(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)
For the NCAA tournament, the Arizona State Sun Devils will serve as the 2-seed in the Sioux Falls region of the bracket. Here, I’ll examine each team in the region in order of seeding, pointing out the players to watch as well as giving a best-case and worst-case scenario for each team as they all compete for a trip to the Final Four.
Now, we’ll take a look at the “underdogs” of the Sioux Falls region, beginning with seeds 9-12.
9. Kansas State Wildcats (18-12, 6th in Big 12)
Kansas State had a promising start to the 2015-16 campaign, going 10-2 in non-conference play, but weren’t able to conjure up the same type of success in Big 12 play. The Wildcats struggled to consistently compete in one of the toughest conferences in the country, garnering an unimpressive 8-10 record. The most impressive win on Kansas State’s resume is a victory over 5-seed Oklahoma, but that victory must be way back in the Wildcats’ collective memory, as they skid into the NCAA tournament on a three-game losing streak. They have a tough task ahead of them as they prepare to take on George Washington in the opening round, but experience playing against top-level competition could prove to give them the edge.
Player to Watch: Breanna Lewis, center (16.7ppg, 7.8rpg, 2.5bpg)
Best Case: Second round
Worst Case: Loss to George Washington in first round
10. Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (28-4, 1st in Horizon)
A 10-seed typically doesn’t pose much of a threat, but that’s not the case with Green Bay. The Phoenix have one of the best records in the Sioux Falls region at 28-4, but they also have experience playing against one of the teams in their sub-regional, 2-seed Arizona State. Green Bay was able to defeat ASU a season ago, and now find themselves playing in Tempe for the opening round. Unfortunately, they’ll have to make it through another talented team before they get a shot at the Sun Devils. The Phoenix will open the tournament against 7-seed Tennessee, a perennial Final Four contender and popular sleeper pick to make a run in this tournament. This Green Bay team isn’t familiar with losing, and they’ll do their best to make it out of the toughest sub-regional in the region. The knock on them is that they play in a week conference, but they have major potential to be a bracket buster and make it pretty far in the tournament.
Player to Watch: Jessica Lindstrom, guard/forward (10.0ppg, .470 FG percentage, 8.8rpg)
Best Case: Elite Eight
Worst Case: Loss to Tennessee in first round
11. Princeton Tigers (23-5, 2nd in Ivy)
There’s nothing like a little nerd power. For the second consecutive season, Princeton is making an appearance in the NCAA tournament, and while the Tigers aren’t undefeated like they were a season ago, they’ll still be looking to make some noise. Princeton garnered a 12-2 record in Ivy League play, dropping a pair of games to Penn, the conference champion. The Tigers are led by a three-headed scoring attack of Michelle Miller (14.1ppg), Alex Wheatley (12.7ppg) and Annie Tarakchian (12.0ppg), allowing them to score 76 points per game, as well as maintain a +18.3 scoring margin throughout the season. With a victory in the NCAA tournament a season ago, Princeton has experience, but it’ll be a very tough matchup with West Virginia in the first round, and it’s doubtful that the Tigers will be able to escape with a victory.
Player to Watch: Annie Tarakchian, guard/forward (12.0ppg, 9.4rpg, 2.1apg)
Best Case: Second round
Worst Case: Blown out by WVU in the first round
12. Albany Great Danes (27-4, 1st in American East)
Albany is another team with a great record that is a product of a weak overall conference, but the thing that sets the Great Danes apart is the talent level of the non-conference opponents they faced. They played Tennessee and Army close, both of which are in the Sioux Falls region, as well as nearly defeating a talented USC team. The Great Danes are used to taking part in the big dance, as it is the fifth straight season they’ve won the American East title, and fortunately they get a matchup with 5-seed Florida, a team that suffered a blowout loss in its most recent game. An upset is pretty unlikely, but with the talent and experience on this Albany roster, it’s definitely possible.
Player to Watch: Shereesha Richards, forward (23.7ppg, .563 FG percentage, 8.5rpg)
Best Case: Second round
Worst Case: First round loss
