Yahoo Sports women’s basketball writer Cassandra Negley breaks down the Seattle 4 region of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament field — which includes two powerhouse teams Stanford and Iowa.
video transcript
Cassandra Negley: This is Cassandra Negley with Yahoo Sports, and we’re breaking down the NCAA tournament so you can fill out your brackets. Let’s look at the Seattle 4, which has two top teams that could switch with each other on those top lines. Stanford took the number one seed over Iowa, who would be the number two seed here. It was honestly an incredibly-close call between the top six teams to figure out this bracket. And if there is chalk, we will see whether the committee has taken the right decision or not.
Now, the committee said on ESPN tonight that it was Stanford’s 20 wins against top 100 net teams that gave them the edge over Iowa. Iowa was 18 and 6 in that category. So how close are these two teams. Number three Duke and number four Texas are also in the same region. Both are great defensive teams. Same as number five Louisville. So if you’re watching it carefully, you might not see a lot of high-scoring games, but you will see a lot of competitive games.
Early on, we’re looking at No. 6 Colorado versus No. 11 Middle Tennessee. Now, Colorado has played some of the best teams in the Pac-12. They were the team that took Stanford to two overtimes a few weeks ago. Middle Tennessee doesn’t have that type of resume, but he has good offensive and defensive numbers. They can get to the free throw line, and they’re not moving it much.
Now, that winner would potentially draw the No. 3 Duke, and that’s an early upset to see in the second round. The Blue Devils are the best defensive team in the nation, but they have struggled offensively recently. His three most recent games are the fewest points of the season and he averages 41 points. Also in that bracket, let’s look at Florida State and potential Freshman of the Year Ta’Nia Latson. Watch to see a big game in his first round. The team is in the top 10 offensively.
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