(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

Just 72 hours ago in this space, we posited that Tennessee had taken over the final No. 1 seed from Arizona. Then on Saturday, the Volunteers lost at home to Kentucky. Arizona lost at USC. And North Carolina beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. So now what?

While it’s not Blind Resume Challenge time, take a look at these three with the names gone and decide which one deserves the No. 4 overall seed (numbers as of Sunday night).

That is … so close. Team A is Arizona, Team B is Tennessee and Team C is UNC. Missing from the chart is Arizona’s Quad 3 loss at Oregon State — the other two contenders don’t have a setback outside the first two quads. Throw in the Wildcats’ losses to Stanford and USC, and that convinces us that it’s going to be the Volunteers or Tar Heels on the top line. But which one?

It’s so tight that North Carolina’s nonconference home win over Tennessee might serve as the de facto tiebreaker….

And just like that — there’s another Big Ten opening.

On Monday, Michigan State announced that longtime coach Suzy Merchant is stepping down for health reasons. The university said that Dean Lockwood, who had assumed the role of acting head coach after Merchant was involved in a car accident and has been leading the team since then, will be interim head coach until a permanent replacement is named.

This opening could impact Minnesota as it hunts to replace Lindsay Whalen; Michigan State has a more expansive history in terms of women’s hoops success, especially recently. The Spartans are the last Big Ten team to make a national championship appearance, a game they lost to Baylor in 2005. But the Spartans have also made 12 tournament appearances since then.

GO DEEPER

Who will replace Lindsay Whalen as Minnesota’s next head coach? 3 candidates to consider

There are some obvious names that rise to the top of this coaching search, but given that Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller is still pretty new in the position and has hired only one women’s sports coach for the Spartans, he’s a bit of an unknown entity in terms of what he might prioritize.

Last June, after Spartans softball coach Jacquie Joseph retired following a nearly three-decade career in East Lansing,…

After months of speculation, the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket is now complete. But before you start filling it out with reckless abandon, hoping to one-up your coworkers in the office pool or top your friends for bragging rights and free drinks, keep in mind that bracket busters are commonplace. Every year, there’s at least one team that breaks the chalk.

Looking over my women’s college basketball bracket, I’ve highlighted one potential squad from each region with upset potential as well as four dark horse teams that could reach the Final Four. This season, outside of South Carolina, the road to Dallas feels like it’s wide open.

Download your bracket here, and follow along.

Let the madness begin.

Greenville 1 Region

The Pilots (23-8, 15-3 WCC) haven’t earned an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament since 2020, and COVID-19 put an end to their March Madness dreams before they could play. This season, Portland is in after winning the WCC tournament by beating Gonzaga in the title game. Though the Pilots don’t have any signature wins and failed to beat a ranked opponent during the regular season, they shouldn’t be overlooked.

Junior forward Alex Fowler is Portland’s all-time points leader and averages 17.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Drawing No. 5 seed Oklahoma in…

A lot can change over the course of a week in the world of women’s college basketball. Some teams that looked as though they might limp into the field last week have fallen completely out of the running for an NCAA Tournament bid. Other long shots, like West Virginia, have inched in.

There are only a few more days to go until Selection Sunday, which means there’s plenty of bubble drama to come. And with a handful of conference tournaments still left to play — including the Big 12 — more changes can happen.

Here’s our latest Bubble Watch:

Sitting pretty

Kansas (19-10, 9-9 Big 12; NET: 35, SOS: 47)

A stretch of three straight losses to West Virginia (NET: 61), Oklahoma (36) and Kansas State (67) looked dicey. But Kansas rebounded at just the right time with three consecutive wins, including a 98-93 win over Iowa State (14), to close out the regular season. Despite only two total wins against high-quality opponents, the Jayhawks’ strength of schedule has put them in a great position heading into the Big 12 tournament, where they will face TCU in the first round — an opponent they recently clobbered 84-61. Another win against the Horned Frogs, along with an upset or a solid game against Oklahoma in the second round, and Kansas can rest easy and prepare for the Big Dance.

Like the stock market, predicting what happens in women’s college basketball from week to week isn’t an easy endeavor. Upsets lurk around every corner. A top team or player could have an off night. A lower-ranked team could play at a higher level. Unexpected injuries arise. All you can do is take the information you have at your disposal and make educated decisions based on the facts in front of you. Whatever happens from there happens. Which means sometimes those predictions go right out the window. But that’s what makes it so much fun.

So, let’s crack open those wallets of fandom. For the next few weeks leading up to the NCAA Tournament, I’ll give you my best advice for rising and falling teams, ones to hold on to and ride out the storm with and some that are just too volatile to trust.

Rising

South Carolina (25-0 overall, 12-0 in conference; first SEC, NET: 1, AP: 1)

South Carolina’s stock was already high, and the Gamecocks were looking to be a lock for the No. 1 seed before Sunday’s game against No. 3 LSU. And yet somehow their reputation is even more solid after a dominating 88-64 win over the Tigers. The Gamecocks were on another level from the start, going up 18-2 on LSU midway through the first quarter. Aliyah Boston (14 points, nine rebounds and three…