On Friday, the first-round games in the women’s tournament offered us a fine lesson in a fundamental difference between this version of March Madness and the one played by men. In the men’s game, the gap between the very best teams on the one hand and power-conference also-rans, the best mid-majors and even Yale on the other has become narrow enough that if everything goes right for an underdog on a bad night for a favorite, anything really can happen. That’s not yet true on the women’s side.
Talent is dispersing throughout the women’s game, and many programs are improving rapidly beyond those who are perennial championship contenders. But most top-shelf teams are still able to squash bottom-bracket opponents — and specifically to snuff out their attempts at giant-killing tactics — mostly just by being so much bigger, stronger and faster.
Even without Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech destroyed Marshall on Friday, holding the Thundering Herd to a pretty incredible 6-for-41 (14.6 percent) shooting on threes. Baylor pressured Vanderbilt into 21 turnovers. Colorado held Drake to four offensive rebounds while making more than 60 percent of their own inside shots. And those results are from games where our model thought the longshot had at least a 10 percent chance of…
