2024 Central Region WOMENS NCAA Bracket Talk

[TigerAlum]

No. 1 Southern Nazarene (28-2) vs. No. 8 Henderson State (20-11)
No. 2 Missouri Western (25-5) vs. No. 7 Minnesota State (26-5)
No. 3 Fort Hays State (24-7) vs. Northwest Missouri State (23-7)
No. 4 Pittsburg State (24-7) vs. Harding (25-5)

[LukeMcConnell1]

Lots of storylines here:
-Will SNU exact revenge for Saturday's GAC semifinal loss or has Henderson cracked the code on SNU?
-MoWest and Mankato is the best first round matchup. Man, that will be fun. And a lot of run, too.
-Hays is the quiet sleeper in this region, I feel.
-Pitt is peaking right now at the right time. Which version of Harding will show up?

Can't wait!

[Bballfan]

Always a great region. The South Central, Central, and Midwest always have very entertaining games.

[NWFanatic]

Feel bad for NW & Hays-travel clear to OK to play each other for the 4th time(inc twice in 5 days).

[NWFanatic]

Has anyone found site to buy tix yet?

[D2Rover]

If Pitt stays out of foul trouble and continues to get the solid contributions from role players, they have a good shot to win this.

MoWest is stumbling into the postseason after an insanely hot run through conference play, and faces a Minnesota State team that hasn't lost much when healthy. I don't mind pace, but find both teams to be a little out of control at times, so I'm going to disagree on the best matchup there (I'd say Pitt v Harding). Minnesota State is another team that can definitely go far if everything goes right.

I think a case can be made for 7 (maybe 6, how do I feel about NW?) different teams being able to win this. Matchups will be big in the second round. Northwest can definitely play Fort Hays tough, but had big struggles against Western and I imagine would have some difficulty with MSU. Fort Hays has the size and athleticism to match up quite nicely against those two.

I think SNU matches up with Pitt really well if they meet in the second round. Only concern would be that SNU looked really tired against Henderson, is fatigue/stamina an issue in a tournament setting? Pitt seems to thrive on it.

Not sure what to make of Harding. I think they'll put in a good performance. At their best, they should be equipped to lock down Pitt, but that's a tall task for anybody right now.

My inclination is Fort Hays wins at least two games. If they catch SNU in the final, home court advantage gives Nazarene the edge. If it's Pitt/Harding it's a coin flip.

I like Northwest, but not sure I'm convinced they are built to make a tournament run.

Henderson can get hot enough to beat anybody, but won't win three in a row. Just like I said going into the GAC tournament.

[Predatory Primates]

Pitt is a beast when threes are dropping, but they play fast and loose and turn the ball over a lot, so when shots aren't dropping, they're pretty beatable. They do control tempo really well.

Hays has nice size and athleticism, NW does too.

MW is crazy physical. Pretty sure they're coached by Bob Huggins and Royce Gracie.

[southside]

Feel bad for NW & Hays-travel clear to OK to play each other for the 4th time(inc twice in 5 days).

+1 always hate the setup of nearly back to back matchups or 4th meetings. But as long as regionals exist someone will get a matchup like this.

[Augieholic]

I don't know much about the MIAA and GAC teams but this Mankato team might be the best seven seed I've ever seen in the Central Region, men or women.

[southside]

I don't know much about the MIAA and GAC teams but this Mankato team might be the best seven seed I've ever seen in the Central Region, men or women.

It seems to be once you’re in the regional they’re all tough. Mowest was a 7 seed 2 years ago and won in the first round by 34 on their way to the elite 8.

[Inkblot]

Last year was the first year in the NSIC/MIAA/GAC era that the women's Central was won by the #1 seed.

[southside]

Last year was the first year in the NSIC/MIAA/GAC era that the women's Central was won by the #1 seed.

I believe it. I admit I don’t know much outside the miaa. It wouldn’t surprise me if any of those 4 teams made it through. I would imagine it’s true of the other 4 teams for the most part.

[ucmjennies]

Will the games be free to watch on a stream somewhere? This should be a fun regional, I think every team is capable of winning. Mankato with that 7 seed is SUPER underrated.

[Purple Mav Man]

Will the games be free to watch on a stream somewhere? This should be a fun regional, I think every team is capable of winning. Mankato with that 7 seed is SUPER underrated.

Pay. Here’s the info:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...hedule-updates

[Bballfan]

+1 always hate the setup of nearly back to back matchups or 4th meetings. But as long as regionals exist someone will get a matchup like this.

I have seen a teams have to play each other 4 times, with 3 of the times being in like 15 days, which is insane. Last game of regular season, conference tournament, first round of the NCAA tournament. Sadly it is what it is.