The women's basketball tournament is really screwed up..

[Upton]

I mean, why does the region's #1 seed Stanford have to play on the homecourt of #11 seed Gonzaga with a trip to the final four on the line?

[caraher]

1. Ummm, because a long time ago Spokane won a bid to host the regional?

I suppose last year you thought that it was unfair that Duke had to play Butler in Indianapolis for all the marbles?

[Upton]

2. I understand that..

However, #11 Gonzaga has yet to leave Spokane in the tournament. They've beaten #6 seed Iowa, #3 seed UCLA and now they host a #1 seed..all on their home court. Somehow, that doesn't seem right. You can't tell me they couldn't have placed the Zags in a different region. I realize a lot of it has to do with attendance...but come on.

[madinmaryland]

4. Hmmm. Sounds like that familiar West Coast NCAA Bias is showing up again!

[underpants]

3. There are at most 5 teams at the beginning of the season who have any real hope to win

Generally Tenn, Conn, ND, STanford, ,maybe a Penn STate or a UVa....other than that no one has a shot.

[joeybee12]

5. I actually think Stanford got the easiest route to the final four, their #2 was Xavier

and they already lost...Xavier was the weakest #2...Gonzaga has home court advantage, but they're not that good...it's just that after the top 4-6 teams, the women's field drops off big.

[Upton]

8. I wouldn't be too sure...

Gonzaga is 31-4 and finished the season ranked 19th in the country. Which makes you wonder why they were an 11th seed, I've read some theories about that too. Stanford played up there earlier this year and only won by 6. This should be a real test for them.

Gonzaga, the #11 seed, now will have had the advantage of playing the #1, 3,6, and 7 seeds all on their home court. It's not fair to the other teams that had better seasons, and it's not conducive to putting the true best team from this region on the court for the final four.

[Redbear]

6. It's not technically Gonzaga's homecourt

The first two games were played at the athletic center on the Gonzaga campus. The Spokane regional is being played at Spokane Arena, a full two miles away.

Thus by NCAA logic, its a "neutral" court.

[Upton]

9. Technically..WSU is supposedly hosting

but 2 miles? I don't even think it's that far. Spokane Arena is within easy walking distance of the Gonzaga campus..

[caraher]

7. In any case, it's not as rough as Division III

In Division III, the regionals really are regional, without much regard to seed. If your region is exceptionally strong, tough rocks.

The school where I teach, the DePauw women (then nationally ranked #9), had to face Hope College (#6) on their home floor in the first round, and the other half of the bracket consisted of last year's champs Washington University (#15) and unbeaten Denison (#8). In the Division I world that would be like starting the round of 64 with a #3 seed facing a #2 seed in one game, then a #2 taking on a #4 - in other words, you're sure to eliminate in the first 2 rounds 3 teams that would normally be seeded as favorites to make the Sweet Sixteen.

[thatsrightimirish]

10. I hope Stanford pulls it off

Tara VanDerveer is a class act.