The brackets have been released, and it is indeed time to let the madness begin. The women’s NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed shortly after the men’s bracket and there were a couple of surprises.
With that being said, here are three winners and two losers from the reveal of the women’s bracket.
Winners
UCLA
The Bruins were named the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, despite many speculating that either South Carolina or Southern California would be the recipient of that spot.
The Bruins’ toughest opponent to get through will now be North Carolina State, rather than Connecticut or TCU. UCLA may very well have the easiest path out of the four No. 1 seeds.
Iowa State
The Cyclones made it into the field as one of the last four teams and will have to get through Princeton to advance to the Round of 64.
If Iowa State can get through to the first round, watch out for the Cyclones. Audi Crooks and company already have a win over fifth-seeded Kansas State and have played two-seed TCU close multiple times. They won’t be an easy game for anyone.
Ivy League
The “smart schools” ended up with three teams in the field (Harvard, Princeton, Columbia).
Princeton and Columbia were two of the last four teams in the field and will need to win a “First Four” game to get through to the first round.
Losers
Southern California
The Trojans were expected by many to be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and they wound up being the fourth overall No. 1 seed.
Instead of now having one of the lesser No. 2 seeds like NC State or Duke to get through, the Trojans will now have to presumably knock off UConn in the Elite Eight.
Notre Dame
Yet another seeding surprise, the Fighting Irish dropped down to a No. 3 seed when the bracket was revealed.
Just 21 days ago, Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the country, and it has now fallen to at least No. 9 in the eyes of the selection committee.
