Athletic The series of debates presents two writers who break a subject. In this edition, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman debate that the teams are able to win the national championship.
Ben Pickman: We are less than two weeks away Selection Sunday And the whole world cares about seed lines, support prints and cenlérelles. Before the start of March, madness, do an exercise to predict the teams that we think we have a chance to win the national title of this year before seeing the matches. We talked about parity through the female basketball landscape throughout the season. Four teams were n ° 1 in the AP survey, equaling the record more recently established in 2021.
Champions often have common points. In the last 10 NCAA tournaments, A single winner (Notre Dame in 2017-2018) was outside the net note of the top 10. Only two champions, this Irish combat team and the South Carolina 2016-2017, were outside the top 10 of the defensive note.
So, Sabreena, how many teams do you think you have a legitimate chance of cutting the nets on the evening of April 7?
Sabreena Merchant: There are five teams that I can consider keeping this trophy – as in, I don’t have to stretch my imagination to see none of these teams win six games in the NCAA tournament.
Uconn is the favorite of the bets, and it is the team with the most additional advantages of the tournament because the Huskies do not play their stars a ton during the regular season. Texas is the team AP n ° 1 and the elite at both ends of the soil. The USC has the best player in the country, as well as an exceptional defense. Notre Dame has a dominant rear area and beat each of the three previous teams during the regular season.
My most trembling national title in the inner circle is probably South Carolina.
Pickman: OOOH! Why do you say that?
Merchant: The front area of Gamecocks still concerns me. Without Ashlyn Watkins, they are a little thin in the post and a little small. The larger centers gave them difficulty, including the Taylor Jones / Kyla Oldacre duo from Texas, Clara Strack from Kentucky and even Jana Elfy from Uconn. It is a more important weakness than the other four contenders for the title. In addition, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall were not as consistent as last season.
Pickman: This can be true, but the South Carolina is still n ° 1 in a defensive note, according to her hoop statistics. Gamecocks have an experienced back area and a coach, and they are effective in attack. Although their large area is not as good as last year (or in previous years), it should also be noted that the South Carolina is in the top 15 of the country in turnover per game (with an average of 12), and is sixth, by HHS, in terms of price. Avoiding turnover and faults makes a success recipe in March.
“No Madame”, @Supremenia (certainly) pic.twitter.com/e9SH7SVLYQ
– South Carolina Women’s Basketball (@gamecockwbb) March 2, 2025
Merchant: All these elements push the South Carolina in level 1, but if I had to choose an oven final without looking at the support, the gamecocks would be outside.
Do you think I’m too restrictive? Does anyone else justify a title consideration for you?
Pickman: I have another school on my list of titles. The UCLA has spent the most weeks (12) at n ° 1 this season. They are in the top five in offensive and defensive note; They undoubtedly have the most dominant post player in the country of Lauren Betts; And they boast of the experience in the rear area. I chose Bruins to win the title last year for similar reasons. On paper, once again, they have the curriculum vitae of a candidate in the national title.
Merchant: On paper, I agree with you on the UCLA, but the Bruins do not go through the big games. Beating South Carolina earlier in the year suggested that they had shot a corner, but they finished the season less than inspiring and were essentially non -competitive in their regular season final against the USC – which doubled the match for the Big Ten title.
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Pickman: Everything is right. Maybe I hold their victory over the South Carolina too much. In addition, after the defeat against the USC, the Cori Close coach seemed to recognize the need for a kind of reshuffle in critical games. Maybe I bet on them who make the soul in the NCAA tournament. I could, once again, a stupid look in a month.
LSU appeared on my list of short -term titles competitors two weeks ago, but the losses against Alabama and Ole Miss (although the latter without Flau’jae Johnson) attenuated my expectations. Johnson came out of the dry tournament, which gives me a break. And although LSU is n ° 2 on a national level in attempts at free throws, its rear area – apart from Johnson – is inexperienced and has been incoherent throughout the year.
Merchant: I would be surprised if the tigers even did the Final Four because they count so on their three best players. The history of Kim Mulkey in the NCAA tournament are impressive, but I do not think that it is the year when she adds another banner to her collection.
Pickman: Even without LSU, there could be more than 10 teams that could make the Final Four. History says that, unlike national champions, the participants of the Final Four can be elite in offense or defense and fight at the other end of the prosecution. (Think of the Iowa of the last two seasons and Oregon in 2018-19.) TCU falls into this bucket for me, because the horns with horns are n ° 2 in an offensive note and n ° 35 in defensive note. They are the oldest team in the country, the top 10 in blocks and reversals per game and the n ° 1 in 3 points manufactured. It is difficult to imagine that horns in horns go from their first Big 12 title to win a national title – TCU has never even made a Sweet 16, not to mention the Final Four – but it was a historic year for the program.
Merchant: As long as we are on the subject of long shots, another Big 12 team interests me by being elite at one end of the ground. It is Virginia-Western. “Press” Virginia has the best defense in the country thanks to the complete pressure of Mountaineers. With the short delay of the NCAA tournament, this team could produce upheavals. We saw the Virginie-Western delete almost the Hawkeyes of Caitlin Clark in Iowa City during the second round in 2024, and the defense only won in the meantime. According to the draw – because large centers generally destroy them – mountaineers could make noise.
🌟 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝟏𝟐 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟#Hailwv pic.twitter.com/vfwiuhfayc
– WEVU Women’s Basketball (@WVUWBB) March 4, 2025
Pickman: We agree that mountaineers could make upheavals at the start of the support. However, among the teams that made the last five final ovens and experienced a significant defense disparity, only Arizona in 2020-2021 made it a defense team first.
Merchant: Perhaps the teams on which we should watch are Florida State and Vanderbilt. We have already seen Ta’niya Latson erase the defense of one of our high -level teams (Notre Dame) during the last week, and Mikayla Blakes filed more than 50 points twice on the dry opponents. The Seminoles are more experienced in the NCAA tournament, so it could be the year when they are piercing and winning a match or more.
Pickman: For FSU, and almost everyone, the draw is critical. No one is as dominant as South Carolina a season. This is what will make the tournament of this exciting year.
(Photo: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
