Sophie Cunningham breaks down women's March Madness favorites, picks SEC to win

Sophie Cunningham is all about the SEC winning the women’s basketball national championship this year, but conceded there are other contenders. The WNBA veteran and Missouri alum is excited for this year’s tournament, which kicks into high gear later this month.

Looking at the top teams around the country, Texas and South Carolina could very well be the SEC rep in this year’s title game to win it all. But don’t discount UConn and UCLA!

“SEC, baby. I’m all for, you know, seeing the SEC take it again,” Cunningham told On3. “I’m a proud alum, not only from the University of Missouri, but from the conference … SEC … I think it’d be kind of cool to see Texas win it. I think South Carolina definitely has the experience and the depth and the coach to have her players always be successful. UConn, you know, is definitely a fan favorite, which is, you know, to keep their tradition of absolutely dominating would be alive. 

“I haven’t really gotten to see UCLA play as much this year, but if they’re anything like they were last year, you know, they have the experience, they have the height, they have the depth. And so I don’t know. I am just so biased, and I want to see an SEC team win, so I don’t care.”

Cunningham’s interview was on behalf of Quest Nutrition. Check out the new social-first elimination series ‘The Grand Try’ premiering this month.

Sophie Cunningham rolling with SEC in March Madness

The latest women’s bracketology from ESPN has the four No. 1 seeds as UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina. The Huskies are the No.1 overall seed and as Cunningham alluded to, Geno Auriemma and crew can certainly reassert their dominance.

But there’s a team that’s pretty darn good that should get more buzz on that scale: UCLA. Cunningham loves their depth and the “run it back” mentality after last season. ESPN’s Holly Rowe told On3 practically the same thing in mid-February.

“It’s funny, because people do sleep on UCLA,” Rowe told On3. “They were the number one overall seed last year, and then they just got their butt kicked in the Final Four. So I think people maybe are quick to write them off. They’re good again, and they’re better this year, and now those players have that experience of being in that spotlight. So I do still think UCLA is a team to keep your eye on.”

The standard is the standard, as the saying goes. So perhaps UCLA is the team to beat in women’s March Madness.

“We’re playing for our standard. We’re playing to get closer to that standard as a habit every single game and I’ve been really honest that we haven’t been doing that consistently,” head coach Cori Close said. “I’m really proud of them, that they made a step in that direction.”