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Bob Donnan/US Presswire
Maya Moore averages 18.4 points per game.

The Toughest Path

By Graham Hays (archive)
Special to ESPN.com

The selection committee's work is done, but questions remain. Here's a look at the five biggest bracket questions:

Which No. 1 seed has the toughest path to Tampa?

Spokane may be the toughest regional from top to bottom, but at least No. 1 seed Maryland gets to start work on scaling the first part of that summit from the comfort of the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. No such luck for the defending champs, the Tennessee Lady Vols, who could conceivably face Purdue on its home court in the second round and Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 in Oklahoma City, just a short drive up I-35 from the Sooners' home turf in Norman.

Tennessee's draw is tough enough to make that second-round encounter with Purdue arguably a preferred outcome. No. 8 seed Utah appeared headed for a seed two or three lines better before its collapse against Colorado State in the Mountain West tournament. That loss aside, these are still the same Utes who rolled through a three-bid conference without a loss in the regular season and spent recent weeks entrenched in the RPI top 20.

And that's all just the first weekend, before the Lady Vols would head to Oklahoma City for what could shape up as a chance to win a regional and an honorary Big 12 title all in one. Oklahoma didn't earn anything better …MORE

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