UNC Women’s Basketball: How to Pick The Heels to Win in Your Bracket

So you are filling out your Women’s Basketball March Madness Bracket and you want to pick the UNC Women’s Basketball team to win the National Championship? Look no further than the best path possible.   

The UNC Women’s Basketball team earned the 6 seed in the Seattle Region 3 on Sunday evening. As soon as the bracket was announced, everyone began analyzing the bracket and breaking down each possible opponent and their path to a deep run into March.

Let’s dive into the Seattle Region 3 and beyond to see what potential matchups await the Tar Heels and the best possible bracket you can fill out that will end up with Courtney Banghart’s squad hoisting the trophy in Dallas, TX.

Round of 64:

UNC to beat St. John’s / Purdue – Can’t win the National Championship if you don’t win the first one, right?

Round of 32: 

UNC to beat James Madison – Yes, James Madison to pull the upset in the round of 64. Ohio State has struggled multiple times this season, especially as of late. According to Warren Nolan, James Madison ranks 6th nationally in offense and 85th in defense. Meanwhile, Ohio State is 95th in offense and 107th in defense. The Dukes will pull the first-round upset setting up a mid-November rematch with UNC. Cinderella can only advance so far, Heels to advance to the Sweet 16!

Sweet 16: 

UNC to beat UConn – This may be the toughest game on the path to a National Championship for Coach Banghart’s team. UConn struggled through the end of January and February, but they have begun to hit their stride as key starters in Caroline Ducharme and Azzi Fudd have returned. UNC will have its hands full, but once they get past the Huskies, the path to the championship is much clearer. Every bracket has to have an “upset” right? Pick the Heels to knock off the 11-time defending champs.

Elite 8:

UNC to beat Iowa State – A rematch of the Phil Knight Invitational Championship awaits in the Regional Final. UNC completed a miraculous comeback the first time these two teams matchup as they trailed 50-36 with 3:46 remaining in the 3rd quarter. UNC ended the game on a 37-14 run to beat the Cyclones. Pick UNC to beat the Cyclones again to advance to their first Final Four since 2007.

Final Four: 

UNC to beat Villanova – The 4 seed comes out of the Greenville Region 2 bracket. At this point, all the games are tough. No one gets to the Final Four off luck alone, these teams are good. Villanova is a solid team who can come out of this region. They have a great player in Madison Siegrist and their offense runs through her. Siegrist leads the country in scoring. She has scored 30 or more points 14 times this season, including a 41-point and a 50-point outing! The Wildcats will get to this point through her alone. Only one other Wildcat averages in double figures. Villanova will run into a Coach Banghart squad that will double and triple team Siegrist and make someone else score. The Wildcats won’t have an answer offensively for UNC’s defense. Pick the Heels to knock off the Wildcats to advance to their first National Championship since they won it in 1994.

National Championship:

UNC to beat South Carolina – The mighty giant. At some point, we knew we’d get here and face the Gamecocks. Can anyone in Greenville Region 1 or Seattle Region 4 stop them? We hope so, but it’s just not likely. David vs Goliath in the National Championship. North Carolina vs South Carolina. So many storylines around this game. But the Heels can beat the defending (and undefeated) National Champs. They pushed the Gamecocks to the brink just a year ago in the Sweet 16 and were the only team in the field that played them closely (lost 69-61). They will have to improve on their 3-11 (27.3%) shooting from 3 from last year. Shots will have to fall to pull this big of an upset and they will. Pick the Tar Heels to shoot lights out from the perimeter and knock off the #1 overall seed (and their neighboring state rival) and prove once again who the real Carolina is!

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC women’s basketball news, updates, and recruiting.