Lack of parity in women’s basketball

[darrellm1234]

It is at least a little better than it used to be. It was for a long time either UConn or Tennessee. It feels like there are maybe 3 or 4 now that are capable.

 

[rick64]

You could make the same argument for the men. Lowest seed to win the NCAAT was 8 seeded Villanova in 1985. So do we go back to a 32 team draw?

 

[JDHoss]

You could make the same argument for the men. Lowest seed to win the NCAAT was 8 seeded Villanova in 1985. So do we go back to a 32 team draw?

Absodamnloutely. I'm old enough to remember when it was less than 32. What's the right number? I have no idea, but it's not 68. Maybe have a mid/low major tournament at the end of the regular season and take the top 8 teams from that and add them to a 40 team field that would be comprised of automatic bids from the conference tournament champions and at large bids. Those numbers are just pulled out of thin air and could/would be adjusted, but I'd like to see finishing above .500 in your league as being a requirement unless you win the conference tournament. Sixty-eight teams are way too many.

 

[Boisgreat]

if they played in bikinis the games would be so much more fun to watch

 

[kybloo92]

Definitely a lack, but there have been some very nice ones that have come through college basketball recently.

Cameron Brink:

The Cavinder twins:

Nika Muhl:

Lexie Hull:

Those Canvinder girls were supposed to go to WWE, but I haven't seen them wrestle yet.

 

[HeismaNole]

You could make the same argument for the men. Lowest seed to win the NCAAT was 8 seeded Villanova in 1985. So do we go back to a 32 team draw?

We don’t have to use winning it all as measuring stick. Look at what seeds has made a Final Four or in the later rounds.A five seed has only made the semis once? A six seed twice? We’ve seen many men’s teams of lower seedings make it far.

No. 5	Runner-up (1) — 2013 Louisville
No. 6	Final Four (1) — 1994 Alabama, 1997 Notre Dame
No. 7	Final Four (2) — 2004 Minnesota, 2016 Washington
No. 8	Final Four (1) — 1992 Missouri State (Southwest Missouri State)
No. 9	Final Four (1) — 1998 Arkansas
No. 10	Elite Eight (3) — 1991 Lamar, 2017 Oregon, 2022 Creighton

 

[jeffky]

if they played in bikinis the games would be so much more fun to watch

Nice anti chavanist response they play football in lingerie hey why not smile 😉

 

[bthaunert]

It’s crazy that there’s such a massive gap in talent and parity with the women’s game.

There’s no reason to even have a 68 team tournament with them. Check this out, the lowest seed to ever win the women’s tournament is a three seed and it has only happened three times- 1994, 1997, and 2023.

In the men’s game, you could be stacked like 2010 Kentucky or 2010 Kansas and still lose to lesser teams. That rarely happens in women’s basketball. That’s why teams like UConn and South Carolina can dominate is they simply got all of the good players to join on one team. It’s basically 2017 Warriors with KD.

That’s why all of the talk about “coaching genius” and citing championships is faulty logic. If you get all of the talent in a league that’s short on it, of course you should win. You could be the biggest coaching genius in the women's game but unless you get the recruits, no one will ever praise you.

Any theories on why the women’s game suffers from this?

I agree there is a lack of parity in the women’s game, but no one under a 3 seed winning it all is a bad example, as a top 3 seed in the men’s tournament has won the title 32 out of the last 35 years. Seeds to make the final four is probably a better example.

 

[Pelosigalore]

Then it shouldn’t be funded by men.

Let’s get rid of all high school sports then

 

[drew_ukfan]

Let’s get rid of all high school sports then

And only make those with kids pay school taxes. Amen

 

[HeismaNole]

I agree there is a lack of parity in the women’s game, but no one under a 3 seed winning it all is a bad example, as a top 3 seed in the men’s tournament has won the title 32 out of the last 35 years. Seeds to make the final four is probably a better example.

Yeah, the Final Four is a better example as you see above how rare it happens outside the top few seeds.

In my lifetime, we've seen an 8, 7, a 6, and a 4 seed all win it - NC State 83, Nova 85, Zona 97, UConn 14. We've seen 11 seeds make the Final Four a few times. You just never see that in the women's game.

 

[Pelosigalore]

And only make those with kids pay school taxes. Amen

I completely agree