THE ROAD AHEAD

Who stands in LSU’s way in March Madness

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

The regular season is behind them. The SEC tournament is behind them. All eyes now lie on March Madness.

The LSU women’s basketball team left Greenville, South Carolina, feeling like they fell short of expectations others gave them and expectations they gave themselves after a loss to Tennessee. But the road continues for the team, as they get set to find out their seeding for the NCAA Tournament this Sunday. The Selection Sunday show will be aired Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Where does LSU stand in the Bracketology?

Their loss against Tennessee moved the Tigers down to No. 9 in the AP Poll rankings, and the loss almost moved them down to a projected No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are still, however, projected to host their opening matchup in Baton Rouge.

According to ESPN’s Women’s Basketball Bracketology, LSU is projected to face-off with the projected No. 14 seed, Towson, who is predicted to win the Colonial Athletic Conference. If the Tigers were to win that game, they are predicted to play the winner of No. 6 seed, Arizona, and No. 11 seed, Florida Gulf Coast. The second round matchup would also be in Baton Rouge.

Where do other SEC teams stand in the Bracketology?

South Carolina remains at the top of women’s college basketball after knocking off Tennessee to win the SEC Championship. The Gamecocks are almost guaranteed to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as it has beaten everyone it has faced so far this season.

Tennessee moved its seeding projection up after beating LSU and making the SEC Championship. The Volunteers are now listed as a No. 5 seed in the bracketology.

The Ole Miss Rebels are listed as a No. 8 seed after making the SEC Tournament Semifinals and losing to South Carolina. Georgia is right behind the Rebels, as it’s listed as a No. 9 seed. Mississippi State and Alabama are both listed as No. 10 seeds, and both are projected as two of the last four byes into the tournament.

Who is above LSU in the Bracketology?

Other than South Carolina, of course, Stanford, Indiana and Virginia Tech make up the top seeds in the Bracketology.

South Carolina and Virginia Tech are the only two champions of their respective conferences listed as No. 1 seeds. Stanford lost in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals to UCLA, and Indiana lost in the Big 10 tournament semifinals to Ohio State.

However, their regular sea- son performance keeps them in the No. 1 seed category. In the AP Poll, Indiana sits at No. 3 and Stanford at No. 5.

The No. 2 seeds in the Bracketology are Utah, Iowa, Connecticut and Maryland. After winning the Big 10 tournament by 33 points and sitting at No. 2 in the AP Poll, it’s very likely that Iowa will be a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday in place of either Stanford or Indiana.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been led by star senior guard, Caitlin Clark, all season. She’s lit up the stat sheet this year with 27 points per game, which is tied for second in the country, 8.3 assists per game, which is first in the country, and 3.4 three-pointers made per game, which is tied for first in the country.

UConn having won the Big East Conference Tournament should lock them in at a No. 2 seed. Sitting at No. 7 in the AP Poll, they should remain stagnant after having won five straight games.

Both Utah and Maryland have been projected No. 2 seeds for some time, and both teams not having made their conference championship means this will be the highest seed they earn with the chance to drop to a No. 3 seed.

Who are the other No. 3 seeds in the Bracketology along with LSU?

LSU, Ohio State, Duke and Notre Dame make up the projected No. 3 seeds in the Women’s Bracketology.

Ohio State, the team LSU lost to in the NCAA Tournament last season, will once again be a threat. Listed at No. 12 in the AP Poll, they will likely be a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday after having made their conference championship. The only thing working against them is a 30-point loss to Iowa in the Big Ten championship, but that will likely only favor Iowa.

Duke and Notre Dame are both in a similar situation that LSU is in. The Blue Devils are No. 13 in the AP Poll and lost in the ACC Tournament semifinals to Virginia Tech. Having a good regular season performance, Duke will likely remain a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday.

Notre Dame lost to Louisville in the ACC Tournament Semifinal. But its regular season performance will likely keep the Fighting Irish at a No. 3 seed, as they’re listed at No. 11 in the AP Poll.

Other threats in LSU’s Bracketology path

If the current Bracketology was the NCAA Tournament, LSU would face No. 14 Towson. If the Tigers were to win that game, they’d play the winner of No. 6 Arizona and No. 11 Florida Gulf Coast. Arizona is ranked at No. 24 in the AP Poll, but Florida Gulf Coast is receiving votes to be in the Top 25.

Florida Gulf Coast is currently set to play Austin Peay State in the Atlantic Sun Tournament semifinals, and if it were to win the conference, Arizona could be on upset watch.

If LSU wins its second round matchup, it would move onto the Sweet 16 and likely see either No. 2 seed Maryland, or in a more un- likely chance, No. 7 North Carolina State. Maryland is another team in the similar position to LSU, but the Terrapins are probably in a better spot. They lost to Iowa by five points in the Big 10 Tournament semifinals and sit at No. 6 in the AP Poll. North Carolina State is not in the AP Poll but is currently receiving votes to be in it. Putting anything past an underdog in March Madness, however, would be a mistake.

If the Tigers were to make it past the Sweet Sixteen and into the Elite Eight, their most likely opponent would be No. 1 Virginia Tech. The Hokies are coming off of an ACC Championship over Louisville, so this would be a game that would require LSU’s best.

No. 4 Villanova and No. 5 Tennessee would also be two likely candidates for the Tigers’ opponent in the Elite Eight. Tennessee is another team with a lot of confidence despite having lost to South Carolina in the SEC Championship. The fact that the Volunteers took LSU down once will give them more of a reason to come in thinking they can do it again.

Villanova lost to UConn by 11 points in the Big East Tournament Championship, and at No. 10 in the AP Poll. So for the Wildcats, the talent is most definitely there.

With the chance that LSU could make it through the Elite Eight, it would head to Dallas for the Final Four, the biggest stage in college basketball. The Final Four will be at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, from March 31 to April 2.

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