC (sans Watkins). Kansas State has been propelled by its star trio of Ayoka Lee, Serena Sundell and Temira Poindexter. At their best, the Wildcats have size and length across the board, while they can also spread the floor around one of the best pure post-up players in the country in Lee. While well-known for her playmaking, Sundell’s ability to score herself and create easier chances against Kentucky was key in that win and could be again against the Trojans. When Sundell scores 15 or more points, Kansas State is 15-2, including in both tournament wins.
The Sooners are in the Sweet 16 for the first time under coach Jennie Baranczyk and for the first time as a program since 2013. Oklahoma’s been somewhat under the radar in the tournament, and that’s a testament to how it’s deftly handled its business, outscoring Florida Gulf Coast and Iowa by a combined 57 points. The Sooners are known for their potent offense, but they’ve also stood out for their defense and winning the possession battle, grabbing a whopping 64 rebounds against Iowa in the second round. They’re big, physical, efficient and not beating themselves. However, the Sooners will be fully put to the test against UConn.
Are the Lady Vols back after a difficult close to the season? It sure seems that way after a strong showing against Ohio State in the second round. The press forces turnovers — 43 in the first two tournament games — which creates easy buckets. Tennessee shot 56 percent or better on 2s in both games. Star wing Talaysia Cooper looks like she’s back to full health after her ankle injury late in the season. How will the Lady Vols handle Texas, which has more size and the ability to attack the post? They’ll be put to the test against an SEC rival, which beat the Lady Vols by four in the regular season.
The Tar Heels have so many weapons at their disposal, and that was on full display against West Virginia. They can win through strong guard play and mid-range shots. They can win through the strength of their post play, as Alyssa Ustby’s face-up game and physicality provided a key mismatch against the Mountaineers. Against familiar foe and in-state rival Duke, North Carolina must figure out how to crack Duke’s defense. Can the Tar Heels play with cohesion and composure? UNC’s Reniya Kelly didn’t play in the most recent meeting against the Blue Devils, and the Tar Heels coughed up the ball 20 times in that game.
The Terrapins put together the definition of “survive and advance” with a double overtime thriller against Alabama in the second round. Maryland has a wealth of offensive firepower, but one of the most notable aspects has been how that’s shifted since Shyanne Sellers’ mid-year knee injury. Since Maryland’s three straight losses in the middle of the season, Sarah Te-Biasu is averaging just over 16 points per game, capped off by tying her season high with 26 against Alabama. Sellers has shifted to playing more outside-in, taking over five 3-point attempts per game since Maryland’s loss to Nebraska, including eight triples against Alabama. She’s taken more 3s in that stretch than the 23 prior games. The Terrapins can go shot for shot with any team in the nation, but can they defend one-on-one? Against South Carolina, that’s especially difficult. Containing the dribble-drive has been a struggle all season for the Terps, and that’s been the same in the NCAA Tournament.
The Athletic
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
USC Trojans, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Kansas State Wildcats, North Carolina State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils, Maryland Terrapins, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins, Tennessee Lady Volunteers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Ole Miss Rebels, North Carolina Tar Heels, TCU Horned Frogs, Connecticut Huskies, LSU Lady Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Women's College Basketball, Bracket Central, Women's NCAA Tournament
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
No. 5 seeds Kansas State, Ole Miss and Tennessee qualify as minor surprises, but anyone watching this season of women’s college basketball will understand these are tenacious competitors capable of advancing. How much further? It’s a little hard to see the road continuing for these three teams, which will now be faced with slaying No. 1 seeds in USC, UCLA and Texas, respectively. No. 4 seed Maryland will take on No. 1 seed South Carolina — another daunting task.
Of course, the tournament conversation will still center on who’s not there.
The loss of USC’s JuJu Watkins to a season-ending knee injury in the second round has cast a pall over the tournament and made the Trojans’ path toward a national championship look far more uphill than it had. How they’ll handle the Wildcats will be an enticing matchup as the Trojans are sure to bring emotion and motivation into the Sweet 16 on their Win One for JuJu campaign.
The open tournament rounds brought us plenty to celebrate. Who will forget the Maryland-Alabama double-overtime thriller and the Terrapins’ Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 45-point outburst and cool free-throw shooting?
Here’s how the teams stack up against each other:
South Carolina Gamecocks
How good is South Carolina? An 11-point second-round victory feels like a squeaker. The Gamecocks hurdled a familiar foe, ousting Indiana in Columbia, S.C., in the second round. South Carolina’s second-half performance stood out, as it handled the Hoosiers with a stellar third quarter. South Carolina doesn’t necessarily have a singular star that everything runs through, but the Gamecocks’ depth makes them dangerous. They find multiple ways to win, adapt and grind a game into their favor. That will be critical in the Sweet 16 against Maryland.
Connecticut Huskies
The Huskies just keep churning. They disposed of South Dakota State behind a career-best-tying 34 points from Paige Bueckers in her likely last showing at Gampel Pavilion. She also shot nearly 70 percent from the floor without turning over the ball. This was a box office performance from the UConn star and presumptive No. 1 pick in the coming WNBA Draft. What makes UConn so special is the roster cohesion coach Geno Auriemma has welded together this season. Each role player comes in, tweaks a part of the offense or defense, adjusts the formula, and UConn goes on a run or stifles opponents’ runs.
UCLA Bruins
Similarly to South Carolina, UCLA was tested in the second round, even if the final score doesn’t fully indicate that. The Bruins’ depth and versatility continue to shine even as Lauren Betts scored 30 points. After a full half of Richmond’s defense collapsing on Betts, while largely ignoring UCLA’s perimeter threats and making interior passes difficult, Kiki Rice came alive for 23 points. Every hole you poke in the Bruins’ lineups, spacing or defensive game plans can be tweaked and altered for each matchup. They look primed to come out of Spokane and enter their first Final Four in school history.
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns came into the NCAA Tournament and have continually proven why they deserved a No. 1 seed. They are a devastating defensive team. They don’t deploy any weak defenders, offer a ton of size and length and have been locked in on the game plan, allowing just below 14 points per quarter in the tournament. Moving Jordan Lee into the starting lineup and playing her more has made Texas more mobile, a little more open on offense, and has made Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda a dominant sixth player. The dynamic of defending Madison Booker and Taylor Jones, operating from differing spots on the court, has proven problematic all year for opponents, but those tweaks make Texas even harder to guard. The looming Sweet 16 matchup with Tennessee is fascinating.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish look like a Final Four team again, recapturing the dynamic two-way play that set them apart for the majority of the season. Notre Dame’s guards are sharing the ball, and every player is involved. With more offensive decisiveness, the Irish have been able to set their defense consistently, and the attention to detail has stood out. A significant test awaits in Birmingham with a rematch against a dynamic TCU offense, but Notre Dame looks much more prepared to take on a challenge than they appeared in the ACC tournament just two weeks ago.
North Carolina State Wolfpack
When the Wolfpack play like they did in the second round, a demolition of Michigan State, they look like a shoo-in for the Final Four. NC State finished with 18 assists in the game, a significant reason for its 15 3-pointers. Including the second-round performance, the Wolfpack are 18-1 this season when they have 15 or more assists in a game, according to Basketball Reference. Sharing the ball and playing with collective intention sets coach Wes Moore’s team apart. If this is a glimpse of what we’ll see in the Sweet 16, expect NC State to rise.
USC Trojans
JuJu Watkins’ season-ending knee injury put a damper on the NCAA Tournament and the Trojans’ chances. The basketball community was stunned by her loss, but from a basketball standpoint, everything gets harder for the Trojans. There is some hope: Forward Kiki Iriafen put together her best game of the season (36 points) against Mississippi State after Watkins went down, and USC’s offense was clicking. USC is built on a remarkably strong defense, and that won’t be fading any time soon, even without Watkins.
TCU Horned Frogs
Try as they might to slow down the Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince’s two-player game, Louisville was unsuccessful. Van Lith has gotten to a level within the offense that she can manipulate when teams send extra help, a big problem for the Cardinals as she picked apart a more aggressive defense, leading to a 10-assist game and 11 3s as a team. A flaw still emerged as the Horned Frogs struggled mightily to contain Louisville’s Jayda Curry, who erupted for 41 points. TCU can win games in a shot-making battle, but against teams with more length and defensive dynamism, can they contain star guards as well? That question looms large in a rematch with Notre Dame.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke survived the matchup nightmare presented by Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei, made more notable by the absence of freshman phenom Toby Fournier in the paint due to illness. While this game wasn’t pretty, with a slower pace and quite a few turnovers, it presented a blueprint for Duke. Defend, control the pace of play, and win the shooting battle. Ashlon Jackson shined brightly, playing with confidence out of screens and raining down from outside, much like senior teammate Reigan Richardson did last March. In Jackson and Richardson, coach Kara Lawson has one of the more dynamic shot-making tandems. When they play to their fullest potential, it opens the door for the rest of the team to play to its full potential.
LSU Tigers
The Tigers are fully healthy as Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson played in both tournament wins. When LSU is locked in, siting down on defense and getting out to run in transition, it’s remarkably tough to beat. A significant reason for optimism with LSU is the version of Sa’Myah Smith we’ve seen in Big Dance thus far, putting up double-digit scoring efforts in the first two rounds, including a 20-point showing against Florida State. NC State, its Sweet 16 opponent that plays smaller, presents a fun matchup with the teams’ clashing styles. Adding to the intrigue, LSU beat the Wolfpack 82-65 in November.
Ole Miss Rebels
Facing Ole Miss is not enviable for most opponents. The Rebels have depth they can use to mix and match lineups to play more guard-heavy (as they did against Baylor), or with more size, which they could employ against UCLA. Every player can defend, rebound and make a play on offense. With their versatility and experience, it’ll be easier said than done to handle the Rebels. While outside shotmaking ability is a fair question for Ole Miss (six made 3s in total in the first two rounds), that hasn’t stopped it from advancing.
Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats claimed a signature one-point win against Kentucky in the second round, and they have an opportunity for an even bigger marquee victory on Saturday against top-seeded USC (sans Watkins). Kansas State has been propelled by its star trio of Ayoka Lee, Serena Sundell and Temira Poindexter. At their best, the Wildcats have size and length across the board, while they can also spread the floor around one of the best pure post-up players in the country in Lee. While well-known for her playmaking, Sundell’s ability to score herself and create easier chances against Kentucky was key in that win and could be again against the Trojans. When Sundell scores 15 or more points, Kansas State is 15-2, including in both tournament wins.
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners are in the Sweet 16 for the first time under coach Jennie Baranczyk and for the first time as a program since 2013. Oklahoma’s been somewhat under the radar in the tournament, and that’s a testament to how it’s deftly handled its business, outscoring Florida Gulf Coast and Iowa by a combined 57 points. The Sooners are known for their potent offense, but they’ve also stood out for their defense and winning the possession battle, grabbing a whopping 64 rebounds against Iowa in the second round. They’re big, physical, efficient and not beating themselves. However, the Sooners will be fully put to the test against UConn.
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Are the Lady Vols back after a difficult close to the season? It sure seems that way after a strong showing against Ohio State in the second round. The press forces turnovers — 43 in the first two tournament games — which creates easy buckets. Tennessee shot 56 percent or better on 2s in both games. Star wing Talaysia Cooper looks like she’s back to full health after her ankle injury late in the season. How will the Lady Vols handle Texas, which has more size and the ability to attack the post? They’ll be put to the test against an SEC rival, which beat the Lady Vols by four in the regular season.
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels have so many weapons at their disposal, and that was on full display against West Virginia. They can win through strong guard play and mid-range shots. They can win through the strength of their post play, as Alyssa Ustby’s face-up game and physicality provided a key mismatch against the Mountaineers. Against familiar foe and in-state rival Duke, North Carolina must figure out how to crack Duke’s defense. Can the Tar Heels play with cohesion and composure? UNC’s Reniya Kelly didn’t play in the most recent meeting against the Blue Devils, and the Tar Heels coughed up the ball 20 times in that game.
Maryland Terrapins
The Terrapins put together the definition of “survive and advance” with a double overtime thriller against Alabama in the second round. Maryland has a wealth of offensive firepower, but one of the most notable aspects has been how that’s shifted since Shyanne Sellers’ mid-year knee injury. Since Maryland’s three straight losses in the middle of the season, Sarah Te-Biasu is averaging just over 16 points per game, capped off by tying her season high with 26 against Alabama. Sellers has shifted to playing more outside-in, taking over five 3-point attempts per game since Maryland’s loss to Nebraska, including eight triples against Alabama. She’s taken more 3s in that stretch than the 23 prior games. The Terrapins can go shot for shot with any team in the nation, but can they defend one-on-one? Against South Carolina, that’s especially difficult. Containing the dribble-drive has been a struggle all season for the Terps, and that’s been the same in the NCAA Tournament.
The Athletic
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
USC Trojans, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Kansas State Wildcats, North Carolina State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils, Maryland Terrapins, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins, Tennessee Lady Volunteers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Ole Miss Rebels, North Carolina Tar Heels, TCU Horned Frogs, Connecticut Huskies, LSU Lady Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Women's College Basketball, Bracket Central, Women's NCAA Tournament
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
