Busting Brackets
Fansided

2017 NCAA Women Basketball Tournament: No. 12 Quinnipiac and No. 10 Oregon pull off upsets

By Daniel Benjamin

Mar 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Karlie Samuelson (44) fouls Oregon Ducks forward Ruthy Hebard (24) on a rebound during the fourth quarter of the women's Pac-12 Conference Tournament at KeyArena. Stanford defeated Oregon State, 71-56. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Karlie Samuelson (44) fouls Oregon Ducks forward Ruthy Hebard (24) on a rebound during the fourth quarter of the women's Pac-12 Conference Tournament at KeyArena. Stanford defeated Oregon State, 71-56. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
Mar 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Karlie Samuelson (44) fouls Oregon Ducks forward Ruthy Hebard (24) on a rebound during the fourth quarter of the women’s Pac-12 Conference Tournament at KeyArena. Stanford defeated Oregon State, 71-56. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Karlie Samuelson (44) fouls Oregon Ducks forward Ruthy Hebard (24) on a rebound during the fourth quarter of the women’s Pac-12 Conference Tournament at KeyArena. Stanford defeated Oregon State, 71-56. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 NCAA women’s basketball tournament is down to 16 teams.

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament, unlike on the men’s side, is not known for having a ton of major upsets or even close games for that matter. Since the 2010 tournament, 19 double-digit seeds on the men’s side have advanced to the Sweet 16 compared to nine from the women’s side with two of those teams doing so this year.

No. 12 Quinnipiac and No. 10 Oregon are the two teams seeded 10th or lower to advance to the 2017 NCAA women’s tournament round of 16. Both of the teams pulled off their upsets on March 20. Quinnipiac is the fourth 12-seed to reach the Sweet 16 in women’s basketball history with San Francisco (1996), Kansas (2013), and BYU (2014) being the other No. 12 seeds to do so. Three No. 13 seeds have made the NCAA women’s basketball tournament regional semifinals.

Quinnipiac (29-6) is in its third NCAA tournament ever, all since 2013. The Bobcats opened the tournament with a 68-65 victory over No. 5 seeded Marquette and then pulled off their biggest upset to date with an 85-78 win over No. 4  seeded Miami. Quinnipiac is now 2-2 all-time in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, having been defeated by over 20 points in their first two tournament games.

Meanwhile, Oregon (22-13) became the first 10-seed in the Sweet 16 in a decade after taking down No. 2 Duke (74-65) on Monday night. Oregon scrounged out a 71-70 victory over No. 7 Temple in the first round. The Ducks are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005 and 12th time ever. This is the Ducks’ first appearance in the Sweet 16.

Joining Quinnipiac and Oregon in the Round of 16 is UConn, UCLA, Maryland, Baylor, Louisville, Washington, and Mississippi State. Oregon State, Florida State, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, Ohio State, and Notre Dame round out the Sweet 16.

Home/March Madness