UConn, Stanford, Baylor and Tennessee earned No. 1 seeds Monday night when the women's NCAA tournament draw was released. Here are four storylines worth paying attention to once the tournament tips off next week:
1. Will UConn three-peat?
Unlike the previous two years when UConn entered the NCAA tournament as a runaway favorite to win a national championship, the Huskies are merely one of several contenders this season. National player of the year Maya Moore returned from UConn's undefeated title-winning teams of the past two years, but three starters from those squads have graduated, including co-stars Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles.
UConn lost its aura of invincibility in December when Stanford snapped its 90-game win streak, but the Huskies haven't lost since. Moore has received help from a supporting cast of veteran Tiffany Hayes and elite freshmen Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson, helping the Huskies go undefeated in Big East play and return to their customary place atop the national rankings.
2. If UConn doesn't win, who will?
Parity in women's basketball is still a long ways away, but at least this season there appears to be an oligarchy instead of a monarchy. Fellow No. 1 seeds Stanford (29-2), Baylor (31-2) and Tennessee (31-2) are each formidable enough to topple UConn and cut down the nets at the Final Four.
Stanford boasts the size and length of Kayla Pedersen and the Ogwumike sisters in the paint to go with the shot-making of guard Jeanette Pohlen. Baylor has an array of 3-point shooting guards to complement dominant 6-foot-8 center Brittany Griner. And of course there's SEC champ Tennessee, UConn's historic rival which could get its first crack at the Huskies in several years in the national semifinals.
3. Is the fourth time the charm for UCLA, Texas A&M?
One of the oddest quirks of this year's women's NCAA tournament bracket is the potential for a pair of No. 1 seeds to have to beat a very familiar opponent for the fourth time this season in order to reach the Final Four. If the seeds hold in the Dallas Regional, Big 12 rivals No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Texas A&M will meet in the Elite Eight. Top-seeded Stanford and third-seeded UCLA could also meet for a fourth time in the Elite Eight in the Spokane Regional.
The selection committee's rationale was because of geography, but both UCLA and Texas A&M deserved better. Three of the Bruins' four losses came against Stanford and three of the Aggies' five came against Baylor. Both deserved the chance to find out how they match up against one of the other No. 1 seeds should they be fortunate enough to get that far in the bracket.
4. Will Xavier get redemption against Stanford
If UConn capping a second straight undefeated season was the signature moment of last year's women's NCAA tournament, a close second was Xavier's devastating loss to Stanford in the Elite Eight. Xavier guard Dee Dee Jernigan blew two point-blank layups that could have sent her team to the Final Four. Instead, it enabled Pohlen to go coast-to-coast and sink a buzzer-beating layup to give Stanford the win.
Unfortunately, Jernigan has graduated, but the rest of her former teammates may have an opportunity for revenge if seeds hold in the Spokane Region and No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Xavier meet in the Elite Eight for a second straight season. "It would be an incredible challenge because Stanford has an incredible team, but it would be a great thing because we would have made it there," Xavier coach Kevin McGuff said on the selection show Monday evening.
Mýa Natalie Imbruglia Patricia Velásquez Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki
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