Women's NCAA basketball decisions are interesting

Something interesting happened this year in women's college basketball that I bet a lot of people didn't notice. Of course, maybe everyone noticed and since I don't have cable of any kind, I just didn't hear about it. Nonetheless, I found it fascinating that this year, the NCAA set up the top two number 1 seeds to fail. What do I mean? Well, probabilities are wonderful things. No matter how good a team you are, if you play the same team often enough, they can figure out a way to beat you at least once. You see this kind of thing in baseball all the time. After all, do you really think that a 57 win team can beat a 100 win team? Yet they do it, at least once a season (usually).

Now, I find it fascinating that UCONN and Baylor both beat teams in the own conference three times during the regular season. They both won both regular season contests and they both met again and won the conference championship game. Uconn vs. Notre Dame and Baylor vs. Texas A&M. So...move to the elite 8 where Baylor lost to Texas A&M while playing them for the fourth time this year. Everyone expected Baylor to make it to the final 4 if not the championship, but A&M (a very good team in their own right) managed to figure out how to win one after playing them 3 times already. I actually predicted this would happen when I first learned the NCAA had placed them in the same bracket. I figured A&M should have to at least make it to the final four to get to play Baylor again, but no...the NCAA felt differently. At least A&M proved they belonged in the final four by beating Stanford.

As for UCONN and Notre Dame, well, UCONN did the same thing during the regular season and conference championship as Baylor had done. They won. However, in the final four, Notre Dame managed to figure out a way to beat UCONN. Only Stanford had done it all year and only Baylor had come close, so this is unheard of, but you have to remember the law of averages. 4 times in one year?! At least Notre Dame had to earn it by beating no. 1 Tennessee and get into the final four.

Now, I don't want to take anything away from either team in the final...Texas A&M lost 5 times all year, 3 of those to Baylor and one to Duke so they are an excellent team in their own right. Notre Dame also lost 3 to their conference champion UCONN, but they did struggle a bit more, losing 7 overall. However, all of their losses came against ranked opponents whereas one of A&M's losses came against an unranked Kansas State team. All this said to say I believe Texas A&M will win the NCAA championship this year. That'll make the Big 12 happy, even if it isn't from the expected source. Baylor fans have much to look forward to next year as 4 of their starters, including Griner are only sophomores and freshmen. As for the others? UCONN loses their top player, A&M loses their top player and I'm not sure about Stanford and Tennesee's rosters. Nonetheless, it should be a good final and a fun season next year.