She finishes with 20 rebounds in Round 1, almost single-handedly pushing USF to the second round for the first time since 2016. That inefficiency catches up with the Cougars, who fall short in another tight game in the opening round. The aggressiveness was missing. Best case: The offense that sputtered so profoundly after the Bulls' three-week pause still struggles to find a rhythm, but senior Bethy Mununga, the nation's second-leading rebounder, seemingly grabs every miss. Jones goes quiet for long stretches and Florida State is out on Day 1. Tylee Irwin is more comfortable in her role as the go-to scorer, with leading scorer Myah Selland still watching from the sideline with a knee injury, and South Dakota State wins another tournament game after reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019. Evans plays at the highest level of her career and carries Louisville to the Final Four. Best case: Ashley Joens is one of the most talented scorers in the country. That makes South Dakota the big favorite to win the conference. How coach Gary Blair replaces N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson in the frontcourt will determine the Aggies' fate in the SEC. Worst case: Howard does star from the outset but gets little help. Best case: The Big Ten regular-season co-champs from a year ago, the Wildcats' best season ever was incomplete when the NCAA tournament was canceled. Best case: The push for South Carolina to run more offense through Aliyah Boston on the low block became a reality in the SEC tournament. They appear to have run out of gas by the time they reach San Antonio and fail to reach the second weekend. That is exactly what happens in route to a Sweet 16 appearance. Natasha Mack averages a double-double but sometimes isn't the first option. Sjerven (17.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG) and Lamb (15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG) will also be joined by senior Liv Korngable (14.7 PPG), South Dakota's third-leading scorer this season who also opted to take the extra year. The rest and practice time helps coach Kelly Graves hit the reset button on an offense that had gone from smooth and efficient to plodding. 10 seed, a six-point loss to Rutgers. That puts too much heat on Elizabeth Kitley in the post, and when she gets in foul trouble, the Hokies don't escape the first round. A year ago, she was the Big West player of the year at Cal State Fullerton but lost in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Belmont is the talk of the tournament for about an hour -- until a Bruins shot at the buzzer just misses, ruining their chances of a first-round upset. Worst case: Clouden had three games near the end of the regular season in which she failed to score in double figures. In 2019, Townsend broke her leg in the WCC tournament and had to watch on television as her Gonzaga teammates lost a close game at Oregon State in the second round. 66d Charlie Creme. Worst case: The opening round goes the other way. The Eagles fall behind early in their opening-round game but keep shooting from deep to get back into the game. But once they got going, they were dominant in the Big West, where they have won five consecutive regular-season titles. The women’s college basketball season is winding down and March Madness is just around the corner. First Aaliyah Wilson and then Jordan Nixon have explosive offensive games. There Elissa Cunane gets in foul trouble and, when the shooting isn't there to bail them out, the Wolfpack get upset in the Sweet 16. Twelve months later their opportunity came, this time as underdogs. Legend. The nation's top-rated recruiting class of 2019 has already paid great dividends. Best case: Iowa has the second-highest-producing offense in the country as well as two of the country's best offensive players. Worst case: Defense and rebounding, Gonzaga's two calling cards during the season, aren't as sharp in San Antonio. 1 class. Best case: The Aggies storm into the Final Four without having a single 20-point scorer in their first four games. Thirty of those 3-pointers go in and sophomore Kierstan Bell makes almost as many media appearances with FGCU's first regional semifinal appearance. Which teams are expected to have extended stays in the San Antonio area? Best case: The Lady Raiders chased Rice all season in Conference USA. They came out of it and ripped off nine straight wins. Coach Sue Troyan also got creative with a different defensive scheme in the championship game against Boston University that produced the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010. Worst case: Evans has delivered in the clutch so many times in the last two seasons. New rankings every week from the Associated Press. Worst case: Hall is the Aggies' best player, but she had plenty of help on the way to the Big Dance. Harper will build around Burrell and 6-5 sophomore center Tamari Key and plan on the continued growth of sophomore guard Jordan Horston and freshman Marta Suarez, as well as the impact of the 15th-ranked recruiting class. The Hokies' all-time leading 3-point shooter catches fire from deep and Virginia Tech pulls a stunner in Round 2. Assistant Bob Starkey devises just the right defenses and, nearly 10 years to the day of his first national championship, Blair celebrates another. Unfortunately, she doesn't get enough of it in San Antonio, and the idea of an upset disappears quickly. Best case: By virtue of their second-place regular-season finish in the WAC, the Wolverines are in their first NCAA tournament. Best case: The last time the Cowgirls were in the NCAA tournament (in 2008), current head coach Gerald Mattinson was in his fifth year of a 16-year tenure as an assistant at Wyoming. Kylie Feuerbach, Emily Ryan and Big 12 Freshman of the Year Lexi Donarski are a rookie core that will look to take Iowa State to the next level as sophomores. Now they get them back after the two elected to take the extra year of eligibility. That's exactly how the Lady Bears will head into next season after delivering Kim Mulkey her fourth title. Worst case: The defense is still solid, and the offense is still balanced, but needs a little more punch. Howard (20.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG) will once again be on every preseason national player of the year list, and Elzy, who took over as head coach for Matthew Mitchell just before the 2020-21 season started, now has a full season of experience. Connecticut. On the same day Dana Evans declared for the WNBA draft, the Cardinals announced the addition of two transfers who should only enhance their chances to get back to a Final Four. Worst case: Winters hits that long 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer and the Aggies are already down by double figures. Mangakahia is not only healthy, she plays the best basketball of the season with double-digit assists in two games and one of the best stories in sports over the past two years ends on a personal high note. Junior guard Dara Mabrey, sophomore forward Sam Brunelle and sophomore guard Anaya Peoples should all also be back. Worst case: The underclassmen desperately want to get Raca and Conti, the heart and soul of Wake Forest's recent resurgence, an NCAA tournament win, but despite freshman Jewel Spear's best efforts, the Demon Deacons are done after one game. Two human polls make up the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Charli Collier has provided the only consistent production, but when the backcourt of Joanne Allen-Taylor, Celeste Taylor and Kyra Lambert is locked in the Longhorns are dangerous. Haley Jones tries to take over, which belies what Stanford was all season -- a balanced operation in which all the parts are moving in the same direction. That means the core of Patberg, Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes and Aleksa Gulbe that led Indiana to an Elite Eight run and a second-place Big Ten finish -- the most successful season in program history -- will try it again. The four transfers brought in last year -- Robyn Benton (Auburn), Dre'una Edwards (Utah), Olivia Owens (Maryland) and Jazmine Massengill (Tennessee) -- will have more time to work with Howard and the rest of a talented roster. The NCAA does not recognize Sporting News as an All-America selector in women's basketball. Worst case: Dungee, second in the country in free throw attempts and first in makes, gets to the line plenty, but doesn't make enough. Best case: Dana Evans' disappointment over losses in the last two ACC tournaments -- a loss to Florida State in last year's semifinals and one to NC State just over a week ago -- fuel an unbeatable one-woman performance. Best case: The Beavers have lost just two games since Jan. 26, both to Stanford, and since the Cardinal are not on Oregon State's side of the bracket, the run continues. Worst case: The Wolverines don't score before the first media timeout and are the tournament's biggest blowout victim. Worst case: As good as Leger-Walker is, it took her 17 shots per game to get her nearly 19 PPG with just a 35.9 field goal percentage. Worst case: The Las Vegas bookmakers set the over/under for UCF's opening-round game at 75, and it still goes under. If Iowa can find a rim protector in the transfer portal to solidify the defense, this team might have Final Four potential. This time the Cowgirls make it even closer with their slow pace keeping them in the game until the final five minutes. The Dragons come up short, but the effort sets Washington up for some national preseason recognition next fall. Associate head coach Brooke Wyckoff took over and led the Seminoles to their eighth straight NCAA tournament appearance. Texas scored 69 against TCU, then 84 against Iowa State. Leading scorer Kysre Gondrezick, the only senior in the starting lineup, decides her team should then make up for that lost time. For now, the top teams will look familiar. The confidence drawn from that game and the play of conference player of the year Cierra Hall helps the Aggies to a first-round stunner. Worst case: As soon as the 3-pointers stop dropping, the Panthers, who don't have a player in the rotation over 6-1, have nowhere else to turn and lose decidedly. The NCAA tournament offers a showcase for the rest of the country to see her distinctive style and Jones doesn't disappoint with a pair of 30-point games. She is the Final Four MVP and South Carolina is crowned champion for the second time. Best case: No program rises to the occasion like UConn, and now it has a player in Paige Bueckers who has an uncanny way of being her best in big moments. The Spartans' backcourt will be one of the best in the conference and gives coach Suzy Merchant a solid foundation of what should be a veteran team. West Virginia reaches the second Sweet 16 in program history and the first since 1992. Best case: Leading scorer Deja Winters, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left to beat Howard in the MEAC tournament championship game, hits an even longer jumper to beat the halftime buzzer and the Aggies are within single digits at the break. The offense, which labored in two Southland Conference tournament games, bounces back. Michigan gets to the regionals. The same issues resurface. She makes 3-pointers like most make layups and the Terps move through easily. The experience that Cameron Brink and Fran Belibi have gained during this season's postseason run should only make them an even more formidable frontcourt duo. Offense is the reason Central Michigan has made three straight NCAA tournament appearances and reached the Sweet 16 in 2018. Now Dawn Staley is bringing in another No. Worst case: As dominant and versatile as the Maryland offense is, the defense can be bad. … Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. This season didn't play out the way the Ducks had envisioned, but they still reached the Sweet 16. Junior Monika Czinano (19.4 PPG) is the country's most accurate shooter (67.5 FG%). Not this time in Round 2, and Tennessee gets bounced. They are also third nationally in both 3-pointers made and attempted. That's what happens in the Sweet 16. With Benzan's 3-point shooting and Bibby's versatility, plus point guard Ashley Owusu, wing Diamond Miller and forward Angel Reese, Frese will continue to have a dynamic offense. Experience and Townsend get the Zags through one win, but not two. If momentum exists from year to year, the Wolverines could be ready for big things. Worst case: The season's last few weeks took their toll, and the banged-up Mountaineers just barely make it out of the first round before bowing out in the second. Brimming with that excitement and a couple of early 3-pointers by sophomore Maria Carvalho, Utah Valley does enough to make viewers watch into the second quarter. And she does it averaging of 23.6 points per game, which ranks ninth nationally. Taylor Mikesell regaining her outside shooting stroke (dipped to 34.8% in 23 games this season after 42.5% in 32 games at Maryland in 2019-20) and Nyara Sabally's continued growth into a dominating inside force would be enough for Oregon to reignite the rivalry with Stanford at the top of the Pac-12. Lehigh ranked 324th in the country in offensive rebounding. Cat Reese and Trinity Baptiste make enough timely shots to get Arizona to the Elite Eight, completing the best season in program history. Gonzales pairs with senior Paisley Harding in a backcourt that can give any opponents fits. The improvement of Lotta-Maj Lahtinen and Lorela Cubaj have been big reasons why. The Cardinal, having spent two months on the road early in the season, are the most equipped team to handle the contained environment. Best case: The season came together in Athens even better than many anticipated, and the expectations were already high. Worst case: Even while winning the AAC tournament, South Florida shot just 30.2% from the field. How quickly Maryland can get over the disappointment of this year's loss to Texas in the regional semifinals might be the keys to ending that streak. The veterans like Mangakahia, Kiara Lewis and Emily Engstler aren't able to play well enough to compensate, and Syracuse's stay is one-and-done. All that ingenuity and sophomore Frannie Hottinger's scoring is needed to keep Lehigh competitive in Round 1. Best case: Offensive consistency has been elusive all year. Worst case: One of the worst rebounding teams in the country (only 10 teams grab fewer defense rebounds than Drexel), the Dragons' lack of size is immediately exposed, and they have no answer. She and first-year coach Kyra Elzy become the talk of the tournament as Kentucky reaches the Final Four. Worst case: Sometimes while Asberry, the most accurate 3-point shooter in the Big 12, is shooting, she and her teammates forget they have an All-American in the middle. Best case: The first two rounds are the Katie Benzan show. Michigan is heading in the wrong direction and is a first-round upset victim. That's a loaded question for the Huskies, who have the AP Player of the Year in Paige Bueckers, are adding a generational talent for the second consecutive season and have no seniors. They aren't quite as good in the regional final, but Davis finds a way late. Worst case: Sheppard is healthy, but the shots still aren't dropping. Joens is forced to carry too much of load and the Cyclones bow out in Round 2. The Mountain Hawks were still able to play 15 games and produce the league's best offense. That happens too many times in Round 1 and Oklahoma State is quickly back in Stillwater. Worst case: The turnover issues that have plagued the Lady Vols for the past few seasons show up again at the wrong moment. (1:06). The shots just aren't falling and there is no comeback. Now that we've got a bracket in hand, it's time to rank all 64 teams in the field. Coach Kenny Brooks is now expected to have all five starters back, including All-ACC center Elizabeth Kitley (18.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG) and point guard Georgia Amoore (11.8 PPG, 4.6 APG). In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com. Once there, Evans continues to lead, while at the same time passing the torch to freshman Hailey Van Lith, who has a breakout performance as Louisville wins its first national championship. NEW YORK (AP) — Dawn Staley already has accomplished so much at South Carolina. No one steps up when Brink is sidelined with foul trouble. The Hoosiers weren't as high in these rankings until Ali Patberg's announcement that she will return for one more season in Bloomington. Baylor Bears. WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL To estimate the score difference of a game, compare the two teams PR and add 2.8 points to the home team for the average HCA Compiled: 04-05-2021 --- End of Season Through Sunday's games April 4, 2021 Alphabetical listing. Best case: On the 20th anniversary of Missouri State (then Southwest Missouri State) making the Final Four, the story almost writes itself. California Baptist swept the regular-season and conference tournament titles, but is still in its probationary period transitioning to Division I and therefore is ineligible for the Big Dance. Natalie Chou is that player. That is exactly what they do. Best case: One of the best offensive teams in the country, the Chippewas are the only team to have a pair of 20 points-per-game scorers: senior Micaela Kelly and sophomore Molly Davis. Two big contributors to that are freshmen Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan. Best case: The Tigers aren't the first SWAC team to ever win an NCAA tournament game, but 6-foot-4 senior Ameshya Williams is the first player in San Antonio to record a double-double. Best case: Because of the Patriot League's abbreviated season, Lehigh didn't even begin playing until January. With Sarah Andrews and Jaden Owens returning, the point guard spot has the depth it hasn't had in recent years. It wasn't easy, considering a 31-day COVID-19-related pause midseason, but the Bulls won both the AAC's regular-season and tournament titles and won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in five years. Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. She gets to the basket whenever she wants. Best case: Junior guard Keishana Washington continues her torrid pace and puts up a third straight 30-point game. That one big shot never comes and SFA has a long five-hour bus ride back from San Antonio before prepping for its move to the WAC next season. Worst case: The SWAC's best defense gives up 40 points more than its average (58.8 PPG) and the second-best offense scores 20 points below its average (68.7 PPG. 2021 Women's College World Series: Softball bracket, schedule, scores 2021 Women's College World Series schedule 2021 NCAA DI … That sense of urgency shoots the Lady Dogs into the Final Four. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament had they not self-imposed a one-year postseason ban on themselves for some rules violations. Best case: Missouri State provided the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference an opportunity, and Bradley ran with it. In Hannah Sjerven and Chloe Lamb, the Coyotes had two of the best players in the Summit League. Replacing the backcourt of Kiana Williams and Anna Wilson will have its challenges, but the talent at Stanford is still staggering. The 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament is in the books. This ranking would have been higher had freshman guard Sasha Goforth not elected to transfer to Arkansas. Morgan Jones looks like a star and Florida State pushes for a Sweet 16 appearance, the program's first since 2017. Bolstered by that firepower and the experience of having played 12 NCAA tournament-caliber teams this season, Alabama secures coach Kristi Curry's first tournament win since she took Purdue to the Sweet 16 in 2006. Worst case: While CMU can score, the Chippewas give up plenty at the other end. Well, she does it again during her final days in an Arkansas uniform. Bradley's first trip to the NCAA tournament is a short one. They were the only team in the Big Ten to beat Maryland all year and might have been the second-best team in the conference until a late-season injury to sophomore guard Madison Greene derailed the final month. Behind leading scorer and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Veronica Burton, Northwestern gets to the program's first Sweet 16. VCU employs the same strategy in Round 1 and comes just as close as it did 12 years ago as a No. Reaching the Sweet 16 and then nearly upsetting Baylor should build confidence heading into 2021-22. Early entry Talia von Oelhoffen, whose arrival coincides with the season turnaround, continues her magic touch as the Beavers upset their way to the Sweet 16. At one point this season, they played four overtime games in two weeks. The one thing they don't do is shoot the 3-pointer. UC Davis also played Oregon tough in early February. Worst case: Lott fails to hit double figures for the fourth time in five games and the Golden Eagles are unable to shake the pain of a 34-point loss to UConn in the Big East tournament finals in a first-round loss. Now she is scoring at a team-leading 18.2 PPG clip. The point guard issue could be solved with Haley Jones taking on more of playmaking role or Jana Van Gytenbeek, a five-star recruit from a year ago, being ready to take on more minutes. In the Wolverines' last three wins of the season, they had at least two other double-figure scorers. Best case: The Seminoles who beat Louisville show up for the NCAA tournament. Best case: The Rams finally broke through after three straight losses in the Atlantic 10 championship game to make their first NCAA tournament since 2009 and just second all time. This is the year they do. (1:11). Worst case: Live by the sword, die by the sword. They were 13th in the SEC in turnover margin this year but were able to overcome it in most games. They enter this year's event knowing it's their second chance and take advantage. Clouden has a rough second half and sophomore Alyza Winston's best efforts aren't enough in a first-round loss. A 70-point game was followed by a 59-point output. The Lady Bears shock the college basketball world and reach the Final Four again. That is exactly what she does right into Oklahoma State's first Sweet 16 in seven years. Baylor cuts down the nets again. Erin Boley and Sydney Parrish don't get enough space to get their shots off and Nyara Sabally is bottled up inside. With Ohio State back in the postseason mix, and because so many of the conference's players have announced they'll return for 2021-22, the Big Ten might be even better than it was this season when four teams reached the Sweet 16. That was a five-point loss to Pittsburgh. Best case: Marist made its first NCAA tournament since 2014 with defense. That helps Onyenwere's WNBA draft status, but the Bruins don't survive. During any given game Lexie Hull, Hannah Jump and Ashten Prechtel have proven they can be game-changers. Juniors Asiah Dingle and Anastasia Warren combined for 51 of Stony Brook's 64 points in the win. Every possession is a struggle unless Howard can beat a double-team and the Wildcats are a first-round upset victim. Division I Men's Basketball. 1 overall recruit, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, Aaliyah Edwards and Bueckers, the most impactful freshman the game has seen in years. Blair can't light that spark and Texas A&M . The points are then combined and the team with the highest p… Best case: The Cougars have had a flair for the dramatic in wins over UCLA and Arizona. Worst case: UConn gets to the Final Four, but like those past three teams, can't get over the hump in the national semifinals. Queen Egbo (11.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) once again joins her in the post for an elite frontcourt combination. 22d Charlie Creme. Worst case: The same kind of 28-0 run that Mercer used to beat Wofford in the SoCon finals happens to the Bears and they go quietly. Tennessee makes its return to the Final Four, the program's first since 2008. That hasn't been an issue all season, but it catches up to the Lady Bears in the Elite Eight, where their 17-game winning streak ends. Worst case: The Gamecocks easily reach the Sweet 16, but once there the outside shooting goes cold. Bueckers is good, but reverts to her performance in the early season and is not as assertive as Auriemma would like. Best case: The break following the stunning quarterfinal loss to Omaha in the Summit League tournament is just what the Jackrabbits needed to regroup. This time it happens in the Sweet 16 and Louisville's season ends abruptly short of the ultimate goal. Two human polls make up the 2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Worst case: Two weeks don't solve the offensive woes that characterized that loss to Omaha. The 43-42 loss shook BYU's confidence, and it doesn't return. The Cyclones advance to the Sweet 16. Then Ashley Owusu goes from a facilitator in the first four games to dominant scorer. The good news is that Utah Valley's four best players -- Carvalho, Josie Williams, Shay Fano and Nehaa Sohail -- are only sophomores. Best case: Senior Jill Townsend, fresh off the winning shot against BYU in the WCC championship game, more than makes up for lost tournament time. McDonald gets her points, but only with a high volume of shots.