Sacramento: Stanford's Been Here Before

Stanford won't have to go farther than a two-hour bus ride to pave a path back to its third straight Final Four. But the roadblocks are plentiful.

The Cardinal (31-1) are the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament by virtue of Sunday's Pac-10 tournament championship in Los Angeles. Stanford is scheduled to play at home for the first two rounds, opening Saturday with No. 16 seed UC Riverside, and is the only team in its bracket with a host bid.

Should the Cardinal advance as expected, they will head to Sacramento.

Unlike Connecticut, the team that Stanford has been looking up at all year, the Cardinal have had their health issues. Jayne Appel (pictured right) has battled knee, foot and ankle injuries this season. Experienced guards JJ Hones and Mel Murphy have experienced limited playing time with persistent knee swelling. Starting point guard Jeanette Pohlen had an ankle injury.

Stanford is a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1998, when it made history by becoming the first No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 16 seed when Harvard pulled off the now infamous upset at Maples Pavilion.

Texas A&M (25-7) lurks on the other end of the bracket. The Aggies won the Big 12 tournament for the second time in three years last weekend in Kansas City, in the process handing Nebraska its first loss of the season.

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A&M has won nine of 10 games, the only loss in that span a two-point loss against Baylor in College Station.

The Aggies started the season 14-1 before hitting a midseason skid in the Big 12, losing five of seven.

Regional Final Site: Arco Arena, Sacramento

The Winner: Stanford. As easy as the Pac-10 Conference proved to be for the Cardinal, this is not going to be a cakewalk to the Final Four and a Connecticut rematch. The biggest threat, obviously, is No. 2 seed Texas A&M, a team with size, athleticism, quickness and the ability to penetrate and score off the dribble. A&M center Danielle Adams will have to do her damage against a formidable Stanford post game.

Bracket Buster: Gonzaga. The Zags played Texas A&M back in December and lost, 80-76. Can Kelly Graves and his team use that loss as a road map for a different ending? Courtney Vandersloot is on the short list of the best point guards in the country.

Ripe for the Taking: Georgia. The Bulldogs, one of two teams to beat Tennessee this season, are 5-7 in their last 12 games and one of those wins was an overtime victory at home against LSU. The ankle injury to point guard Ashley Houts has slowed Georgia's progress and that has made them vulnerable, particularly late in the season.

The Matchup to Watch: Oklahoma State and Chattanooga, first round. The Cowgirls will play in the first round without star guard Andrea Riley, suspended for the opener because of an altercation in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Riley has been among the nation's most productive scorers in the nation all year and the center of OSU's universe. She took 44 shots in one game in the Big 12 tournament last week. How does Oklahoma State win without her for even one game?

The Player to Watch: Nneka Ogwumike, Stanford. The sophomore forward took the Pac-10 Player of the Year award from Appel and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Pac-10 tournament. Ogwumike is long, can jump like few other players in the country and has collected 13 double-doubles this season.

Bracket Notes: Xavier comes into the tournament with an 18-game winning streak ... North Carolina, meanwhile, got into the tournament despite losing eight of its last 11 games, including an ACC tournament loss to Maryland, who did not get into the field ... Rutgers and Iowa will be one of the most intriguing first-round matchups, given the fact that Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian Stringer has taken both schools to the Final Four ... Iowa has won eight of its last 10 games and played to the wire with Ohio State in the title game in the Big Ten tournament ... Tulane is making its first NCAA appearance since 2003 ...Vanderbilt is in the field for the 21st time in 22 years ... Portland State is making its first NCAA appearance.