NCAA Women's March Madness: Sweet 16 Playbook
A look at the best sets that the Sweet 16 teams ran during the opening weekend of the NCAA Women's basketball tournament
Ball and Order is a newsletter with basketball analysis, reporting, and takes that strives to cover the game no matter who is playing. My name is Gabe Ibrahim (twitter: @gabe_ibrahim). I cover the Washington Wizards for Bullets Forever, women’s basketball for Her Hoop Stats, and coach the JV basketball team at Meridian High School. Subscribe for free and tell your friends! Also, check out our YouTube channel!
I’m a little late with the Sweet 16 playbook because BOTH MIAMI HURRICANES BASKETBALL PROGRAMS MADE IT TO THE ELITE EIGHT. The Canes’ victories delayed the release of this detailed look at the sets that tournament teams like to run. I used FastBreak Playbook to diagram these plays and hopefully I can collect a lot more sets as the tournament continues.
Notre Dame: Gut zoom (Early Offense)
Niele Ivey has pared down her playbook since her point guard Olivia Miles and best shooter Dara Mabrey were lost for the season. Sonia Citron is now the team's first option and this early set gets her coming off multiple screens to an area she likes to shoot.
Maryland: Elbow Slip
UCLA: Horns Triple Zoom
UCLA runs this set to get Charisma Osborne into her most dangerous position: the free throw line. There, she can pull up for a jumper or attack downhill. Zoom actions put her defender on her back and gives her tons of room to operate.
South Carolina: Zipper Ricky Punch
The Gamecocks look to feed the post more than the vast majority of teams and a lot of their sets try to get Aliyah Boston good position. This play allows Boston to get deep in the paint by setting consecutive screens. Raven Johnson whipping the entry pass to Boston right off the catch takes full advantage of Aliyah's hard work.
Ohio State: Ricky Miami
Handoffs and fake handoffs play a huge role in Ohio State's offense. Teams that try to fight through the screens get caught up in what the Buckeyes do before the handoff. Cotie McMahon gets two great screens from Eboni Walker before springing Jacy Sheldon across the lane. Walker actually sets four solid screens before hitting the jumper. There's a life lesson in that.
UConn: Chin Fade
Handoffs also play a big role in Connecticut’s offense. The Huskies guards exchange handoffs before flowing into another staple of their offense: chin action. Aaliyah Edwards sets up for the screen at the elbow, but Azzi Fudd fades back to the three-point line instead of curling off into the paint. Fudd’s shooting punishes teams that try to meet her under the screen.
Virginia Tech: Horns Wiper
Kenny Brooks has been in his bag as of late. He calls this team his "smartest group ever" so the only limit to his play-calling is his imagination. This horns action gives the red-hot Georgia Amoore plenty of room to create. The Hokies could probably throw in a back screen for a lob to Taylor Soule as another wrinkle.
Miami: Double Drag Ghost
Double high ball screens paid dividends for the Canes. The screeners dive to basket before popping up to elbows. The second screener then ghosts the screen for a touch on the wing. From there, the roller can get good position for a post-up, the ghoster can get open for catch-and-shoot 3s, or the ball handler can attack.
LSU: SLOB Curl Inbounder DHO
LSU is another team not running many complex sets. Their main play was "be bigger and faster!” The handoff to the inbounder from the low post has been very popular across college basketball in recent years. Angel Reese's size provides an easy target and lots of space for Alexis Morris.
Louisville: Circle Follow (End of Quarter)
With Drake in a zone, Louisville ran this set to overload a side sneakily. Hailey Van Lith gets a wing touch to draw the defense and reset Mykasa Robinson's dribble. Merrisah Russell cuts off her circle action under the rim as Van Lith cuts around three screens. Liz Dixon times her cut behind her perfectly then tucks into the short corner for a baseline jumper.
Iowa: BLOB 11 Stagger
The Hawkeyes didn't run a ton of sets during the opening weekend of the tournament. They live in transition and Georgia's zone defense limited their half-court options. This BLOB is a simple way to get Caitlin Clark an open look.
Villanova: 5-out Wing entries
The Wildcats didn't run many complex sets in the early rounds because they didn't need to. Maddy Siegrist is so hot that just getting her the ball is enough. These simple actions after wing entry passes put Siegrist in good positions to work. FGCU tried to deny Siegrist to start the game, but her backdoor cut on the first possessions knocked them out of it. Once she could cut freely, it was open season for Maddy.
Utah: Empty Stagger (Early Offense)
Good pick-and-roll teams usually run actions on the weak side. Utah is no exception. They also use pace to attack the defense as they try to matchup. Emptying the corner provides space for Alissa Pili rolling into the post. Having Gianna Kneepkens, the team's best shooter, run off stagger pindown screens forces Princeton to defend the pick-and-roll with two players as the other three work through the stagger. It'd be hard enough to stop this in a normal half-court situation. In early offense, it's almost impossible to recognize the play and communicate through the screens.
Ole Miss: BLOB 4x Backdoor Stagger
The Rebels are definitely a defense-first team. They mainly scored in transition against Stanford. This baseline out-of-bounds play tried to take advantage of Stanford's aggressive denial defense by having a speedy wing look at a potential gut DHO before cutting into staggered pin-in screens. Ole Miss may have had open looks right off the action but decided to slow down the game, which helped them upset the Cardinal.
Colorado: Scissors
When Duke denied the low post, the Buffs flowed into scissors with two guards cutting to the basket off the big in the high post. Duke's guards are fast and good screen navigators so Colorado tried to get them moving before hitting screens. Duke got lost and gave Frida Formann, CU's best shooter, a wide-open three in the first clip. Formann runs off the handoff in the second clip because she knows Duke will go over and drop their center. She easily beats the big to get to her spot.
Great analysis by Gabe