Iowa, South Carolina, USC or Texas – Which 1 Seed Women’s Team Has the Easiest March Madness Path?

Published 03/19/2024, 1:49 PM EDT

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After the conclusion of a fantastic Selection Sunday, we now have a clear picture of the women’s division in the March Madness. While most of the attention was grabbed by where the NCAA all-time scoring queen will land, other teams surely took their portion of the spotlight. With multiple teams laid down in the field of 68 for this year’s NCAA tournament, it is going to be challenging for the followers as well to keep track of everything.

Nevertheless, let’s first start talking about the top seeds of every region in the bracket, beginning with unarguably one of the toughest WBB teams.

Will South Carolina stay undefeated?

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The SEC champions remain the only undefeated team in the NCAA tournament. Consequently, South Carolina appears to be a clear favorite to make their way into the regional finals. In their first encounter, they will take on the winner of a First Four matchup on March 20th between Sacred Heart and Presbyterian. Following this, a victory will take them to a top-10 clash with either the Tar Heels or Michigan State.

via Reuters

After going through their Columbia challenge, they will lock horns with the conquerors of Bloomington in a Sweet Sixteen confrontation. Subsequently, a successful road will ensure their entry into an Elite Eight March Madness game. This will feature the winner from Sub-regionals of Cornvallis and Notre Dame.

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A successful campaign will mean that the Gamecocks will make a fourth consecutive Final Four appearance against a team from the Portland 4 region.

Can Texas rattle their way through Portland 4?

Beating the Pac-12 regular winners Stanford, the Longhorns occupy the top position. No.16 the Drexel Dragons will be their opening challenge on 22nd March. After this, either Alabama or Florida State will have a chance to cause an upset in a feisty second-round battle. However, Texas will fancy their chances to enter a Sweet 16 altercation. This can include a Spokane heavyweight like Utah or Gonzaga.

They will have another game at the Moda Center if they get past their Sweet 16 opponent. Apparently, their Elite Eight clash in Portland will have the winner among Tennesse, Green Bay, NC State, Chattanooga, Iowa State, Maryland, Norfolk State and Cameron Brink’s Stanford. Predictions suggest that No.2 Cardinals are favorites to meet them in the regional finals. Undeniably, that will be their toughest test if they wanna play a Final Four game for the first time in 21 years.

Speaking of tough tests, that is something that the Albany 2 region is all about for last year’s NCAA finalists.

The Hawkeyes’ demanding March Madness

Being referred to as the Murderer’s route, the Albany 2 region has the potential to offer the most competitive games in the event. Grabbing the top rank here, Caitlin Clark’s Iowa will have an uphill battle. That is, if they want to headline the Final Four for the second consecutive year. After getting their names next to the Big Ten title, Lisa Bluder’s Hawkeyes have to go past a potential national championship contender out of 3 for a place in the Final Four.

USA Today via Reuters

Moreover, their first-round matchup will feature one of the First Four advancers between Holy Cross and UT Martin. The Hawkeyes will then play either West Virginia (8) or Princeton (9) in their second round. Moving past these two, Caitlin Clark and co. will face Manhattan advancers which probably may be either Kansas St. or Colorado. Once past the initial rounds, Elite Eight is where things will get tough for the beloved team.

They will have to face either the defending champions LSU, the underdogs Creighton, or the gritty performers UCLA in the Elite Eight. While it may be a neck-to-neck competition no matter who goes against Clark, it will be very much required for them to keep the fight alive if Iowa wants its championship ring, even if many believe that UCLA can win the March Madness.

However, while one might think that the Final Four might be a little easy for the 2023 finalists, think again. In fact, the floor will only get hotter as Portland 3 champions between USC and UConn will welcome the Hawkeyes in the championship semifinal.

Who will reign the Portland 3 in March Madness?

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Many think that after talking about Albany 2, Portland 3 will be a little easy on the selected teams. However, that is not the case. While not as rocky as the previous one, this region includes the strategical UConn Huskies, the dominating USC Trojans, and the formidable Ohio State. The No. one seed USC will begin their NCAA tournament journey with No. 16 A&M Corpus Christi. Once past them, JuJu and the team will go against either Virginia Tech (4) or Baylor (5.)

If they grab successful results, they will then lock their horns with either Ohio St. (2) or UConn (3) in the Elite Eight. It will be one heck of a March Madness event as these amazing teams will go against each other. An exhilarating fortnight awaits the passionate NCAA fans. As previously authenticated, women’s college basketball is currently garnering more hype and attention than men’s. This bracket division will only further the cause.

While we are just moments away from the real madness to kick in, we are just hours away from the First Four. Now all the basketball fans have to do is sit back, relax, and let the whistle blow.

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Which team are you manifesting into the finals this March Madness?

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Written by:

Shahryar Fazal

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Shahryar Fazal is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports. His specialisation lies in his scrupulous Live Coverage of the events like NCAA and WNBA tournaments. A former sportsman himself, Shahryar used to contribute stories for publishing houses like TOI before taking up American sports as his field of interest.
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Edited by:

Bilal Handoo