Which 10 groups would possibly win girls’s NCAA title?

We have reached some extent the place nearly something can occur within the early rounds of the ladies’s NCAA match. Final season, No. 1 seeds Stanford (to Ole Miss) and Indiana (to Miami) misplaced within the second spherical.

However by the regionals, big-time upsets are rarer. Previously 10 years, simply two seeds beneath No. 4 have superior to the ladies’s Remaining 4: No. 5 Louisville in 2013 and No. 7 Washington in 2016.

The bottom-seeded workforce to ever win a nationwide championship is No. 3: North Carolina in 1994, Tennessee in 1997 and LSU final season.

So when you think about which groups might win the 2024 NCAA title, no squad past the projected prime 16 seeds seem like a viable selection.

However who’re the highest groups amongst that group? Let’s take a look at the clear favourite to win the 2024 title and the largest challengers.

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Gamecocks earn eighth SEC title with thrilling win vs. LSU

MiLaysia Fulwiley scores a career-high 24 factors to steer top-seeded South Carolina previous the 2-seed Tigers’ 4 double-digit scorers within the 79-72 championship win.

The Gamecocks, Division I’s solely undefeated workforce, have misplaced two video games or fewer in 4 of the previous 5 seasons. They appeared almost unbeatable final season, however bumped into the NCAA match’s hottest participant, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, and their very own chilly perimeter taking pictures in a nationwide semifinal loss.

Saturday, South Carolina was almost upset by Tennessee within the SEC match semifinals however escaped with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It confirmed that even a uncommon time when the Gamecocks gave the impression to be in serious trouble, they nonetheless received out of it.

South Carolina misplaced Aliyah Boston, the WNBA No. 1 draft choose, together with 4 different starters from final 12 months. However this season’s workforce has six gamers who common between 14.0 and 9.2 factors; the workforce’s stability is a part of why South Carolina is so tough to beat.

The Gamecocks do have some considerations: Their protection allow them to down within the second half towards Tennessee, one thing that has not often occurred previously three years. And chilly spells in taking pictures can plague any workforce. Nonetheless, if any workforce has proven the fewest weaknesses, it is the Gamecocks.

It is also noteworthy that of the groups seeded No. 1 within the Energy 5 convention tournaments this season, South Carolina is the one one which received its title.

“It’s March Insanity for a purpose,” Iowa State coach Invoice Fennelly stated after his workforce upset Massive 12 No. 1 seed Oklahoma on Monday. “It is not greatest 4 out of seven. It is not three out of 5. You do not have to beat somebody back-to-back nights. It’s important to be the most effective workforce in a 40-minute recreation. That is what postseason is about and that is what makes it a lot enjoyable. That is why collegiate basketball in March is the most effective factor going.”

True, however the previous few years, South Carolina has been the most effective factor entering into girls’s faculty basketball.

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Caitlin Clark reacts to setting Massive Ten match scoring mark

Iowa star Caitlin Clark offers credit score to her coaches and teammates after setting the all-time scoring document for the Massive Ten match.

Who’re the following 5 groups that might win the nationwide championship?

Beating South Carolina will not be essentially the way in which to win the title; it did not occur for Iowa final 12 months. In fact, LSU benefited essentially the most from Iowa’s victory over the Gamecocks. It meant the Tigers did not must face acquainted SEC foe South Carolina within the nationwide championship recreation. As a substitute, they performed Iowa, and realized lots from what the Gamecocks struggled with towards the Hawkeyes. That helped LSU win its first nationwide championship.

LSU and Iowa are again within the combine once more this season and on our listing of South Carolina’s prime challengers for the title.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes received their third Massive Ten match title in a row Sunday. They did not face two of the groups that beat them in league play: Ohio State and Indiana, which had been each upset earlier than the ultimate. However Iowa did avenge its solely different Massive Ten regular-season loss by beating Nebraska in extra time within the last.

Clark struggled together with her 3-point shot through the Massive Ten match, however nonetheless completed with a three-game complete of 86 factors and was once more MVP. The Hawkeyes are also getting sturdy play from the remainder of their guards and ahead Hannah Stuelke. Iowa is likely to be weak to a workforce with a number of submit threats, however the Hawkeyes have an offense that may overcome nearly something after they’re clicking.

LSU: The Tigers are the defending champions, and there are occasions after they have regarded able to repeating. However their perimeter — notably the playmaking — does not appear fairly as dependable because it was final season. And contemplating how essential LSU’s guards had been in main the Tigers to the NCAA title final 12 months, that is likely to be a priority.

That stated, LSU has measurement and quickness in every single place, and two of the faculty recreation’s greatest rebounders in Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow. Thus far in coach Kim Mulkey’s three seasons at LSU, she hasn’t defeated South Carolina. However relying on the NCAA bracket setup, the Tigers won’t have to try this to win all of it once more.

USC: The Pac-12 match champion Trojans have a professional likelihood at a Remaining 4 journey for the primary time because the 1994, when future Corridor of Famers Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson had been teammates. USC reached the Elite Eight that season. Within the 30 years since, the Trojans have had seven completely different coaches — Mark Trakh had two stints separated by eight years — and have not gotten previous the second spherical of the NCAA match.

Now the Trojans are hovering fairly excessive with a star in JuJu Watkins, the expertise of coach Lindsay Gottlieb and the momentum of the league match — and so they have an opportunity to host the NCAA match early rounds for the primary time in three many years.

Notre Dame: The Irish did not have injured guard Olivia Miles this season, and freshman Hannah Hidalgo needed to be taught on the fly. But it surely has labored for them. Hidalgo could be the nationwide freshman of the 12 months if it weren’t for USC’s Watkins.

The Irish’s ACC match victories had been all towards various kinds of groups: In these three video games, Notre Dame scored 77, 82 and 55 factors. The Irish have received eight in a row, and although they had been the No. 4 seed within the ACC match, they performed just like the No. 1 seed.

UConn: The Huskies have been out of the nationwide highlight this season greater than traditional, dropping 5 nonconference video games after which cruising by means of a Massive East slate that did not actually problem them. Plus, their NCAA-record streak of constructing each Remaining 4 from 2008 to 2022 ended final season, too, so there is not that very same sense of invincibility that UConn had for therefore lengthy.

To say the least, accidents have altered UConn’s actuality over the previous two years (Azzi Fudd was the largest loss this season). Due to that, the Huskies haven’t got the identical margin for error they’ve often had.

Even so, Paige Bueckers has had an amazing season, and elite guards like her imply a lot within the NCAA match. She scored a mixed 83 factors within the Huskies’ three Massive East match video games.

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Notre Dame wins ACC Championship with late-game heroics

Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron comes down with a clutch rebound late within the fourth quarter to ice the sport towards NC State.

What different groups might need an opportunity to triumph in Cleveland?

Stanford is the outlier on this quartet as a result of the Cardinal have been Remaining 4 regulars — most just lately reaching the nationwide semifinals in 2022 — and received a nationwide championship as just lately as 2021, this system’s third.

Texas’ final Remaining 4 was 2003, and Ohio State’s was 1993. The Longhorns received the NCAA title in 1986; Ohio State hasn’t received a nationwide championship. UCLA hasn’t been to the Remaining 4 within the NCAA period however received the AIWA championship in 1978.

This 12 months, Stanford, UCLA and Ohio State all hung out ranked No. 2 within the nation, whereas Texas has been as excessive as No. 3. The Longhorns are additionally nonetheless within the combine to win their convention match title, as they face Iowa State within the Massive 12 last Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Stanford: Of those final 4 groups, the Cardinal possible have the largest disparity between the most effective and worst variations of themselves. At occasions they’ve regarded like a Remaining 4 contender. However of their 4 losses to Pac-12 foes — two of them to USC — the offense has been missing. In these video games, Stanford scored 59, 58, 61 and 61 factors.

The newest defeat was within the Pac-12 last. There, Stanford did a a lot better job towards USC’s JuJu Watkins — she had 51 factors of their Feb. 2 regular-season matchup vs. 9 factors Sunday — however struggled offensively and was dominated on the boards.

UCLA: Since a 20-point loss at Stanford on Feb. 4, the Bruins have performed nicely, going 8-2. So why are they on this third group? There’s concern over late-game execution within the two losses. They fell 79-77 at Oregon State on Feb. 16 after main by seven with lower than three minutes left. Then the lead modified palms 5 occasions within the final 15 seconds. Credit score Oregon State, however it felt like the sport slipped away from UCLA.

Then of their double-overtime loss to USC in Friday’s Pac-12 match semifinal, the Bruins had the final possession on the finish of regulation and the primary of extra time, however did not get a shot off both time. It won’t appear honest to give attention to what UCLA did improper amid doing a lot proper. However the Bruins should be prepared for crunch time within the NCAA match.

Ohio State: The Massive Ten regular-season champion Buckeyes had been one of many hottest groups within the nation, having received 15 in a row going into their regular-season finale at Iowa. However then they misplaced by 10 to the Hawkeyes and had been blown out by 21 by No. 8 seed Maryland within the Massive Ten match quarterfinals. The Buckeyes have considerations about rebounding that confirmed up in each of these defeats. However within the loss to the Terps, coach Kevin McGuff questioned Ohio State’s effort and focus.

Ohio State had one of many largest wins within the NCAA match final 12 months, beating UConn within the regional semifinals. For the Buckeyes to go to a Remaining 4 this 12 months, they need to take a look at what went improper in these final two losses and get again on monitor.

Texas: The Longhorns got here into the Massive 12 match hoping for an additional likelihood at Oklahoma, the workforce that beat Texas twice this season. That will not occur because the Sooners had been upset within the semifinals, however Texas can go away Kansas Metropolis with one other championship.

The Longhorns misplaced star guard Rori Harmon to harm in December, however freshman Madison Booker has been a revelation, and so they have some ways to attain. Defensively, the Horns can dominate video games, too. Whether or not their consistency can maintain up for a nationwide championship run is a query, however they’ve sufficient expertise to play with any workforce.