The brackets for the 2013 NCAA women’s basketball tournament had a touch of déjà vu when they were revealed on March 18.
Defending national champions Baylor Lady Bears were selected with the number one overall seed and will be playing in the Oklahoma City Region. The Lady Bears (32-1) are on a 30-game winning streak and will host the first and second rounds. Baylor will open up with 16th-seed Prairie View A&M (17-14). The Lady Bears will then likely play the winner of the No. 8 Florida State (22-9) and No. 9 Princeton (22-6) game.
Connecticut (29-4), Notre Dame (31-1) and Stanford (31-2) are the other three number one seeds. The Huskies are in the Bridgeport Region and open up at home against Idaho while the Cardinal is in the Spokane Region and hosts Tulsa in the first round. The Fighting Irish are in the Norfolk Region and are the only number one seed not playing at home. Notre Dame will battle with Tennessee-Martin in Iowa City.
These four number one seeds were also number one seeds last year.
Oklahoma City Region
No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 Prairie View
No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 Princeton
No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Liberty
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Central Michigan
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Stetson
No. 7 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Creighton
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Oral Roberts
Spokane Region
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 16 Tulsa
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Villanova
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Gonzaga
No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 13 Montana
No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Green Bay
No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 14 Cal Poly
No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 South Florida
No. 2 California vs. No. 15 Fresno State
Norfolk Region
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 16 Tennessee-Martin
No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Iowa
No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Kansas
No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 13 South Dakota State
No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Chattanooga
No. 3 Texas A &M vs. No. 14 Wichita State
No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 DePaul
No.2 Duke vs. No. 15 Hampton
Bridgeport Region
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 16 Idaho
No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 St. Joseph’s
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Marist
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Quinnipiac
No. 6 Delaware vs. No. 11 West Virginia
No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Albany
No.7 Dayton vs. No. 10 St. John’s
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Navy
Bracket themes
1.Familiarity
In addition to the same teams being number one, there are other things that are the same as last year. A few of the things that are similar is Baylor and Tennessee being seeded one and two in the same region and Connecticut and Kentucky being one and two in the same region.
Also, if all four number one seeds make it to the Final Four the semifinal matchup would be the same as last year. UConn would face Notre Dame and Baylor would battle Stanford.
2. Worst draw for a No. 1 seed?
Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are the only number one seed to have play their first and second round games on the road. The Fighting Irish will play their first two games in Iowa City and they may have to play host Iowa in the second round. The Hawkeyes will meet Miami (Fla.) in the opening round.
3. Toughest region?
Bridgeport. The Bridgeport Region is very deep especially considering two very good teams – Delaware and Dayton – are seeded No. 6 and No. 7. The region also has Atlantic-10 Tournament champion St. Joseph’s as a ninth seed and St. John’s, which played one of the hardest schedules in the nation, is seeded 10th.
4. Best potential No.1-No.2 region finals matchup?
Stanford vs. California. These two schools tied for the Pac-12 regular season with a 17-1 record as they split their regular season matchups. Both teams won on the other school’s home court as Stanford won at California (62-53) on Jan. 8 while California won at Stanford (67-55) on Jan. 13.
Stanford and California were on tap to meet for a third time in Pac-12 championship before UCLA derailed the Golden Bears (70-58) in the semifinals.
5. Best first round matchups
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Villanova
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Gonzaga
No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Green Bay
No. 8 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 9 Iowa
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Central Michigan
No. 7 Oklahoma St. vs. No. DePaul
No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Chattanooga
No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 St. Joseph’s
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 St. John’s
No. 7 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Creighton
6. Toughest potential second games
No. 3 Penn State vs. No.6 LSU at Baton Rouge, La.
No. 4 Louisville vs. 5 Purdue at Louisville, Ky.
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 2 Kentucky at Quenns, N.Y.
No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Delaware at Newark, Del.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Texas A&M at College Station, Tex.
No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Colorado at Boulder, Colo.
7. Potential first and second upsets
No. 11 Central Michigan over No. 6 Central Michigan
No. 2 Dayton over No. 7 Kentucky
No. 6 Delaware over No. 3 North Carolina
No. 13 South Dakota State over South Carolina
No. 6 LSU over No. 3 Penn State
8. Big surprises in the NCAA Tournament
West Virginia (17-13) and Kansas (18-13). West Virginia has a 53 RPI and a strength of schedule of 18. The Mountaineers had a losing record against Big 12 foes (9-10) and is 5-5 in the last 10 games. West Virginia is on a three-game losing streak.
Kansas has an RPI of 56 and strength of schedule of 26. The Jayhawks went 9-11 in against Big 12 opponents and was just 4-6 on the road. Kansas is 4-7 in their last 11 games.
9. Biggest snubs.
Duquesne (23-7), San Diego State (24-6), St. Mary’s (20-10),Toledo (27-3) and Florida Gulf Coast (26-6). Each one of the four schools had more and higher RPI than West Virginia and Kansas.
Duquesne has the biggest gripe as they own an RPI of 37 and a strength of schedule of 78. The Dukes went 2-1 against ranked teams defeating Delaware and West Virginia. Duquesne also lost to Dayton and St. Joseph’s by one point late in the season.
10. Favorite
Baylor. The reigning NCAA national champion has the nation’s longest winning streak along with the most dominant player in women’s college basketball – Britney Griner. The Lady Bears also have one of the top point guards in Odyssey Sims and a very good supporting cast including Brooklyn Pope, Destiny Williams and Kimetria Hayden as well as Jordan Madden.