2014 Women’s NCAA Tournament Lincoln Regional Overview
The Lincoln Regional is headlined by the top-ranked and undefeated UConn Huskies who, unlike undefeated Wichita State in the men’s tournament, were handed an advantageous draw. The American Athletic Conference, outside of Louisville, did not test the Huskies but the selection committee rewarded UConn for dominating in the non-conference and being the best team overall in the regular season.
#1 Connecticut, #2 Duke, #3 Texas A&M, #4 Nebraska, #5 North Carolina State, #6 Gonzaga, #7 DePaul, #8 Georgia, #9 St. Joseph’s, #10 Oklahoma, #11 James Madison,#12 BYU, #13 Fresno State, #14 North Dakota, #15 Winthrop, #16 Prairie View A&M
Who Can Win?
This Lincoln Regional is UConn’s to lose. They have superior personnel in this region and as long as they don’t have a freak injury to sophomore sensation Breanna Stewart or someone like a Stefanie Dolson they should be able to roll through all the way to Nashville without too much difficulty.
Who Can Surprise?
If two seeded Duke gets to the Elite Eight against UConn, they could potentially give the Huskies an interesting game. The Blue Devils gained a lot of confidence battling Notre Dame pretty well in the ACC Tournament final and will not fear UConn on a neutral floor.
Who’s Hot?
DePaul comes into the NCAA Tournament on fire as the Big East Champions. The Blue Demons have won 16 of its last 17 games turning around its season. DePaul has four players averaging in double figure led by Jasmine Penny and Megan Rogowski. The team also has the ability to force a ton of turnovers. This combination will make the Blue Demons a very intriguing team to watch in this Lincoln Regional.
Who’s Cold?
North Carolina State comes in with four losses in its last seven games against a pretty good gauntlet of teams such as Duke, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. The trip out to Los Angeles for the opening round against BYU should be a very welcome respite from the grueling grind of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Oklahoma just snuck into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. They lost in the Big 12 Quarterfinals to Texas and have lost three of four heading into their first-round matchup with DePaul.
Upset Alert!
Watch out for James Madison over Gonzaga down in College Station, Texas. The CAA Champion Dukes are a very well balanced team and are led by Kirby Burkholder, who was the CAA Player of the year. Burkholder is averaging over 18 points and eight rebounds per game. The WCC Champion Bulldogs are equally balanced and are led by Haiden Palmer’s 15 points per game. James Madison is a little better at the foul line than Gonzaga as they are shooting over 73 percent and the Bulldogs at just over 68 percent. This should be the difference for the Dukes to sneak out a razor close victory in this matchup.
What Possible Matchup is Interesting?
A Sweet 16 matchup with host Nebraska as the four seed against top seed UConn is intriguing. It will be a great showcase for the Cornhuskers in their new home, Pinnacle Bank Arena, to take their best shot against the Huskies. DePaul and Duke in the second round in Durham will be interesting as it should be a high scoring shootout between two great offensive teams.
Which Players Will Dominate?
Breanna Stewart should continue her dominant ways for the Huskies in this tournament. Stewart is averaging just under 20 points per game and can dominate defensively with the best in the country. Jordan Hooper of Nebraska is another player to watch as the senior is averaging over 20 points per game. You can never underestimate a team with senior leadership like Hooper in the NCAA Tournament and that makes the Cornhuskers an intriguing team in this regional.
