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Women’s basketball bracketology: The problem with sending Notre Dame to Chicago

By Russell Steinberg

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – DECEMBER 16: Dawn Staley women’s basketball head coach University of South Carolina Gamecocks signals from the sideline during the game against the Purdue University Boilermakers, December 16, 2018, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – DECEMBER 16: Dawn Staley women’s basketball head coach University of South Carolina Gamecocks signals from the sideline during the game against the Purdue University Boilermakers, December 16, 2018, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Waco:

1. Baylor (Big 12)
16. New Mexico State (WAC)

8. South Dakota State (Summit)
9. California

Charlotte:

5. Florida State
12. Penn (Ivy)

4. South Carolina
13. Bucknell (Patriot)

This was a good week for South Carolina, and not only because the Gamecocks picked up a pair of SEC wins. They were also granted a waiver to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in (somewhat) nearby Charlotte. This had been an issue because their home arena is going to host a men’s first/second round site, making it unavailable for a potential 4 seed (or better) women’s team. The Gamecocks have their homecourt advantage back.

Coral Gables:

6. Michigan State
11. Tennessee

3. Miami
14. VCU (Atlantic 10)

Palo Alto:

7. Texas
10. UCF

2. Stanford
15. Portland State (Big Sky)

I should send Katie Abrahamson-Henderson some cookies or something. I keep sliding UCF down despite the Knights sitting at 20-5 with an RPI of 18. The problem is, there isn’t much substance to those numbers. The RPI is high because of some strategic non-conference scheduling against solid low-majors. UCF has, in fact, beaten just two teams in the projected field: Quinnipiac and Mercer. They’re still safely in the bracket, but the margin for error is slim.

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