Another #1 Bites the Dust

03/21/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Sweet 16 Set: #9 Miami Stuns #1 Indiana (70-68) With Late Winner for Another Historic Upset

The dancing continues! After eight more games on Monday night, the women’s NCAA Tournament has its Sweet 16. An overtime game, two game-winners, and more history were the headlines on Monday, but the biggest story was another early exit for a No. 1 seed. Just 24 hours after Miami knocked out Indiana in the men’s NCAA Tournament, the Lady Hurricanes did the same thing to the IU women’s squad. The men’s matchup was a 4-5 game, but this upset was much bigger. The 9-seed Miami women’s squad fought back multiple times after 1-seed Indiana kept throwing punches, and Miami’s Destiny Harden got the game-winning floater to fall with just over three seconds left. And for the first time in 25 years, multiple 1-seeds have been upset before the Sweet 16.

Two 1-Seeds Out: It’s just the second time in Women’s NCAA Tournament history that multiple 1-seeds fell before the Sweet 16. The first occurrence was in 1998.

Hurricanes > Hoosiers: Both Miami teams (men’s and women’s) beat both Indiana teams (men’s and women’s) in the Round of 32 within 24 hours. That’s the first time two teams from the same school beat two teams from the same school in the same round in NCAA Tournament history.

Other Top Storylines

Villanova’s Siegrist Chasing History

With #4 Villanova’s win over #12 FGCU, Maddy Siegrist had a 31-point night to pull within 59 points of the all-time women’s NCAA single-season scoring record. She had 35 points in the first-round game, and she’s now fourth on the all-time single-season scoring list with 1,050 points this season. Kelsey Plum (Washington) holds the all-time record with 1,109 points.

UConn Reaches 29th Straight Sweet 16

Azzi Fudd popped off for 22 points to lead #2 UConn in a blowout against #7 Baylor (77-58) to keep the Huskies’ historic run intact. UConn and head coach Geno Auriemma have now made it to the Sweet 16 in 29 consecutive seasons.

Colorado Upsets Duke in Overtime

The third overtime game of the women’s tournament brought a stunner to Cameron Indoor as 6-seed Colorado jumped on 3-seed Duke early before a second-half comeback by the Blue Devils forced OT. In the extra period, Colorado outscored Duke 11-3 to become the only 6-seed in the Sweet 16.

Women’s Sweet 16

Greenville 1 Region: #1 South Carolina, #2 Maryland, #3 Notre Dame, #4 UCLA

Greenville 2 Region: #2 Utah, #3 LSU, #4 Villanova, #9 Miami

Seattle 3 Region: #1 Virginia Tech, #2 UConn, #3 Ohio State, #4 Tennessee

Seattle 4 Region: #2 Iowa, #5 Louisville, #6 Colorado, #8 Ole Miss

Women’s Round of 32 Highlights (Monday Night)

#9 Miami def. #1 Indiana (70-68)

#2 UConn def. #7 Baylor (77-58)

#3 Ohio State def. #6 North Carolina (71-69)

#6 Colorado def. #3 Duke (61-53, OT)

#4 Villanova def. #12 Florida Gulf Coast (76-57)

#4 Tennessee def. #12 Toledo (94-47)