Should We Expect More Madness In The Women's Sweet 16?
Well, that was unexpected.
Perennial powers Iowa, Oregon and Baylor lost. Other mainstays, like Tennessee and Indiana, were pushed to the brink. It's made for the Maddest March ever in women's basketball history, with just three of the eight Sweet 16 matchups featuring the chalk of 1-4 or 3-2 seeds expected to match up in this round.
There's ample reason to believe that all 16 of the remaining teams belong, and we should expect the unexpected again this weekend. Let's break down what to watch for in each of these games.
In the 7 p.m. ET Friday window, Greensboro's No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 5 seed North Carolina have made it easy for their fans to travel to the pivotal battle. While the Gamecocks took care of business in the opening weekend, they didn't exactly dominate in their second-round win over Miami. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley foreshadowed their difficulties after their 79-21 blowout of Howard in the tournament opener, saying: "I know we can't have another game shooting-wise like we did and expect us to win basketball games, so we got to find a way to get the ball to go in the hole for us."
Anyone who doubted her prescience -- or thought perhaps it was coachspeak after winning, after all, by 58 -- saw the Gamecocks follow with an ugly 49-33 win over...