Posted something like this in a closed thread a week ago:
Debbie's big thing is promoting WCBB, and her most recent pet project was a single site tournament (she wanted Las Vegas) which thanks to covid we will actually experience this year. (I think her goal was a single 'regional' and FF site, with the first weekend still at 16 sites - this year is even better.) She has in the past been very complementary about Geno and Uconn and she recognizes Uconn as the premier WCBB program.
But she is also a proponent of "Uconn is bad for WCBB' because she sees a strong competitive environment as being healthy for the game, and a dominant program as stifling the expansion of the fan base. So it is quite natural for her to use her platform to talk up non-Uconn programs. That was hard to do during the Stewart years, but easier now.
People forget how happy pundits were in 2013 when the FF consisted of two #1 seed, a #2 seed, and a #5 seed - this showed how wide the competitive landscape had become. That lasted until the games were played and Uconn beat the other #1 seed in the semi by 18 and the 5 seed by 33 in the final. Then they were unhappy that #5 Louisville had beaten the #1 overall Baylor and two #2 seeds, any of which might have created a more interesting final. The same pundits were even more excited in 2016 with a #1, #2, #4, and #7 seed into the FF, but then #1 Uconn beat #2 Oregon by 29 and #4 Syracuse by 31.
Be careful what you wish for.
