The NCAA Women’s Tournament is about to begin, and experts are making their predictions. The UConn Huskies enter as the No. 1 overall seed. The question is, were the Huskies the most popular pick to win the national championship?
UConn Leads the Expert Picks
UConn was selected as the Fort Worth 1 Region champion by all 22 voters. No other team was a unanimous Final Four pick, but the 1-seeds received a clear majority. South Carolina received 21 votes, Texas had 19 and UCLA 15.
UConn was picked to win the national title on 13 ballots. Fellow 1-seeds UCLA (four), Texas (four) and South Carolina (one) were the only other teams picked to win the championship.
- UConn was picked by all voters as the Fort Worth 1 Region champion.
- UConn received 13 votes to win the national title.
- UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina also received votes to win the championship.
Potential Challenges in the Bracket
One expert believes the Sacramento 2 region looks loaded. However, Fort Worth 3 could be challenging, as well. No. 1 seed Texas will be close to home and riding its SEC tournament championship.
No. 4 seed West Virginia won the Big 12 tournament and No. 3 seed Louisville probably should have won the ACC tournament, but fell in overtime to Duke. Michigan didn’t play well in the Big Ten tournament semifinals with a 59-42 loss to Iowa, which had the Wolverines’ number this season. Michigan is a dangerous team, so if seeds hold, Fort Worth 3 could be compelling.
Another expert agreed that Sacramento 2 looks loaded. If seeds hold through the first two rounds, LSU and Duke would play each other before reaching UCLA.
Teams to Watch
Ole Miss is the team that could be a speed bump to the Bruins’ road to the Final Four. The No. 5 seed Rebels did stumble with four losses to end the regular season, but they were also good enough to beat Vanderbilt twice, Oklahoma and Notre Dame, and to play Texas to within three points in Austin.
LSU’s five losses were to SEC teams, including twice to South Carolina. Guard play, led by Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley could help them get to the Elite Eight for the fourth year in a row. If seeds hold, they then would have to beat UCLA, Texas and UConn or South Carolina for the championship.
The tournament begins Friday. The Huskies are six wins away from their 13th NCAA title and seventh perfect season.