Daybreak Staley and Lindsay Gottlieb have each made noise in current days about their staff’s seeding in NCAA event. The Gamecocks and Trojans are each No. 1 seeds, however South Carolina is seeded second general and USC is fourth. UCLA was the No. 1 general seed, whereas Texas bought the third nod.
However Staley actually shouldn’t be complaining. One look at South Carolina’s area — Birmingham 2 — reveals that the Gamecocks’ path to what will likely be their fifth consecutive Last 4 is fairly manageable.
Gottlieb, however, has a cause to complain. Spokane 4 may be the hardest area, though Birmingham 3 isn’t any stroll within the park both.
Let’s break down which areas present the simplest or hardest paths to the Last 4.
Best: South Carolina’s street in Birmingham 2
It’s troublesome to discover a staff on this area that’s going to significantly give South Carolina a run for its cash within the Candy 16 or Elite Eight. And the highest contenders right here all have current nightmares of getting completely throttled by the Gamecocks.
South Carolina vanquished Maryland from the 2023 NCAA event by beating them up in Greenville, S.C., 86-75. The following season, the Gamecocks toppled the Terrapins once more, 114-76.
Courtney Banghart’s Tar Heels have been despatched house from the NCAA event twice by the Gamecocks, as soon as in a hard-fought battle in Greensboro in 2022, after which final season the place North Carolina was completely outclassed in each side of the sport in a 88-41 second-round loss.
Kara Lawson’ Blue Devils — the No. 2 seed on this area — could have the most effective likelihood. They misplaced 81-70 to the Gamecocks in Columbia in December in a sport the place Duke’s stellar freshman Toby Fournier didn’t play all that nicely, and the place Ashlyn Watkins was nonetheless wholesome and suiting up for Staley. Lawson is 0-3 in opposition to Staley, dropping every of these video games by a mean margin of 12 factors.
Straightforward till the Elite Eight: UCLA and N.C. State in Spokane 1
Whereas I believe Baylor is a staff that might give UCLA issues, I believe that is the 12 months that Cori Shut and her Bruins lastly get previous the Candy 16.
On the opposite facet of the area, I’m unsure I completely consider in a banged-up LSU staff to get by not solely Florida State — armed with the nation’s main scorer Ta’Niya Latson and top-of-the-line publish defenders in Makayla Timpson — but in addition N.C. State. And I do know that LSU beat N.C. State again in November, however that was a sport wherein Tilda Trygger performed simply 5 minutes. She’s now N.C. State’s beginning heart, and an enormous cause why they have been capable of notch marquee wins down the stretch of the season.
A possible UCLA versus N.C. State matchup within the Elite Eight can be must-watch TV. Trygger will definitely have her arms full with the 6-foot-7 Betts, however I ponder if the Bruins are able to guarding the Wolfpack’s trio of proficient guards in Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks.
Manageable till the Elite Eight: USC and UConn set for a collision course
It positive looks as if the Choice Committee designed this area to arrange a sport between JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers for the third time within the span of a 12 months. And certainly, if this area — Spokane 4 — goes chalk, we’ll get precisely that.
However the path to the Elite Eight isn’t straightforward for both staff. This area options three SEC groups, one coached by Kenny Brooks and that includes Georgia Amoore, and one other led by Reagan Beers. Then there’s a well-coached Iowa staff that is aware of the trials of March Insanity, an Oklahoma State squad having fun with certainly one of its greatest seasons in program historical past, and arguably the most effective mid-major staff within the nation in Fairfield.
The trail for USC and UConn to fulfill is manageable, however there are landmines they must rigorously get by.
The Hardest: Birmingham 3
For my part, this area has three groups with sensible possibilities of making the Last 4. Texas is the No. 1 general seed right here and misplaced only one sport in SEC play. One of many Longhorns’ non-conference losses was to Notre Dame, who appeared like the most effective staff within the nation for a lot of February. After which there’s TCU, which beat Notre Dame again in November, received the Huge 12, and is having it’s greatest season in program historical past.
Texas coach Vic Schafer is aware of what it takes to get to the Last 4 and so does Niele Ivey, Muffet McGraw’s protege. However Hailey Van Lith, the center and soul of this TCU staff, is aware of too, having gone there as a sophomore with Louisville in 2022.
However every of these groups have obstacles in entrance of them. Tennessee, armed with the nation’s second-best scoring offense, is the fifth seed right here. South Florida is led by a veteran head coach, enjoying with nothing to lose and has a flexible and seasoned roster. Princeton is an NCAA event common and so is Jeff Walz’s Louisville staff. Iowa State is led by a pair of sophomore stars who’re every able to going off for 40 factors, and robust Huge Ten groups like Ohio State, Nebraska and Illinois are right here too.
This looks as if the hardest and most unpredictable area within the bracket.