NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2023: Top Storylines, Updated Bracket Picks
The South Carolina Gamecocks are still in contention to repeat as NCAA women's basketball tournament champion.
Dawn Staley's side avoided an early exit to keep its status as the team to beat this year.
The title contention of two other No. 1 seeds ended in the second round, with the Stanford Cardinal and Indiana Hoosiers falling on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The pair of second-round upsets split open the bracket, which could lead to some unexpected names reaching the Elite Eight.
The ninth-seeded Miami Hurricanes are still alive in the Greenville 2 region, while the eighth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels are the lowest seed alive in the Seattle 4 region.
Seattle 4 possesses the most unexpected quartet of Sweet 16 teams, as only one of the top four seeds made it out of the first weekend.
The chaos throughout the bracket means we could see two of the sport's top scorers, Villanova's Maddy Siegrist and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, for more games than expected.
Upsets Take Out Two No. 1 Seeds in 2nd Round
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Miami and Ole Miss sent shockwaves through the basketball world with their respective second-round upsets.
The Hurricanes knocked off top seed Indiana in the Greenville 2 bracket on Monday. The victory came the day after the Miami men defeated Indiana. Miami became the 10th program to beat the same school in both the NCAA men's and women's tournaments, per ESPN Stats and Info.
Ole Miss downed Stanford out in Palo Alto, California on Saturday night to break open the Seattle 4 region.
Ole Miss' upset of the top-seeded Cardinal garnered the most attention, but two other lower seeds emerged from the second round. The fifth-seeded Louisville Cardinals and sixth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes won on the road as well.
The two major upsets eliminated a pair of championship contenders, and it likely made the path to the title game easier for South Carolina on its side of the bracket and either the Virginia Tech Hokies or UConn Huskies on their side.
Ole Miss and Miami have tough Sweet 16 assignments against Louisville and Villanova, respectively, and their dream NCAA tournament runs could end there. But the impact they have had on the bracket will carry on into the later rounds.
South Carolina Still Clear Favorite
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Nothing changed at the top of the women's basketball hierarchy after two rounds, and South Carolina should still be viewed as the favorite to cut down the nets in Dallas on April 2.
The Gamecocks have rolled through the Norfolk State Spartans and South Florida Bulls, holding them to a combined 85 points.
The national champion won its first two games by a combined margin of 63 points, and there was no shot of it being on the wrong end of an upset in those contests.
South Carolina is in one of the two brackets where chalk held and the top four seeds advanced. The Gamecocks will face the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16 and either the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or Maryland Terrapins in the Elite Eight.
South Carolina's best level is higher than any other team left in the bracket. It is 34-0 and has beaten Maryland and UCLA by nine or more points in nonconference play.
A trip to Dallas is the minimum expectation for the Gamecocks, and that should be achieved with a home crowd behind them for the next two games in Greenville, South Carolina.
Maddy Siegrist, Caitlin Clark Looking to Lead Teams to Final Four
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Two of the top three scorers in Division I women's basketball are still competing in the NCAA tournament.
Maddy Siegrist leads the country with 29.2 points per game, and she has scored 35 and 31 points in Villanova's last two games.
The 30-point machine could lead her team to the Final Four because of how the Greenville 2 bracket has worked out. The Wildcats will be the favorite to beat Miami in the Sweet 16, and Siegrist could carry them past the LSU Tigers or Utah Utes in the Elite Eight.
The 22-year-old has three 30-point performances and two 20-point outings in five postseason games between the Big East and NCAA tournaments. At minimum, she will be expected to put up 25 points as Villanova tries to get past Miami.
Caitlin Clark is third on the NCAA scoring chart at 26.8 points per game. She produced 48 points in the Iowa Hawkeyes' opening-weekend wins on their home floor.
The 21-year-old is likely just warming up in the event. She had five 30-point games against ranked opposition in the regular season and Big Ten tournament. She could deliver another set of fantastic performances to push Iowa into the Final Four of the Seattle 4 region with Stanford no longer in the running.
An ideal Final Four would have two of the sport's best individual scorers in Clark and Siegrist compete against the two best programs in South Carolina and UConn.
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Bracket Picks
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Final Four: South Carolina, Utah, UConn, Iowa
South Carolina and UConn are still on course for a national championship rematch.
The Gamecocks do not look like they will be stopped before the Final Four, and they should take advantage of playing their next two games in their home state.
UConn is the No. 2 seed behind Virginia Tech in the Seattle 3 region, but the teams are level on talent, and Geno Auriemma's coaching experience can help the Huskies advance to another Final Four appearance.
Iowa is now the favorite to get out of the Seattle 4 bracket, and Clark could lead the Big Ten side to a showdown against South Carolina.
Utah is the best seed left in the Greenville 2 region, and it could take down LSU and Villanova to reach Dallas.
The Utes have three players who average over 12 points per game, led by Alissa Pili, who is one of the best all-around talents in the women's game.
The 21-year-old dropped 33 and 28 points in her first two games of the tournament, respectively, and she could be the difference-maker for the Utes to win two games in South Carolina.
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