While some look forward to the beginning of spring and St. On Patrick’s day in March, I look forward to hogging my television while watching a surplus of women’s basketball games. March Madness is less than two weeks away, and that means the competitive spirit in Women’s College Basketball is only getting bigger.
Each of the Power 4 Conferences wrapped up their conference tournaments this past weekend. There were bright spots, big-time performances, and concerns, all of which will be discussed in this breakdown.
ACC Tournament
Top 4 Seeds (in order): NC State, Notre Dame, Duke, and Florida State
The Atlantic Coast Conference did not disappoint in terms of competition. The Seminoles of Florida State got knocked out by 5-seeded UNC in the quarterfinals. It was a team effort for Carolina, as 4 players scored in double digits. NC State narrowly avoided an upset in the quarterfinals thanks to free throws made by star-player Aziaha James- she had 16 points to fend off Georgia Tech 73-72. A 25-point performance by Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame over California Berkely with a score of 73-64. The star team of this tournament was the Duke Blue Devils, who wound up winning the ACC Tournament Championship. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Louisville 61-48, a team they lost to in the regular season. In the semis, they defeated Notre Dame 61-56, another team they lost to in the regular season. In the championship game, they faced arch-rival NC State, where Oluchi Okananwa and Ashlon Jackson scored 22 apiece to lead the Blue Devils to the championship; yet again, they defeated a team they had lost to in the regular season. One theme that stayed constant for this group was their stifling defense- they held all 3 opponents under their scoring average.
Star Player: Oluchi Okananwa (Tournament MVP). Led Duke, averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds in the tournament
Worries: Notre Dame looked out of sorts in the semifinal loss against Duke. They’ve now lost 3 of their last 5 games and have removed themselves from top-seed contention in March Madness.
SEC Tournament
Top 4 Seeds (in order): South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Kentucky
Kenny Brooks has led Kentucky to unexpected heights in his 1st season taking over as head coach. The Wildcats’ tournament run was cut short after 5-seeded Oklahoma defeated them in the quarterfinals. The other top 4 seeds (LSU, Texas, South Carolina) won in their quarterfinal games. For the LSU Tigers, Aneesah Morrow put up a monster 36-point, 14-rebound performance against Florida. South Carolina put up 93 points in their semifinal matchup against Oklahoma, led by a 21-point performance off the bench by Joyce Edwards. In the other semi-final game, it was a rough shooting night for LSU & Texas. Neither team passed 60 points, but Texas came out victorious. The finals matchup between South Carolina and Texas was an utter dominance by the Gamecocks. They held Texas’s leading scorer Madison Booker to 10 points while getting quality performances from Chloe Kitts and Tessa Johnson. The final score was 64-45, as the Gamecocks claimed the SEC Championship for the 9th time.
Star Player: Chloe Kitts (Tournament MVP); averaged 16.6 points while shooting 74% from the floor
Worries: LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson was unavailable for this tournament, and leading rebounder Aneesah Morrow injured her ankle in the semifinals. They are both expected to be back for the NCAA Tournament, but will they be 100% healthy?
Big 10
Top 4 Seeds (In order): USC, UCLA, Ohio State, Maryland
This tournament had its share of highs and lows. 4th seeded Maryland got blown out by 27 points in the quarterfinals against a gritty Michigan team. Ohio State had a close call, as they beat Iowa 60-59 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, USC was battle-tested by that same Michgan team, whom they defeated 82-70. The trojans were led by a 25-point performance by Kiki Iriafen. The Bruins of UCLA took down Ohio State in a convincing fashion– they held the Buckeyes to 46 points, and UCLA had 4 players score in double figures. The 2 LA teams faced each other for the 3rd time in the Big Ten Finale. In the other two matchups, USC prevailed, but UCLA had other plans on Sunday. After being down by double digits in the 3rd quarter, UCLA rallied to hand USC their 3rd loss of the season. The final score was 72-67, and the crosstown rivals had a battle for the ages.
Star Player: Lauren Betts; she averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the tournament
Worries: Both Maryland and Ohio State looked rocky in their performances. While Ohio State is projected to be a 4-seed in March Madness, there is still a chance they may be upset. Can both teams turn it around in 10 days?
Big 12
Top 4 Seeds (in order): TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
While there weren’t as many upsets between the top 4 seeds in this conference, the competition was still tense. 14th seed Texas Tech eliminated 6th seed Utah in the 2nd round of the tournament- a surprise to many, including myself. TCU had a close call against Colorado in the quarterfinals but prevailed behind a 24-point performance by Hailey Van Lith (Final Score: 69-62). Baylor, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia all won their quarterfinal matchups and moved on to the semifinals. The matchup between Baylor and Oklahoma State was a thriller– the game went into overtime where the Bears of Baylor were able to pull away. The 84-74 final score isn’t reflective of how great a game this was. TCU moved on to the finals after defeating 4th seeded West Virgina 71-65. Baylor and TCU matched up for the finals– Baylor, in hope of attaining a 12th championship, while the Horned Frogs were on the hunt for their first. This was a back-and-forth matchup, but a layup by Hailey Van Lith in the 4th quarter sealed the victory and their very first Big 12 Tournament Championship.
Star Player: Hailey Van Lith; she averaged 21 points and 4.6 assists in the tournament
Worries: The top seeds in this conference performed as expected– the Utah upset puts some concern in the eyes of bracketologists. Also, Arizona’s loss to Colorado in the 2nd round may have put their March Madness dreams in jeopardy.
TLDR: 2 of the 4 Power conferences saw their 1-seed win the tournament (SEC and Big 12)- the other two saw upsets left and right. This past weekend produced some great basketball, but there hasn’t been one team to stick out and prove they are worthy of winning the National Championship. South Carolina is currently the No.1 overall seed according to ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme, but even they have been guilty of bad performances. A team that I, and you, should keep an eye out for is the Notre Dame Irish. They dominated at the beginning of the season- talent is all over their roster, but can they snap out of their funk in a mere 10 days? A team connecting at the right time: the Duke Blue Devils- if they can stay consistent, their lockdown defense and fluid offense (when executed properly) may cause some upsets.
So, who will win March Madness? I’m not exactly sure; the field is wide open, and it’s anyone’s game. Now, let the fun begin!
