UConn G Paige Bueckers is among the stars headlining the women's NCAA TournamentDavid Butler II/USA TODAY NETWORK
The brackets for both the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments were revealed last night and it has “become all but impossible to deny that for the first time ever,” the NCAA Women's Tournament is “shaping up to be a bigger deal than the men’s,” according to Laine Higgins of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. It “starts with the star power,” but it is “not just about a ponytailed supernova” in Iowa's Caitlin Clark. There is also a “cluster of prominent programs locked in a fight to become the sport’s next dynasty.” On the other hand, the men’s tournament features a “collection of flawed and unheralded teams whose players and coaches most fans would struggle to identify without consulting a cheat sheet.” To be sure, the men’s tournament is “still a behemoth.” It brings in “more revenue for the NCAA and it is the subject of the vast majority of brackets filled out annually.” But even those “most invested in the men’s game recognize that for this season, it might end up playing second fiddle to the women” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/15).
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IT’S ABOUT THE LADIES: USA TODAY’s Nancy Armour wrote as March Madness kicks off this week “all the buzz is squarely on the women’s NCAA tournament.” The stars, the storylines, the spotlight -- “they’re all in the women’s game.” Armour: “The men’s tournament? Well, they’re having one. Beyond that, there’s not a whole lot to say. Or see.” The attention and the buzz this year “will belong to the women.” Armour noted after “so many years of being overlooked and underappreciated, it’s about time” (USA TODAY, 3/16).
MUST-SEE TV: In L.A., Bill Plaschke wrote for the first time, the women’s “is more compelling than the men’s.” Women’s college basketball these days is “indeed pretty tremendous, with filled arenas and record television ratings and enough storylines to finally overshadow the men.” More folks are "watching women’s basketball than men’s basketball on Fox," with a midseason LSU-South Carolina matchup “even out-rating an NBA game” between the Celtics and Heat. While it will be “fascinating to see” if the UConn men can repeat as national champions, “more compelling is the title defense of eccentric coach Kim Mulkey, charismatic star" Angel Reese, and the rest of the LSU women. It will be “exciting to see” if Purdue C Zach Edey can “live up to his massive expectations, but it’s the Big Ten superstar from Iowa who has captured the nation’s attention.” Men’s “potential matchups” -- like Houston-Kentucky and North Carolina-Arizona -- “are sweet, but they do not compare to the women’s potential showdowns featuring Iowa-LSU and South Carolina-Notre Dame” (L.A. TIMES, 3/18).
