N.C.A.A. Women’s Bracket: Double-Digit Seeds Could Be the Ones to Watch

The clearest choice for a 5-12 upset is Florida Gulf Coast, a No. 12 seed, over Virginia Tech, a No. 5. Both teams love to shoot from behind the arc, but the Eagles do so at an unmatched clip, making an average of 11.4 3-point shots per game. Florida Gulf Coast’s scoring potential makes it a formidable opponent for any team, and though the Hokies have a solid defense, they haven’t been particularly effective at defending 3-point shooters.

There is another option, for bolder bracketeers: No. 12 Stephen F. Austin over North Carolina. This isn’t a choice justified by any of the numbers. North Carolina was undefeated entering conference play, and it continued to perform well thanks to the leadership of the sophomore guard Deja Kelly. But in last year’s tournament, Stephen F. Austin, which was also then a No. 12 seed, took North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast Conference colleagues, fifth-seeded Georgia Tech, to the brink in the first round, coming up just a couple points short of an overtime victory.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-womens-bracket-picks.html