The 2024 women’s NCAA tournament should have perhaps been played on a blackboard. There’s that much chalk all over it after the first round wrapped up.
Higher-seeded teams went 31-1 in the first round. No bracket has played so true to form since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1994. For those who like to pick a few upsets, the plan backfired this year.
Congratulations to No. 11 seeded Middle Tennessee, the only lower-seeded team allowed into the party. And it took an 18-point comeback for the Blue Raiders to upset No. 6 seed Louisville. MTSU’s shocker came in Friday’s third game. Not one surprise came since.
That doesn’t mean that reseeding the round of 32 was a simple task. Performance matters. To some degree, this is an exercise of style points. So there was some movement.
Here is how the bracket would look now if we could start it all again with 32 teams.
No. 1 seeds
South Carolina Gamecocks
Original seed: No. 1 overall (Region 1 in Albany)
First round: Defeated Presbyterian Blue Hose 91-39 (Friday)
South Carolina has now beaten the Blue Hose twice this season by an average of 61 points. Starting guard Bree Hall sitting out as a…
