The defending men's and women's NCAA national champions were granted no favors by the respective selection committees.
The Connecticut men , a No. 1 seed, are staying close to home in the East Region. But such a region! UConn won the Big East tournament. Lurking in the East are three other major conference tournament champions – Big Ten winner Illinois , Big 12 winner Iowa State and SEC winner Auburn .
No. 5 seed San Diego State, which lost to UConn in last year's national final, might just get a rematch in the Sweet 16 this year. If the chalk holds – a streaky proposition at this time of year – it'll be UConn against either No. 2 seed Iowa State or No. 3 seed Illinois in the regional final.
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The last repeat champion, as those who remember Mike Conley and Greg Oden know, was Florida in 2006-07. Only one team (Duke in 1991-92) repeated in the 1990s. The 1980s did not reproduce a repeat champion. Go back any farther, and then you're talking (and talking, and talking) about UCLA.
While there have been several women's dynasties – the perpetually tough UConn women, for instance, four-peated in the middle of the previous decade – more parity has come to the game as the talent base has grown and dispersed.
At last year's Final Four, LSU upset Virginia Tech and Iowa upset then-defending champion South Carolina. LSU ran Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes out of the gym in the championship game.
As with the men, it's unlikely LSU – once again a No. 3 seed – will repeat. Heck, it's unlikely LSU (28-5) will even get out of the Albany 2 Region. Iowa (29-4) is the No. 1 seed; Clark may be the GOAT and she has some unfinished business. UCLA (30-2) is the No. 2 seed and has legitimate title aspirations.
The Albany 2 Region is nasty and it is headlined by Clark, the nation's leading scorer (31.9 ppg).
Ohio State (a No. 2 seed) is in the Portland 3 Region where, it seems, every other gunner in the country is gathered. JuJu Watkins , a true freshman, averages 27 points for Southern Cal (No. 1). She oozes Hollywood. Dyaisha Fair averages 22 points for Syracuse (No. 6). She's a demonic little package. Paige Bueckers averages 21.3 points for UConn (No. 3). She's a former national player of the year. Elizabeth Kitley (questionable with an undisclosed injury ) and Georgia Amoore combine for 42 points per game for Virginia Tech (No. 4). They're Ms. Inside and Ms. Outside.
And don't sleep on OSU's Jacy Sheldon , who averages 18 points for the Buckeyes and works in dynamic combination with backcourt mate Celeste Taylor (10 ppg).
The OSU women are a dark horse candidate to win it all. They're deep, and they're heavy on seniors. They have a defined style and they're difficult to stop when they're in a running rhythm. They hang tough. Maybe a Sweet 16 rematch with UConn is in the offing. Interesting.
A furious second-half comeback fell short. Howard lost to Wagner 71-68 in a First Four men's game in Dayton on Tuesday. Thus, one of the more unique, interesting and remarkable careers in college basketball came to an end.
A tip of the hat to Seth Towns, a Northland High product who might've had NBA ambitions earlier in his career, when he was at Harvard. Then came a knee injury and subsequent surgery. Howard took his undergraduate degree from Harvard, matriculated to Ohio State and played, then hurt his back, then had more surgery. He took a master's degree from Ohio State and matriculated to Howard.
With medical redshirts and COVID extensions, Towns stretched his college education to eight years. He is an English major. This season, at age 26, he averaged 14.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In his final basketball exam Tuesday night, he had 16 points, five boards, three assists, a steal and a block. Presumably, he has a graduation suit.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which is tougher, NCAA Tournament men's East or women's Albany 2?
