The words "wide-open" keep coming up in regard to this season's NCAA Tournament. Well ...

It's kind of hard to know if that's really going to happen. Sure, to a large degree teams played hot-potato with the No. 1 ranking this season.

And, when forced at the point of a bayonet -- as Augusta National czar Hootie Johnson would say -- I did submit a bracket to ESPN.com that has neither Tennessee nor Connecticut in the Final Four.

My objection to picking brackets is that fans sometimes assume a you are "rooting" for or against certain teams when, in reality, you're just guessing like everyone else.

The non-UConn/Tennessee Final Four is based on two gut feelings that could be absolutely wrong: I've thought from November that Penn State was going to the Final Four, so it would be weird to pull away from that now -- even if Penn State does have to go through Hartford, Conn., to do it.

And there are two teams in Tennessee's Midwest Region -- Baylor (if All-Big 12 first-teamer Steffanie Blackmon can play; she has a kneecap injury) and Oklahoma -- that are both on hot streaks to end the season. Especially the Sooners, who won the Big 12 tournament by outreboudning everybody like crazy and are super confident. Plus, the Sooners will be on their home court if they make the Sweet 16.

However ... it's not like deep down we don't in many ways expect Tennessee and UConn to figure out how to get back to the championship game again. If it happens, who's going to be surprised?

Before any of that New Orleans stuff, there's a lot to be intrigued by in the early rounds.

The subregional in Santa Barbara is a toughie. The Gauchos have been one of those mid-majors who make a lot of noise. They play Colorado in the first round, and that features a battle between two true centers in UC Santa Barbara's Lindsay Taylor and Colorado's Tera Bjorklund. You don't see that as much as you used to. Go big girls.

Colorado has been amazingly consistent -- 11-5 in the Big 12 for four consecutive years -- but the Buffaloes are actually the first to admit that they tend not to beat someone unexpected.

Colorado played better against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament than either Texas or Kansas State, so maybe the Buffs can get out of this subregional.

To do that, they have to beat the Gauchos on their home floor and then either Houston or Wisconsin-Green Bay, the latter of which is another of those talented mid-majors. (Incidentally, Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Kevin Borseth's name has been in the air in regard to the Northwestern position.)

In South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame has been awfully good -- and remember how the Irish knocked off Kansas State in the second round last year. But Southwest Missouri State is a monster No. 12 seed to face. I'm not really sure how SMS gets underseeded over and over and over, but it happens.

SMS will shoot a lot of 3s and rebound well from the guard spot, led by an inspirational kid named Jenni Lingor. She's a junior who in the past two years has lost both her father and mother to illness. Basketball and school -- she's an excellent student -- have helped her get through the grief. She will surprise people who are unfamiliar with her by her athleticism and instincts.

Speaking of underseeded ... this happens a lot to Old Dominion, too, and even to Louisiana Tech. We all know the drill -- they play pretty good nonconference schedules and then drop from the radar while they typically dominate their league play.

To be honest, I think ODU deserves better than having to potentially face Duke in Durham, N.C., in the second round. And if Texas Tech and Louisiana Tech meet in the second round -- remember, these are ifs -- that's too early for that matchup.

As would be the case if Minnesota and Kansas State meet in the second round in Minneapolis. First, the Wildcats play Valparaiso, and Crusaders coach Keith Freeman is an interesting guy. He started coaching at age 19 when the school he attended, Huntington College, couldn't find a full-time coach. He made a couple thousand a year in salary, which didn't cover his tuition. But he'd found his vocation.

Then he coached the men's team at Huntington in Indiana for four years and said he didn't like it. That's because it was harder to find on the men's side the combination of student/athlete he wanted to work with. He began coaching women again at Saint Joseph's College in Indiana, and from there went to Valpo. He has now been there for 10 seasons and has mentored many of those types of well-rounded kids.

Ohio State coach Jim Foster also has always been very keen on his players getting a lot more out of playing for him than hoops skills. Some folks look at his Buckeyes as potential "upset" team in this region, and that wouldn't surprise anybody, either.

New Mexico is hosting a subregional for a second year in a row. I'd like to see a regular-season, four-team tournament in Albuquerque with three "really big names" in November or December. It would be cool for that growing hotbed of women's basketball interest be cultivated. And New Mexico would be a fun and beautiful place for players to visit.

Baylor, at No. 4, is the top seed in the subregional there, and Tuesday, coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said Blackmon's status was up in the air. She hurt her knee in August in the World University Games and that recovery took a few months. Then she re-injured it during Baylor's victory over Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.

In Tempe, Ariz., Stanford comes in with a chip on its shoulder after getting the No. 6 seed, but coach Tara VanDerveer thinks that might not be a bad thing.

The story with the Cardinal has been pretty much the same for four years now: How much will everyone else help Nicole Powell? As for Stanford's first-round foe, Missouri, the Tigers did a terrific job of never getting too far down after a lot of injury adversity this season.

Following two close losses to top-10 teams Texas Tech and Kansas State in the same week in late February, the Tigers went to Nebraska and were trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half. They climbed out of that hole, beat the Cornhuskers and then picked up three more victories to get themselves into the NCAA Tournament for just the second time since 1994.

The other trip was in 2001, when Missouri as a No. 10 seed upset No. 2 Georgia on its home floor in the second round.

Meanwhile in Chattanooga, Tenn., Vanderbilt looks to extend its momentum from winning the SEC tournament title. Chattanooga is 28-2 and faces hard-to-figure Rutgers first. If Chattanooga and Vandy did meet, that would be a fun in-state matchup.

Texas wasn't thrilled about going West last season, but was very happy to do it this year. Means the Longhorns don't have to go anywhere near Norman, Okla.

The 'Horns looked out of it -- and coach Jody Conradt said they felt that way, too -- in the Big 12 title-game loss to Oklahoma.

Texas has re-charged its batteries this week and is poised to make a second-consecutive Final Four run. Texas' Tiffany Jackson is a very skilled freshman post player who, when she adds experience to her natural ability, will be a superstar. She's already pretty darn good.

Arizona faces Michigan State in the first round at Austin, Texas, which might well be the best 8-9 game. Either team will be up against the wall if they face Texas in the second round, but it's important to both to make it that far.

Arizona had carried the Pac-10 banner of being underappreciated as a conference. While there are years that has been true, I don't think this is one of them. In fact, the Pac-10 probably needs some shaking up, and that has started. Southern Cal fired coach Chris Gobrecht this week, and it will be interesting to see how that might affect the rest of the schools and the league as a whole.

Gobrecht did schedule tougher than a lot of other teams, but USC didn't win enough. She had a shot for seven years; it was time for the school to look -- as they so euphemistically say -- in another direction.

LSU was the No. 1 that got sent to Eugene, Ore., last season for the early rounds, but gets to host this year. LSU has dealt with coach Sue Gunter's illness all season and faces an Austin Peay team that almost knocked off North Carolina in the first round last season.

Might No. 12 Maryland be a "danger" team in Baton Rouge? Maybe if the Terps play like they did in the ACC tournament semifinals against Duke. If Maryland doesn't get something done this season, though, look out for this team in the next few years. Coach Brenda Frese brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to a conference that has been dominated for a while now by Duke.

Georgia had the back-and-forth drama with Kara Braxton, until coach Andy Landers finally got sick of it. Georgia is still talented and quick as all get-out. And the Lady Dogs did have a very good SEC tournament, beating Tennessee in the semis.

In this subregional in Philly, seems like a lot of people are picking Temple to pull a first-round upset against TCU, which is now dealing with coach Jeff Mittie's troubles. If Georgia and Temple meet, how is that for a coaching matchup: Landers vs. Dawn Staley?

And what of Purdue, which at No. 2 is the top seed in Ames, Iowa? The Boilers have a star in Shereka Wright, some terrific freshmen and solid older role players. Whether this team has quite enough to make a Final Four run is uncertain. Purdue is one of those "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" teams this year.

In the next few seasons, with an infusion of even more talent because the Boilers continue to recruit well, the whole and the sum could be pretty great at Purdue.

Mechelle Voepel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.