NCAAW: South Carolina will spoil UConn’s fairy tale to win back-to-back titles

It’s time for the annual March tradition of crafting confident brackets, only to have them crumble by the end of the first weekend of play. At Swish Appeal, we’re participating in the madness, offering up predictions that are sure to age poorly.

Here is the breakdown of three bold(ish) scenarios from my bracket.

Click here to see Cat’s bracket.

Bruin ruin

There’s absolutely no reason to predict that UCLA, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed that only lost to one team (inter-city rivals and fellow No. 1-seed USC) over the course of the regular season, will fall before the Final Four—except for the madness of March!

Could No. 9-seed Georgia Tech be the Cinderella that spoils the Bruins’ championship ambitions in the round of 32?

After beginning the season 15-0, the Yellow Jackets went 6-9 down the stretch of the regular season before losing by a point to NC State in the second round of the ACC Tournament. That’s not a resume that inspires much confidence. Tech also is not a team with great size, which doesn’t bode well for containing the Bruins’ 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts.

Yet, as a guard-heavy team with multiple players capable of getting hot and splashing in jumpers, Tech could shoot UCLA out of the tournament. Both Kara Dunn and Tonie Morgan had a game where they dropped more than 30 points, while Dani Carnegie nearly got there with games of 28 and 29 points. Carnegie also captains the Tech’s eagerness from behind the arc, taking just under seven 3-pointers per game; as a team, the Yellow Jackets average almost 25 per contest.

If they can increase their 3-point volume and the gods of shooting variance swing in their favor, the Jackets can leave the Bruins in ruin in LA.

Irish, Vols bounce back

After mostly stellar seasons, both No. 3-seed Notre Dame and No. 5-seed Tennessee stumbled in the season’s latter stages. The Fighting Irish went from the nation’s No. 1-ranked team and a title favorite to losers of three of their final five games. The Lady Vols fared even worse, as they were routed by Kentucky, beaten by Georgia and ousted from the SEC Tournament by Vanderbilt in three of their final four games.

But as we turn the page to the tournament, Notre Dame and Tennessee can write more inspiring final chapters. For the Irish, their tournament potential is obvious, with the star power of their AP All-American guards Hannah Hidalgo (First Team), Olivia Miles (Second Team) and Sonia Citron (Honorable Mention) capable of carrying the team to the Final Four.

In the Elite Eight, Notre Dame will dispatch a Tennessee team that advances all the way there by rediscovering their high-volume, high-flying 3-point shooting and deploying it to great effect in the tournament’s first three rounds.

South Carolina spoils the UConn fairy tale

It is tempting to script the UConn fairy tale, where Paige Bueckers caps off her incredible career by leading the Huskies to their first national championship since 2016, avenging their regular-season loss to USC along the way.

But, avenging losses? That’s South Carolina’s expertise. For as excellent as Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong can be for the Huskies on the tournament’s biggest stages, it’s hard to imagine the Gamecocks losing to the team from Storrs a second time. Call it the spell of Dawn Staley.

Since their blowout loss to UConn on Feb. 16, South Carolina not only has not lost, but also has a established a more consistent identity, enjoying improved play from Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin. The SEC Tournament’s MVP, Kitts routinely stuffed the box score down the stretch of the season while Feagin increasingly flashed her well-rounded skillset, operating as a proficient passer from the elbows and demonstrating confidence in her midrange jumper. The play of the starting forwards boosted the Gamecocks’ halfcourt offense, which was stagnant and out of sorts in their bad losses.

Then, South Carolina benefits from the nation’s best bench, fueled by the game-changing flair of MiLaysia Fulwiley, developing dominance of Joyce Edwards and sharpshooting of Tessa Johnson. On top of all that, expect Staley to craft a defensive scheme that more effectively neutralizes Bueckers and the Huskies’ shooters, with Bree Hall and Raven Johnson, in particular, prepared to execute that thankless task.

Put it all together and South Carolina is still the nation’s standard.