It's Almost March Madness

March 4, 2021

The GIST: Women’s basketball conference tournaments are heating up, the semifinalists for women’s Naismith Player of the Year were announced and March Madness is just around the corner...nature is healing.

Sports News Basketball

Source: Adam Creech/Louisville Athletics

🏆Conference tournaments: Women’s conference tournament action began yesterday, with 31 automatic bids to March Madness on the line. The excitement will really pick up with this weekend’s late round matchups, when many of the top 25 teams begin their playoff runs.

Keep an eye on the SEC and Pac-12 tourneys. Six of the top 25 teams are from the SEC, while the Pac-12 boasts four. Watch for a potential rematch of No. 2 Texas A&M’s win over No. 7 South Carolina to clinch the SEC regular-season crown. Spicy.

With each conference operating a tournament on their own schedule, some teams will punch their ticket to San Antonio as early as this Saturday, while others will have to wait until next weekend. More hoops for us!

💪Players to watch: As we start to crown conference champs, there’s also some individual hardware to hand out. The semifinalist list for the Naismith Player of the Year award was released on Tuesday, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will take home the honors.

Could UConn phenom Paige Bueckers (pronounced BECKERS) become the first freshman to win the award? Or will veteran talent like two-time ACC Player of the Year Louisville guard Dana Evans reign supreme? Truth and time will tell all.