Okay so having done some reading, "regions" seems to be a misnomer really - it's just 4 arbitrary groups of 16 and the "regions" refer to the relative locations of the 4 central venues that group finals will be played at.
Calling them Groups A-D like the World Cup would make more sense, but you do you America
Actually, they started doing this a long while back (way before Covid). More and more, they started moving teams around to provide better balance in each region. Even the arenas where the games are played don't necessarily equate to the region until you get to the regional finals.
The NCAA decided to implement pods in the first two rounds. They did this in hopes of boosting attendance by making it easier for the fans of participating schools to travel. For instance, one West Region pod played the first two rounds in Buffalo, NY. However, the team that advanced into the Sweet Sixteen will travel to San Francisco--a western city. But the real geographic (& numerical) goofiness starts when you get into the conferences. The Big 12 has 10 teams while the Big 10 has . . . more than 10, at least 13. The Atlantic Coast Conference has teams from Indiana and Kentucky. Meanwhile, the Big East has a team in Nebraska! It is football (American-style) and TV deals that drive the craziness.
UConn and UNC still don't work. Also, please force users to type in the "st" after San Diego, as San Diego didn't make the tournament, but San Diego State did.
You guys don't know that they can't exactly do it based on the region because then the seeding would be unfair. From what I've seen, it's based off where they play the games. Stop being picky about the regions and names and junk!
I also think it's funny that the picture is a NCAA women's game. I would watch more women's sports if they were on more. :D
Even more funny, it's not even college basketball. The photo is from a European FIBA Cup women's game. Maybe there aren't many non-copyright NCAA game photos??
UCONN needs to work for Connecticut.
Calling them Groups A-D like the World Cup would make more sense, but you do you America
I also think it's funny that the picture is a NCAA women's game. I would watch more women's sports if they were on more. :D