At first glance, the Dayton Region appears to be the most competitive bracket, if for no other reason that Baylor, Connecticut, or Stanford aren't in it.
If not the most competitive, it will certainly be interesting because there figure to be a number of unique challenges for number one seed Tennessee.
To be honest, we might not have even seen the best of Tennessee yet due to key injuries to Kelly Cain and Washington native Angie Bjorklund - they finished SEC conference play on a tear and Bjorklund was still rounding into form. Nevertheless, they struggled with spans of sloppy play at times this season and both the number two and three seeds in this region can force that type of performance.
In fact, the top six seeds in the bracket pose potential threats.
Two seed Notre Dame is among the most well-rounded teams in the nation and has two players considered among the best defenders in the Big East in Brittany Mallory and Devereaux Peters, a versatile defender who can guard multiple players in a pressure scheme.
Three seed Miami built off a magical run to the 2010 WNIT to tie for first in the ACC this year and thrives on creating turnovers although they rely almost entirely on their top three scorers who account for nearly 80 percent of their scoring output. They are set up for a potentially interesting second round matchup with Oklahoma, which is led by potential WNBA draft pick Danielle Robinson who is considered among the best point guards in the country.
On Tennessee's side of the bracket, is Ohio State who could either be a team that people are sleeping on or have pegged as a team that has underachieved for much of the season until making a run to win the 2011 Big Ten tournament. They are led by center Jantel Lavender who can draw double or triple teams in the post, but also point guard Samantha Prahalis who can either set the world on fire or hurt her team by over- aggressively committing turnovers.
All-in-all, Tennessee's path to the Final Four will not be easy by any means - each of the top four seeds presents a challenge that could hurt the Lady Vols.
For more on the bracket, check out our Women's NCAA Tournament StoryStream. To break down the bracket with Gonzaga fans, be sure to stop by SB Nation's The Slipper Still Fits.. For everything women's NCAA hoops, stop by Swish Appeal.