The opening games of the 2023 women’s NCAA basketball tournament will be played March 15. The landscape might look a lot different by then, and a lot already has changed since our midseason check-in in January.
Yes, South Carolina remains dominant and undefeated with two statement victories over UConn and LSU in the past 10 days, the latter the first real test for Kim Mulkey’s previously undefeated Tigers.
But with a healthy Grace Berger back, Indiana has looked even more potent, rising to No. 2 in the AP top 25 and earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA basketball committee’s reveal of its top 16 seeds. Stanford showed it is vulnerable in losses to USC and Washington. UConn, the fourth No. 1 seed in the reveal, gave the Gamecocks a tough game, but questions linger over whether the Huskies’ lack of depth due to injuries is sustainable.
And things are only heating up in the league races as teams close out the regular season and prepare for conference tournaments, which open as early as Feb. 28, with the first automatic bid up for grabs on March 4.
With one month remaining before March Madness officially begins, ESPN.com’s Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and M.A. Voepel update their predictions and examine which teams are looking Final-Four ready, who has the best case for player of the…
