Women’s NCAA Tournament Oklahoma City Regional Overview
The race for another NCAA title for Brittney Griner and Baylor starts in the Oklahoma City Region. The Bears had another amazing season, but this is what we have all been waiting for. However, do not send the Bears to the Final Four just yet. The Oklahoma City Region has some quality teams that can at least make things interesting. Tennessee has had some bumps in the road, but the Lady Vols are a very dangerous team. UCLA has also proven that they can beat some of the elite teams.
#1 Baylor, #2 Tennessee, #3 UCLA, #4 Purdue, #5 Louisville, #6 Oklahoma, #7 Syracuse, #8 Florida State, #9 Princeton, #10 Creighton, #11 Central Michigan, #12 Middle Tennessee, #13 Liberty, #14 Stetson, #15 Oral Roberts, #16 Prairie View A&M
Who Can Win?
There may just be one team that can win this region. The Baylor Bears have once again dominated the women’s college basketball world, although, unlike last season, the Bears did lose a game against Stanford back in November. That opens the door a little, but probably not until we get to New Orleans. Tennessee, on a good day, is the only team that could seriously contend with Baylor on a consistent basis.
Who Can Surprise?
Few teams in the nation hoist up as many three-pointers as Oklahoma. They knock down nearly eight per game and connect on 38.2 percent of their attempts. Aaryn Ellenberg is one of the best scorers in the nation and she will get plenty of help from her teammates. Playing in Columbus, Ohio may not be ideal for the Sooners, but it is a much longer trip for UCLA, their likely second round opponent. If the Sooners are hitting their shots, they could not only defeat UCLA, but head closer to home to Oklahoma City and give Tennessee a run for their money.
Who’s Hot?
Baylor has been hot for years now, but Purdue is a team that has rebounded nicely after a few February slipups. The Boilermakers were expected to compete with Penn State for a Big Ten title, but then they lost four of their first five games in February. March, so far, has been much better for Coach Sharon Versyp and company. After beating Illinois in the regular season finale, Purdue swept through the conference tournament beating Wisconsin, Nebraska and Michigan State.
Who’s Cold?
Syracuse has had a great season, but they head into the 2013 NCAA Tournament as the losers of four of their last six games. Prior to that the Orange had only lost three games. Like Syracuse, Florida State backed their way into the dance. The Seminoles lost four of their last six regular season games. FSU did beat a good Miami team in the ACC Tournament and gave Duke a good run, but losses to teams like Virginia and Virginia Tech are pretty bad defeats.
Upset Alert!
Three-point shooting is the great equalizer in college basketball and this region has some teams that love to shoot from outside. Creighton connects on more three-pointers than any other team in the country and they could easily defeat a struggling Syracuse squad in the first round. Central Michigan is also a good shooting team, as is their opponent Oklahoma, but if CMU is hot from long range and the Sooners are having trouble finding the bottom of the net, the 11 seed could take down the six seed.
What Possible Matchup is Interesting?
Everybody will be watching Baylor, but they should not be seriously tested until they get to Oklahoma City. Even then they may not be seriously tested. However, a potential matchup with Louisville could be tough for Brittney Griner. The Cardinals are a tough team in the frontcourt and will not let Griner have her way in the paint. Whether or not Louisville can get anything going offensively is another issue, but the Cardinals would at least give Baylor a pretty good test.
Which Players Will Dominate?
Brittney Griner is the obvious choice. She is averaging 23.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per contest. College basketball may not see another player dominate the game like Griner for a long, long time. There are some other superstars in this region, but enjoy Griner’s run for another national title while you can.
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