Two months from Women's Final Four hitting Minneapolis, and the intrigue is building

The 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four is two months away from tipping off at Target Center.

So fans who have tickets for the event, which will descend on the Twin Cities in time for the April 1 semifinals, are naturally wondering:

Which teams will they see?

If you look at the previous four Final Fours, you'd be anticipating titanic clashes. From the time the event was held in 2017 in Dallas through last season's event in San Antonio — the 2020 tournament was canceled because of COVID-19 — 15 of the 16 teams that participated were one or two seeds, with third-seeded Arizona — which lost to Stanford 54-53 in last year's final — the only outlier in that group.

But maybe this year will be different.

"I think the word parity gets used way too much," Charlie Creme said. "Or the search for parity in the women's game. But this season, more so than ever, has had it."

Creme has been doing women's basketball bracketology for ESPN since 2003. Before that, Creme worked with Joe Lunardi on the men's side. He is as plugged in as it gets, and this year looks different to him.

Latest AP and Coaches women's basketball polls

To be sure: South Carolina, from the beginning, has looked like the class of the field. The Gamecocks are 9-0 against teams ranked in the top 25 (including wins over N.C. State, Connecticut and Stanford).

And there are other great teams. But, to Creme, there is a drop off after No. 1.

"We have a clear best team," he said. "That's not different. We've had that. The difference is the depth after that, beyond South Carolina. … The rest of it is very jumbled. In the past, you'd have two or three other teams after the No. 1 team, and there would be a clear line after that. But this year, you can say from No. 2 to 10-11-12, there is not a lot of distinction. That's different."

In the past, Creme said, he'd be pretty confident in predicting who the four final teams would be. This year? "Good luck after South Carolina," he said.

Part of that is injuries. UConn is still without former Hopkins star Paige Bueckers, last year's Associated Press Player of the Year, who is expected back from a knee injury in late February. UConn has also been without Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl because of injuries and Christyn Williams missed games because of COVID. If that band gets back together, UConn should be a force. Oregon, too, has dealt with injuries.

Because of all this, Creme thinks this year there could be some crooked numbers, seed-wise, in Minneapolis on April 1.

Maryland is always better at the end of the season than at the start. Maybe this is the year a great player — or two — could will their team into the Final Four the way Kelsey Plum did in getting seventh-ranked Washington to the Final Four in 2016.

This year? Maybe Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano in Iowa. Or 6-6 post phenom — and Byron, Minn., native — Ayoka Lee at Kansas State. Even give Aneesah Morrow a slight chance at DePaul.

"I won't go crazy saying a seven seed is getting there," Creme said. "But it's possible it could happen this year."

1. Aliyah Boston, South Carolina. Is there anything this 6-5 junior can't do? Pushing 60% shooting, elite defense.

2. Caitlin Clark, Iowa. Already with two 30-point triple doubles, she leads the nation in scoring.

3. NaLyssa Smith, Baylor. The 6-4 forward is one of the toughest players in the country to guard.

4. Haley Jones, Stanford. Versatile performer who played some power forward last year on a title team and is now initiating the offense.

5. Paige Bueckers, Connecticut. She was averaging 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists through six games before her injury.

1. Baylor has dominated the Big 12 for a decade. Will that change this season? Perhaps. The conference has five teams in the most recent AP Top 25 poll. The Bears are getting pushed by Oklahoma, Iowa State and Kansas State.

2. Michigan (10-1), Iowa (8-2) and Indiana (6-1) sit atop a conference that has five teams in the Top 25.

3. First-place North Carolina State and second-place Louisville only had each other once on the ACC Conference schedule this year, with N.C. State winning 68-59. Will they see each other in the conference tournament?