Through a 2023 NCAA Tournament that has seen a number of legacy programs upset earlier than many expected, the third and final weekend of March Madness is almost here. Just four teams remain: South Carolina out of the Greenville 1 Region, LSU out of Greenville 2, Virginia Tech out of Seattle 3, and Iowa out of Greenville 4. Before the games tip off Friday, The Athletic’s women’s college basketball writers — Chantel Jennings, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman — gathered to talk about what’s shocked them most from the tournament so far and weigh in on what’s ahead in Dallas.
What surprised you most from the regionals?
Chantel: For years we’ve been talking about the increased parity in women’s basketball … but then you get to the NCAA Tournament and it’s like every round is almost entirely chalk with three No. 1 seeds in the Final Four, save an upset here or there. And even beyond that, the No. 1 seeds were typically UConn, Stanford, (recently) South Carolina and then one other team that had been dominant most of the year. We’ve really been waiting for a season that shows some breakthrough teams. While this season still has a Final Four with two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed, I do think it’s significant that the teams aren’t necessarily the…
