Technically, when it comes to seeding, there’s not much madness left.
For years, the argument against women’s basketball has been that when it came to the postseason, the bracket was too predictable. And if one were to just glance at the 2022 Final Four, they’d probably think that argument holds up.
Three No. 1 seeds (South Carolina, Stanford and Louisville) and one No. 2 seed (Connecticut) advanced to Minneapolis for the national semifinals, as Cinderella was sent home. But this season, when there’s been no obvious favorite, a (mostly) chalk bracket is what we should want. Since November, there’s been about half a dozen teams in the national championship conversation — and as it turns out, all of the teams in Minneapolis were part of that talk.
This tournament, we had our upsets early, and often, headlined by two 10 seeds, Creighton and South Dakota, making deep, unexpected runs. Multiple higher seeded teams weren’t just upset but upset on their home floor in the second round (hello Arizona and LSU), more proof that parity is growing every season. There have been shocking losses (Iowa falling to Creighton) and crazy, chaotic wins (NC State with a steal and score to beat Notre Dame) and everything in between. We haven’t seen any buzzer beaters (yet) but there’s been plenty of heartbreak, reminding us why this is the most compelling part of the sports calendar.
Now, it’s time to let the superstars shine and trust that they’ll treat us to one…
