Not that mad

The sports gambler types talk about "chalk" a lot. I think it means when the favorites win. And so the women's national college basketball tournament is very "chalk." All the No. 1 seeds and all the No. 2 seeds have advanced to the Sweet 16. That includes Pac-12-leading Stanford, a No. 1.

There's only one No. 3 seed left, however, and that's Arizona, another Pac-12 university. And there's only one No. 4 still in the pack.

But it's not like the men's field, where numerous deep underdogs have risen out of nowhere. The rest of the women's Sweet 16 consist of three No. 5's and three No. 6's, including the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks upset No. 3 Georgia in the second round.

Bowing out of the tourney from the Pac-12 were No. 8 seed Oregon State, who succumbed to No. 1 South Carolina, and No. 3 UCLA, washed away by a 6-seed, Texas.

The women's action cranks back up on Saturday, when Arizona will face 2-seed Texas A&M. That ought to be interesting. On Saturday, Stanford gets into it with 5-seed Missouri State, and the Ducks have to deal with 2-seed Louisville.

The Ducks and Stanford are in the same bracket and will meet each other if they both survive the round of 16. And so at most, two Pac-12 teams will make it to the Final Four. But it's still possible for the Pac-12 to finish first and second. 

Chalk says Stanford. But they actually decide these things by playing games. Anything is possible among the remaining 16 teams, especially where the lowest-seeded squads are Texas, Oregon, and Michigan. Should make for an entertaining weekend.