Girls’s March Insanity bracket questions for Choice Sunday

After one of the crucial thrilling and unpredictable girls’s school basketball seasons in latest reminiscence, Choice Sunday has arrived.

It has been a implausible experience, from Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking season to a different unbeaten run by South Carolina, and from the ultracompetitive race within the remaining season of the Pac-12 to the entire dynamic freshmen lighting up courts throughout the nation.

Evaluating schedules, high quality wins, questionable losses, NET rankings and all of the observations from video games has stuffed the land of Bracketology for the previous six weeks. Now it is time for the ladies’s NCAA event choice committee to take middle stage and supply the ultimate 68-team area.

Because the committee continues to fulfill in Indianapolis forward of Sunday’s Choice Particular (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App), some choices and staff placements are easy. No one will spend a lot time on the No. 1 total seed. The Gamecocks had that wrapped up weeks in the past. Many different features of the bracket won’t be really easy to find out.

So what are the most important questions going through the choice committee? Here’s a take a look at essentially the most urgent discussions these 12 committee members are going through.

What’s the affect of Elizabeth Kitley’s harm?

Having seen how Virginia Tech performed down the stretch in its regular-season finale (upset by Virginia) and the ACC event (blowout loss to Notre Dame within the semifinals), it is clear the Hokies are considerably diminished with out their star middle. The three-time ACC Participant of the 12 months suffered a knee harm towards the Cavaliers and hasn’t performed since, sitting out the ACC event. Virginia Tech hasn’t disclosed Kitley’s standing, together with to — to our information — the choice committee. She remains to be being described as day-to-day.

The committee has no alternative however to take that at face worth.

The philosophy on accidents is that solely a staff’s full résumé will have an effect on its inclusion within the NCAA event, however participant availability, or lack of it, can affect a seed. The Hokies have been in place to be a top-16 staff and thus host first- and second-round video games. If the committee knew for positive that Kitley was not going to play, Virginia Tech’s place as a number could possibly be in danger.

In the case of seeding, there’s not a lot precedent for late-season accidents to stars. In 1998, Stanford misplaced Vanessa Nygaard to an ACL tear within the remaining sport of the common season after which Kristin Folkl 4 days later to the identical harm. In that a lot totally different period, the Cardinal nonetheless acquired a No. 1 seed. Finally, they grew to become the primary and solely high seed to lose to a No. 16, falling to Harvard.

Final 12 months is the closest and most up-to-date comparability to the Kitley scenario. Notre Dame misplaced star level guard Olivia Miles within the regular-season finale to a knee harm. The Irish had been in an identical spot because the Hokies, hoping to host NCAA event video games. However Notre Dame’s standing as a top-16 seed was much more tenuous than Virginia Tech’s this 12 months. Miles remained listed as day-to-day proper up till the beginning of the NCAA event; the Irish acquired a No. 3 seed and gained two video games in South Bend, Indiana, to achieve the Candy 16.

Every week earlier than the top of this common season, Virginia Tech was contending for a No. 1 seed if the Hokies had a powerful end. That pursuit ended with a decisive loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 29. The Hokies’ spot continued to fall primarily based on how they performed, dropping from a No. 2 seed to No. 4. With none additional information of Kitley’s taking part in standing, that ought to be the place they keep.

Stanford, USC or Texas for the ultimate No. 1 spot?

The Cardinal have a regular-season championship within the nation’s highest-rated convention. USC gained the Pac-12 event title. Texas got here up in need of first place within the regular-season race however gained the event within the Huge 12, the nation’s second-highest rated league. The Longhorns have the highest NET rating of the three. The Trojans have essentially the most top-25 NET wins. Stanford has essentially the most within the high 50.

It is that shut amongst these three groups, however there are solely two remaining No. 1 seed slots after South Carolina and Iowa. Somebody should be a No. 2 seed.

The explanation Texas probably is the odd staff out comes all the way down to nonconference schedule power. The excessive worth positioned on how a staff schedules is the one constant marker for the NCAA event choice committee over the previous few seasons, at the same time as members change from 12 months to 12 months. The Longhorns rank 159th in nonconference schedule. USC ranks 93rd, Stanford forty sixth. Whereas Texas performed — and convincingly beat — UConn and Arizona, each different nonconference sport was towards groups exterior the NET high 100.

Will Gonzaga maintain on to a spot within the high 16?

The Bulldogs had been a lock to host NCAA event video games earlier than the WCC event. They gained all their convention video games by a mean of 30.7 factors through the common season. And Gonzaga had overwhelmed its finals opponent, Portland, by 50 simply two weeks earlier.

However the Pilots surprised the Zags within the WCC title sport for the second straight 12 months, and now Gonzaga is resigned to an anxious Sunday. Bracketology stored the Bulldogs within the high 16 following the loss. As a result of Oklahoma and Kansas State misplaced within the Huge 12 event semifinals, and Syracuse and the Utah Utes went out early of their tournaments, there wasn’t a staff to come back up and take Gonzaga’s spot.

Nonetheless, the committee may give the top-16 edge to the Sooners, who gained the Huge 12 regular-season title, or the Wildcats, who’ve wins over Texas and Iowa.

It ought to be famous that Oklahoma cannot host even when the Sooners land within the high 16. The Huge 12 gymnastics championships are the identical weekend as the primary and second spherical of the NCAA event and are being held on the Lloyd Noble Heart, the Sooners’ basketball residence area. Which means the next-highest seed in Oklahoma’s half of the bracket would have the choice to host.

On this case, the No. 5 seed (with Oklahoma because the No. 4) in that area would host video games.

Will 17-15 Arizona make the sector?

The Wildcats have been the “final staff in” ESPN’s area of 68 for greater than every week. It is not unprecedented for a staff this near the .500 mark to make the sector. However it is not widespread, both. Oklahoma made it at 16-14 in 2018. Auburn was 17-14 when the Tigers acquired a No. 11 seed in 2017.

The Wildcats have a lot going for them, together with power of convention (the Pac-12 is No. 1 within the NET) and the way they completed heading into Choice Sunday (a late-season win over Stanford and two aggressive losses to USC). They rank No. 2 in power of schedule and thirty fifth within the NET.

The general report works towards them, as does a 2-10 mark towards the NET high 25 and a 7-15 report towards the highest 100. Nonetheless, these two top-25 wins are greater than different bubble groups like Mississippi State and Penn State have, each of which additionally completed the season poorly. Arizona had a 19-point win in its most up-to-date sport towards Washington State, one other bubble staff.

In the case of the Wildcats, there may be loads of contrasting information the committee members will probably talk about proper to the top.