The 2010s were a decade of growth for women’s basketball. And yet throughout it, the sport’s worst-kept secret spread openly. The college game, for years, remained remarkably top-heavy.
Since 2012, there have been eight NCAA tournaments. Five of eight national title games pitted two No. 1 seeds. A top seed won the other three by an average of 25.3 points. And 20 of 32 Final Four participants were No. 1s. Some juggernaut battles were riveting, and some championships unforgettable, but the top-seed dominance made for little unpredictability on the first and second weekends of March Madness.