March Madness 2024 – Selection Sunday Women’s Bracket, Snubs and Predictions

Published 03/18/2024, 6:10 AM EDT

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With the number of superstars on show, this year’s women’s NCAA tournament is expected to be one hell of a ride. However, with the March Madness bracket in hand, fans have reasons for both celebration and exhaustion. While the bracket seems quite balanced, it might not be so altogether. Nevertheless, these women have worked hard, given tough competition, and increased the level of the entire competition globally.

While there are some all-time favorites in the top seeds, there are many more worthy contenders for the crown. Let us look at what the NCAA bracket for the women’s league looks like.

2024 March Madness bracket revealed: Meet the top seeds

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Leading the Albany 1 region, we have Dawn Staley’s formidable South Carolina Gamecocks. They are joined by the relentless Notre Dame as the second seed. On the other side, the Albany 2 region looks like what many are calling a murderer’s route with four top teams. They will leave no chance to give each other a neck-to-neck competition to reach the Elite Eight. These are Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, Angel Reese’s LSU, UCLA, and Creighton.

Moving towards the Portland end, in the third region, we have JuJu Watkin’s Southern California leading the troops as the top seed. They also have the top-notch Ohio St. and Paige Bueckers’ UConn on their crossovers. In Portland 4, we have Texas leading the marks. They also have Tara VanDerveer’s Stanford Cardinals to heat things on their end.

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All-in-all, the remaining teams have also shown immaculate balling skills this year. Undeniably, the women’s basketball league has come very close, if not at the same position, to men’s this season. However, while many teams got their spots on the field of 68, many did not. Let us have a look at which teams were left behind.

The teams that did not make the cut

There were 33 teams that did not become a part of the bubble for this year’s NCAA tournament. Apparently, they did not fit into the gloves that made them eligible to compete at the national level. While some were out due to their lackluster performance, some teams that were expected to be at least on the edge of the first four also did not make it. These teams are St. Johns, Iowa St, Mountain West, Miami, Villanova, Penn State, and Washington.

The eight teams heading to the First Four also slightly missed the spot on the March Madness bracket. These are Sacred Heart, first-timers Presbyterian, Holy Cross, UT Martin, Auburn, Arizona, Vanderbilt, and Columbia. Four teams from these will join the bracket for the first round and battle against better-seeded teams.

With the field of 68 in position, now let’s talk about what you can expect out of the heated competition that the 2024 NCAA tournament is going to be. Ready to fill your brackets?

Which teams will go ahead, and which may slide down the hill?

Releasing the insider notes on the bracket filling, the NCAA WBB committee chair Lisa Peterson agrees they have made a competitively balanced chart. However, many would argue that some have more intense matchups than others. But, this year’s entire women’s league has displayed the passion and love they have for their sport.

Looking at the Albany 1, South Carolina has proven itself to be the most dangerous team. After last year’s loss at the hands of another unforgiving team in Iowa, the Gamecocks have a better chance to get ahead to the Final Four as they seem to be fairly stronger than their counterparts. Although, this partially untouchable team may have problems as it lands in the Elite Eight. No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Oregon State both come with loaded weapons and the potential to move ahead in the run.

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Albany 2 is going to have hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanoes all at once with four cream-of-the-crop teams and the reigning champion on their end. Apart from that, this year’s odds-on NPOY is also in this region. It will be an extremely interesting game as there’s a complete possibility of last year’s finalists Iowa and LSU meeting in the Elite Eight.

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Apart from these two, Albany 2 also has UCLA at No. 2, which has repeatedly shown its talent on the floor. The Bruins were also out of the run last year at Sweet Sixteen and seems like they have trouble on every step. They will have to go past Creighton only to face LSU.

Coming to the Portland 3, USC sits as the top seed with Ohio St. as the second. This region also has UConn and Baylor, which will make the Elite Eight a gripping event as well. In Portland 4, we have the underdogs Texas with a great 30-4 season as the top seed. They had to face 3 toppers on their route to the bracket. But they have the Cardinals right behind them who have everything from a deep system to a motivated roster.

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The stage is set, the lights are on, and the audience is seated. All we have to wait for now is for the action call as we enter unarguably the best month of the year in all of sports. With everyone stuck to their TVs or arena seats for the March Madness, let us hear the go call. Which team do you think will win the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament?

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Written by:

Srashti Sharma

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Srashti Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, known for her in-depth researching skills. From the very first time that she heard about Kobe Bryant, she herself cultivated a Mamba Mentality. She loves the competitive nature of the sport which fuels her inner sportswoman.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth