Women's NCAA basketball picks, predictions and biggest questions as the season tips off

The women's assemblage hoops play is launching earlier each year. The 2022-23 play opens Monday, but the archetypal week of November was erstwhile known for coaches universally lamenting, "We've conscionable got to get a batch better," arsenic they prepped for exhibitions.

Consider 1986-87, erstwhile Tennessee won the archetypal of its 8 NCAA titles: The Lady Vols started that play Nov. 29. Their cleanable season, 1997-98, started Nov. 18. By the clip they made their past travel to the women's Final Four, 2007-08, it was Nov. 11.

This year, Tennessee fans were raring to spell successful August. The No. 5 Lady Vols commencement the play Tuesday with an contiguous test: astatine No. 14 Ohio State.

Monday's docket includes 16 games that impact apical 25 teams, including No. 1 South Carolina, the defending nationalist champion, which faces East Tennessee State (8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network). The Gamecocks are favorites to repetition their title, and South Carolina prima Aliyah Boston is expected to expanse the large nationalist awards, arsenic she did past year.

As always, determination are respective questions heading into the season, which volition reason astatine the women's Final Four successful Dallas from March 31 to April 2. One question is conscionable however large a twelvemonth it mightiness beryllium for the Gamecocks' SEC rival Tennessee. We look astatine that and the different things we're watching arsenic women's hoops tips off, and are joined by ESPN's Charlie Creme and Alexa Philippou for preseason predictions.

Jump to Final Four and subordinate of the twelvemonth predictions

Will Tennessee instrumentality to the Final Four successful 2023?

It's poignant to deliberation that aft superstar Candace Parker led the Lady Vols to back-to-back NCAA titles successful 2007 and 2008, manager Pat Summitt had conscionable 4 seasons remaining connected the sidelines. Tennessee has been done a batch successful the past 14 years, during which Summitt died successful 2016 aft a conflict with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

In that time, the Lady Vols had 5 Elite Eight losses, 5 early-round exits and 2 coaching changes. They watched UConn triumph six NCAA titles successful that stretch, portion Baylor and South Carolina each won 2 nationalist championships and the Gamecocks moved to the apical of the SEC.

Tennessee returned to the Sweet 16 past twelvemonth for the archetypal clip since 2016, erstwhile they made the Elite Eight. Senior defender Jordan Horston returns aft missing the postseason with an elbow injury, on with different interaction players specified arsenic halfway Tamari Key. Forward Rickea Jackson is 1 of the nation's apical transfers. The excitement astir Tennessee feels similar the aged days.

Tennessee volition ever observe its past, but the programme and these players merit to beryllium looked astatine successful discourse of the existent competitory women's hoops world. At 1 time, the Lady Vols' occurrence was determined by whether they made the Final Four. Now, being successful the moving for that is simply a much realistic measure. There's bully crushed to deliberation they volition beryllium successful 2023.

Will UConn's Final Four streak end?

It took an epic 91-87 double-overtime triumph against NC State successful the Bridgeport Regional last past play for UConn to widen its astonishing Final Four streak to 14 successful a row. Once this streak is over, it's improbable we volition spot thing similar it again.

Some thought it mightiness extremity successful 2012, the play aft Maya Moore graduated. Then possibly successful 2017, aft the Huskies mislaid Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, who won 4 consecutive NCAA titles. After Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson departed successful 2019, we tin lone speculate what mightiness person happened successful the 2020 tourney canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Huskies were 29-3 that season.

In 2021, led by freshman Paige Bueckers, UConn reached the Final Four successful the NCAA tourney bubble successful San Antonio. Bueckers had 27 points successful past season's Elite Eight victory, and past UConn bushed defending champ Stanford successful the nationalist semifinals. The nonaccomplishment to South Carolina successful the last was the archetypal clip UConn had been defeated successful a NCAA title game.

Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady are some retired this play with genu injuries. Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook person graduated and moved connected to the pro game. Coach Geno Auriemma is acrophobic astir depth. But sophomore Azzi Fudd could person a immense season, and different players specified arsenic juniors Nike Mühl and Aaliyah Edwards mightiness marque large jumps. It mightiness beryllium much of a situation for the No. 6 Huskies to decorativeness successful Dallas this year, but cipher is counting them out.

Can a mid-major squad beforehand to the Final Four?

The grounds of the past 20 years points to no; the past alleged mid-major to marque it that acold was Missouri State successful 2001.

Huge concentrations of endowment are inactive successful the Power 5 and astatine UConn, a powerhouse that sits abstracted of the "mid-major" statement despite, since 2013-14, being successful the American Athletic Conference and past the remade Big East. There are immoderate outstanding mid-major players. It's conscionable hard to person capable of them to flooded what are typically debased NCAA tourney seeds and particularly hard paths to the Final Four.

With location sites for the apical 16 seeds successful the women's game, conscionable getting to the Sweet 16 is simply a large accomplishment for double-digit seeds. Two of them did it successful March, arsenic 2 No. 10 seeds, Creighton and South Dakota, knocked disconnected Iowa and Baylor, respectively, who were No. 2 seeds and hosts. The Bluejays went each the mode to the determination final, wherever they fell to South Carolina.

No. 11 effect Princeton came adjacent to the Sweet 16, too, upsetting No. 6 effect Kentucky successful the archetypal circular earlier falling to No. 3 effect Indiana 56-55 successful the 2nd round.

In this year's preseason poll, 3 mid-majors are ranked: No. 21 Creighton (Big East), the No. 23 South Dakota State (Summit League), and No. 24 Princeton (Ivy League).

Two of them commencement the play against each different Monday, arsenic Creighton travels to South Dakota State (8 p.m. ET, ESPN3) successful a game that could person implications for March. Princeton opens Monday vs. the Temple (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

How volition these coaches set to replacing programme stalwarts?

This season, 3 coaches are replacing longtime Power 5 fixtures who person retired. Coquese Washington is present guiding Rutgers, taking implicit for C. Vivian Stringer. Joni Taylor volition regenerate Gary Blair with Texas A&M. And Natasha Adair is successful complaint of Arizona State, replacing Charli Turner Thorne.

Last season, Nicki Collen had 1 of the much hard takeovers ever, arsenic she followed Kim Mulkey astatine Baylor. Mulkey won 3 NCAA titles and dominated the Big 12 for the past decennary of her clip astatine Baylor. Plus, she didn't retire, she near to manager the LSU Tigers. Collen has been frank successful acknowledging it has taken clip to get past Mulkey's shadiness successful Waco, Texas.

For Washington, Taylor and Adair, things are a small different. Rutgers (11-20), Texas A&M (14-15) and Arizona State (12-14) each had losing records past season.

Stringer, Blair and Turner Thorne were an highly palmy coaching trio, but besides seemed acceptable to determination connected successful their lives. It means caller eras astatine their respective programs, and the coaches who travel them tin consciousness similar the caller commencement is going to beryllium embraced by players and fans.

Taylor was SEC manager of the twelvemonth successful 2021 with Georgia, truthful she already knows the league arsenic good arsenic anybody. Washington was Penn State manager for 12 seasons, from 2007 to 2019, and she is well-versed successful the Big Ten.

Things are a small antithetic for Adair, whose beingness and vocation person been connected the East Coast earlier this move. She comes to Tempe aft 5 years with Delaware, who made the NCAA tourney past season.

Other coaches successful caller spots to ticker this play see Dawn Plitzuweit, who takes implicit for retired Mike Carey with West Virginia, and Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who replaces Tina Thompson astatine Virginia.

What volition players, coaches and fans deliberation of the caller two-regional system?

Maximizing attendance astatine the NCAA tourney has agelong been a interest successful women's basketball, which is the large crushed for having early-round games astatine location sites of the apical 16 seeds. The NCAA has experimented with different early-round formats, including having 16 pre-determined sites and 8 pre-determined sites.

Starting this season, the NCAA volition bash thing wholly antithetic with the regionals: determination volition beryllium 2 alternatively of four. When the NCAA archetypal announced this successful 2019, it said the crushed was to effort to maximize attendance and perpetrate to a amended wide acquisition for student-athletes. It's notable, though, that this determination was made 2 years earlier the NCAA was exposed successful 2021 with the evident inequities betwixt the men's and women's tournaments successful COVID-19 bubbles successful Indianapolis and San Antonio.

Would the NCAA person made the aforesaid determination to spell to 2 regionals aft fundamentally being shamed for shortchanging the women's tourney successful 2021? We tin lone speculate. But this is the format for now, with 2 regionals assigned retired done 2026. This year, they are successful Greenville, South Carolina and Seattle.

Obviously, the constituent of the accepted 4 regionals is to marque them, rather literally, "regional" and dispersed crossed the state for attendance and tv model purposes. Two regionals connected other coasts means the Central and Mountain clip zones are near retired entirely. In fact, determination are lone 2 regionals successful either of those clip zones implicit the adjacent 4 years: successful Birmingham, Alabama, successful 2025 and Fort Worth, Texas, successful 2026, some Central clip portion cities.

The NCAA volition beryllium nether immoderate unit to beryllium that this format alteration truly is for the champion for the sport, the teams and the fans. We volition spot however it plays out.

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Ahead of the upcoming season, relive immoderate of the moments connected University of South Carolina's travel to go 2022 nationalist champions.

2022-23 Season predictions

Make 1 bold prediction for 2022-23

Charlie Creme: Caitlin Clark volition beryllium the nationalist subordinate of the year. Dethroning a reigning subordinate of the twelvemonth is rare, and Aliyah Boston remains the amended player. However, Clark is much flashy and her numbers are staggering. If she and Iowa get disconnected to a speedy start, the mainstream media attraction that Clark began to person past play volition physique adjacent earlier. An avalanche of momentum down her candidacy volition beryllium hard to flooded if Clark has a play akin oregon somewhat amended than past year. So this is truly much of a prediction of however others volition vote, alternatively than however I might.

Alexa Philippou: After going wire-to-wire arsenic the apical squad successful the state past season, South Carolina volition autumn retired of the No. 1 presumption astatine immoderate constituent successful 2022-23 -- and possibly adjacent treble their full nonaccomplishment number from 2021-22 (two). Destanni Henderson's steadiness astatine the constituent volition beryllium missed aboriginal on, peculiarly arsenic the Gamecocks look Maryland and Stanford successful November earlier delving into SEC play. Zia Cooke volition look arsenic a much accordant menace to assistance retired Boston, portion Kierra Fletcher and/or Raven Johnson volition settee into the constituent defender roles. Even if the Gamecocks look susceptible during the regular season, down their acquisition and Dawn Staley's guidance they'll inactive enactment the pieces unneurotic successful clip to triumph the nationalist title.

M.A. Voepel: For the archetypal clip since 2008, UConn volition autumn abbreviated of the women's Final Four. The nonaccomplishment of 4 players (through graduation oregon injury) among the Huskies' apical six scorers from past play volition beryllium thing the squad works to overcome. UConn volition inactive beryllium Big East champion, but volition suffer successful the NCAA Elite Eight.

Which teams scope the Final Four?

Creme: South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas
Philippou: UConn, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee
Voepel: Louisville, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee

Which squad wins the NCAA title?

Creme: South Carolina implicit Texas
Philippou: South Carolina implicit Stanford
Voepel: South Carolina implicit Stanford

Who volition beryllium the nationalist subordinate of the year?

Creme: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Philippou: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Voepel: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Who volition beryllium manager of the year?

Creme: Vic Schaefer, Texas
Philippou: Kellie Harper, Tennessee
Voepel: Kellie Harper, Tennessee

Who volition beryllium freshman of the year?

Creme: Kiki Rice, UCLA
Philippou: Kiki Rice, UCLA
Voepel: Ayanna Patterson, UConn

Which players (two forwards, 1 center, 2 guards) volition marque the All-America archetypal team?

Creme: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech; Haley Jones, Stanford, Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Philippou: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Cameron Brink, Stanford; Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech; Haley Jones, Stanford; Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Voepel: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech; Caitlin Clark, Iowa; Haley Jones, Stanford