NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket 2012: Baylor and Brittney Griner Look Unbeatable
The Sweet 16 is set and nobody is looking as good as the No. 1 seed in the Des Moines region Baylor.
The Bears are all about Brittney Griner, and itโs easy to see why. The 6โ8โโ center is destroying anything in her path and is the main reason Baylor has outscored its two NCAA tournament opponents by a combined 60 points.
She raised the roof against Florida by throwing down only the third dunk in the history of the womenโs tournament. It was quite the memorable moment, but Griner didnโt even seem to really care about it (via ESPN):
"Dunking is cool, but I really don't care too much about it. My big thing is blocked shots; that's my favorite thing to do. I have a lot of opportunities to dunk; I'll jump up and my arm will be above the rim, but I'll lay it in. And then think, 'Oh, I should have dunked that.' Coach is trying to encourage me to think about it more.
"
She is hands down the most dominant player to play in the womenโs game in years. Her post game is truly unstoppable and her defense has been suffocating. Griner has already registered nine blocks in the tournament.
In previous years she dealt with immaturity issues and an unrefined jump shot. Now that sheโs a junior, everything is clicking for her and thatโs incredibly bad news for the rest of the remaining 15 teams.
In Baylorโs 36-0 record, only six of the wins have come by single digits. We havenโt seen this sort of dominance since the days of Diana Taurasi.
Sure Notre Dame is a threat, but its rebounding woes are going to be exposed in a big way by Baylor. Ditto for UConn and its suspect shooting.
There simply isnโt a team with the talent of Baylor. The team's five starters scored a ridiculous 74 points in Tuesdayโs big win. It isn't just a one-women show.
This team would be a top seed without Griner. With her they have the look of national champs.
