NCAA Women’s Sweet Sixteen Preview
We have been dancing for about a week, and things are not slowing down anytime soon.
The 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is well underway as teams are gearing up for the Sweet 16.
The picture for this weekend’s matchups is looking pretty sweet, as we have already seen two of the top seeded teams get sent home.
Stanford fell in a close game that was decided by only five points, and Indiana was knocked out due to the Miami Hurricanes cashing in an overtime mid-range jumper at the buzzer. Now, the only top-seeded teams left in contention are Virginia Tech and an undefeated South Carolina team looking to continue that streak.
When taking a look at this next round, the Greenville 1 region features the top four seeded teams from that section.
The South Carolina Gamecocks will take on the UCLA Bruins in a one-versus-four seeded matchup in hopes of making it to the Elite Eight and finishing their undefeated season. The two-seeded Maryland will face Notre Dame in a showdown that could be one of the most exciting games this round.
The Greenville 2 region shows us a similar trend as the two through four seeds will be competing in this round, as well as a tough nine seed that snuck through.
The nine-seeded Hurricanes will face the four-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the first game of the weekend.
The three seeded LSU Tigers will take on the number two seeded Utah Utes. The Tigers are coming off a huge win in the round of 32, where they trampled the six-seeded Michigan Wolverines.
Heading over to the Seattle 4 region, things have been shaken up, and it isn’t only just the top seeded teams. This is the only region that features teams ranked lower than a four seed, as the eight seeded Ole Miss Raiders are set to face the five seeded Louisville Cardinals on Friday.
The Colorado Buffaloes will attempt to defend themselves in a contest versus the highest ranked team remaining in this region, the number two seeded Iowa Hawkeyes. All eyes will mostly be on one person; the Hawkeyes secret weapon in Caitlin Clark.
The last region, Seattle 4 brings us another showcase of the top four seeded teams from this region, and one team looking to make a run like they have been known to in the past.
Virginia Tech will look to close out Tennessee in a one versus four seed matchup set to go down on Saturday. After losing in the first round to Florida Gulf Coast, the Hokies look to make a deep run as one of the top seeded teams in this year’s tournament.
Finally, we have the much anticipated matchup that will feature the Ohio State Buckeyes, the three seed in this region, against the two-seeded UConn Huskies as they look to make an appearance in the Final Four for the 15th straight time.
The action will kick off Friday afternoon as the Miami Hurricanes and Villanova Wildcats are set to face off in Greenville, South Carolina at 2:30 p.m.
Brendan Conroy is a third-year studying broadcast journalism. To contact him email him at brc5392@psu.edu.
