Bracketology season may have ended Sunday night once the actual women’s NCAA Tournament field became official, but the countless predictions and prognostications are just beginning.
They’ll come left and right all week until the women’s event tips off in earnest on Friday. Upset picks, Final Four picks, national champion picks — sifting through what’s legitimate and what’s ridiculous can be a tall task while looking to craft the perfect bracket.
With that, here are Hawk Central’s Final Four picks for the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Spokane 1: UCLA
It was a bit of a surprise to see UCLA land the No. 1 overall seed, but the Bruins should be able to fill the role well. A Sweet 16 matchup likely against No. 5 seed Ole Miss or No. 4 seed Baylor won’t cause too many problems, nor will an Elite Eight showdown potentially against No. 2 seed North Carolina State or No. 3 seed LSU.
Expect the Bruins in Tampa.
Birmingham 2: South Carolina
While it isn’t easy for South Carolina to find motivation from perceived disrespect, the Gamecocks will try to do so after feeling they deserved the No. 1 overall seed. Of course, South Carolina’s 15-point loss at UCLA doesn’t mean nothing just because it happened several months ago. So there’s a clear reason why the Bruins are up top among one seeds.
Either way, South Carolina should largely cruise to Tampa with a manageable bracket. No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 seed North Carolina have a fraction of the March experience South Carolina boasts, while No. 4 seed Maryland has been too inconsistent to pull a Sweet 16 stunner.
Birmingham 3: Notre Dame
It was somewhat shocking to see the Fighting Irish land a No. 3 seed after spending long stretches of this season ranked in the top-five. However, Notre Dame enters the NCAA Tournament having dropped three of its last five games after falling to Duke in the ACC Tournament semis.
Don’t let recency bias dictate everything, though. Led by all-American phenom Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame spent most of this season rolling through foes and should be able to rediscover that side with the season on the line.
It’s not an overwhelming draw with Texas as the No. 1 seed and TCU the No. 2 seed. The Longhorns haven’t been to the Final Four since 2003. The Horned Frogs have never even cracked the Sweet 16. The massive difference in March pedigrees is why Notre Dame will be able to handle the NCAA Tournament pressure coming.
Spokane 4: Connecticut
This region is where you’ll see the biggest split on Final Four picks. Many will take JuJu Watkins and USC up top. Plenty of others will take Paige Bueckers and UConn at the bottom. That’ll be a dandy of an Elite Eight showdown should it materialize.
It’ll be the Huskies, though, that emerge victorious — with desperation leading the way. It’s pretty wild to look up and see a decade has passed since UConn’s last national championship. With Bueckers’ career likely on its last leg before heading to the WNBA, expect the Huskies’ urgency to be at an all-time high.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
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