UCLA: Read Alan's latest article for an in-depth look at UCLA and how they played Carolina back in November. The Bruins advanced to the Sweet 16 by taking care of business against Sacramento State and then building and blowing a big lead against Oklahoma before rallying in the fourth quarter for a 82-73 win. UCLA is a guard oriented team that will be at a disadvantaged in the post against South Carolina.

Maryland: The Terps are all about Diamond Miller. She did not play due to an injury when South Carolina whipped Maryland on their home court in November. Maryland easily dispatched overmatched Scared Heart in the first round and used a big third quarter to get past a pesky Arizona team.

Notre Dame: The Irish are down two starters yet still managed to sneak by a physical Mississippi State team. They don't have the offense to compete with the Gamecocks should they upset Maryland.

We will of course have more on the UCLA matchup prior to Saturday's 2:00 tip, and more on the winner of the Maryland/Notre Dame game.

Greenville 2: Mitchell Northam might want to rethink going rouge with his AP ballot next season. Northam is the only reporter this season that votes in the AP Poll not have South Carolina ranked first every week. Northam choose Indiana first after Carolina beat Ole Miss in OT, and due to "Indiana has played a tougher conference schedule." The SEC is sitting with four teams in the Sweet 16 while the Big Ten has three. Indiana and Stanford, (more on them below), were the first #1 seeds to fail to advance to the Sweet 16 since 2009. Outside of Miami's upset of Indiana, the remainder of this region was chalk. Utah vs. LSU could be the game of the Sweet 16. #4 seed Villanova and Naismith Player of Year finalist Maddy Siegrist, look to avoid the upset minded Hurricanes. This region doesn't have a lot of barring on the Gamecocks path as the winner of this regional would face Carolina in the National Championship.

Seattle 3: Along with Greenville 1, chalk reigned supreme in Seattle 3. The top four seeds are meeting in the Sweet 16. UConn still looks like the favorite here but don't discount a hot Tennessee team. The Vols and Virginia Tech are currently a pick em game in Vegas. I'm taking Tennessee and UConn to rematch in the regional final. Most South Carolina fans will probably tell you that the Huskies are the biggest challenger left in the field and that they would love see UConn's Final Four streak get snapped. Baylor hung around in Storrs for about 2 1/2 quarters by hitting 12 threes. Taylor Mikesell averages over three made three pointers a game. She will need to catch fire for the Buckeyes to pull the upset.

Seattle 4: If you were looking for some chaos in the women's tournament, this was your bracket. Only one of the top four seeds advanced to Sweet 16, that being second seeded Iowa. Colorado only allowed their opponents to score 57.5 point per game while advancing out of the Durham pod after beating Duke 61-53. The Buffalos probably don't have the fire power to knock off Iowa, but they will have shot if they can make this an ugly low scoring affair. As always, Louisville appears to be playing their best basketball of the season and are the dark horse to advance out of this regional after shutting down four seed Texas in Austin. Probably the storyline of this tournament was Ole Miss defeating Stanford on the Cardinal's home court. Gamecock fans can attest to the scrappiness of Coach Yo's Rebels. Expect a rock fight with Louisville in the Sweet 16. Iowa would be the only team in this regional that might not be a double-digit underdog to Carolina.

Originally, I had South Carolina, Stanford, LSU, and UConn. I'm not changing the three remaining teams that are left. While I think the winner of Louisville and Ole Miss will give Iowa fits, I think the Hawkeyes have too much firepower with Caitlyn Clark and Monika Czinano. Colorado advancing out of the region would be the only surprise in the Seattle 4 Regional.

Half of my Final Four has been blown out of the water already with Stanford and Indiana going down, but I do have the two tems I picked ot make the title game still in the field with South Carolina and UConn. I expect both teams to get to Dallas just as I did at this time last week.

As for the Greenville 2 region, I think LSU finds a way to get it done. Angel Reese is playing at a different level to anybody else left in that bracket, coming off her historic 25 point, 24 rebound performance against Michigan in the second round. I expect a stiff test from Utah in the Sweet 16, and Maddy Siegrist is more than capable of getting hot and leading Villanova to a win over anybody, but the Tigers have the best individual player, the most experienced coach and the best all-around roster of the four. I see two SEC teams coming out of Greenville.

The Seattle 4 region is the toughest one to call right now after now only the Stanford shake-up, but No. 3 seed Duke also going down at home in overtime against Colorado. A No. 5 seed has not made the women's Final Four since 2013, but I think Louisville breaks that streak and sneaks through a tricky regional here. The Cardinals are experienced in March making their fifth consecutive appearance in the second weekend, and have shown enough defensive prowess this year to slow down Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in a possible elite eight match-up I think. The Cardinals get back to the Final Four for a rematch with the Gamecocks on semifinal Friday.

Stephen: Nothing changes for me. Five substandard quarters of basketball against two outgunned opponents doesn't give me cause for concern with picking the Gamecocks to repeat. As stated above, if anything last weekend makes me more confident in South Carolina as they won't have to go through Stanford, the team that matches up the best with Carolina in terms of size and depth. The Gamecocks are currently an insane -275 to win this tournament. UConn is next at +750.

Alan: Yep, same here. I have to stick with what i had before the tournament, and that was South Carolina beating UConn in the title game. There are landmines for both teams, starting Saturday with a dangerous UCLA team for South Carolina, but they are the two most talented teams and will get back to Championship Sunday for the second consecutive season.