This story from ESPN says, and I quote,
"Iowa -- a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1992 -- should have earned the 2nd-easiest corner of the bracket, but instead got the hardest."
Here is that story from that ESPN reporter, who knows more about women's college basketball than any of us:
Women's March Madness bracket Winners, Losers
Michael Voepel, ESPN.com
Mar 17, 2024, 11:34 PM ET
Who are the winners and losers of the women's NCAA tournament bracket? We start on the losers' side, and it begins with the last two teams standing in 2023. Both aren't going to make it to Cleveland. In fact, neither one might be there.
The Albany 2 Regional has three teams that many might have picked to make the Final Four before the bracket was revealed: defending national champion LSU, national runner-up Iowa and UCLA.
Who thought this was a good idea? Apparently the NCAA selection committee, which decided to jam-pack that trio together, along with No. 4 seed Kansas State.
Iowa -- a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1992 -- should have earned the second-easiest corner of the bracket, but instead got the hardest.
The Big Ten tournament champion Hawkeyes, SEC tournament runner-up LSU and Pac-12 semifinalist
UCLA were all in the top four in the preseason Associated Press poll and are in the top eight now. Of course, poll rankings are one thing and NCAA tournament placement another. Still, it's a surprise to see them all together.
"Initially, I just thought, 'Oooh, this is a tough, tough region,'" LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of her first reaction to the bracket.
Let's further break down the women's bracket winners and losers, and what the path ahead looks like for unbeaten South Carolina and
Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
Losers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Last season, Stanford -- the No. 1 seed in Iowa's regional -- was eliminated in the second round by
Ole Miss. The Rebels were subsequently defeated by Louisville, which then fell to Iowa in the Elite Eight.
It wasn't an easy path to the Final Four for the Hawkeyes in 2023, but it seems easier in retrospect to what they could face this season in Albany 2.
The potential difficulty starts in the second round. The Hawkeyes, who shouldn't have trouble in their opener against the
Holy Cross-
UT Martin winner, would face the 8-9
West Virginia-Princeton winner next.
Last year,
Georgia's ability to defend Iowa made for a nerve-wracking second-round win for the Hawkeyes. It could be similar if they face West Virginia, which leads the Big 12 in steals. Against Princeton, Iowa would face a program that upset
Kentucky two years ago.
Should seeds hold, Iowa will have a third meeting this season vs. Kansas State; the teams played twice in November, with the Wildcats winning the first and the Hawkeyes the second. Center
Ayoka Lee provides the muscle inside for a K-State team that pushed Texas in the Big 12 semifinals.
If Iowa makes the Elite Eight against either No. 2 UCLA or No. 3 LSU, one of the biggest issues will be how the Hawkeyes combat the size inside for both teams.
Iowa, UCLA and LSU in the same region? Miami left out altogether? Selection Sunday was more kind to others, such as South Carolina, USC and the Ivy.
www.espn.com