UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt are No. 1s – Chicago Tribune
UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt would be the No. 1 seeds in the women’s NCAA tournament if it started now.
The NCAA basketball selection committee revealed for the first time Saturday the teams vying for the top 16 seeds.
Undefeated UConn was the No. 1 seed, edging out UCLA.
The committee uses 12 criteria to determine who belongs in the field and where teams should be seeded.
“Some are subjective and some are based on data,” Amanda Braun, chairwoman of the NCAA women’s basketball selection committee, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “The overall record of UConn and the observable component is impressive. The UCLA observable is also very strong.”
Showing how fluid things are when it comes to seeding, the Commodores moved up to Line 1 after beating Texas on Thursday.
“It was this closeness between them that made the difference. “We were impressed by both teams.”
The top 16 seeds among the 68 teams will host the first and second round matches, with the regional rounds taking place at two neutral sites for the fourth consecutive year. Fort Worth, Texas will host half of the Sweet 16 and Sacramento, California will host the other eight teams.
UConn and South Carolina were projected as the top seeds in the Fort Worth area, with UCLA and Vanderbilt in Sacramento. The Huskies were the No. 1 seed, meaning they would potentially have the Friday-Sunday games on the second weekend, allowing them an extra day of rest before the Final Four.
Joining UConn in its bracket were second-seeded LSU, third-seeded Ohio State and fourth-seeded Oklahoma.
The Bruins would have No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 seed Duke and fourth-seeded Ole Miss in their region. The Longhorns were placed there to ensure that the bracketing principle of keeping the top four teams in a conference in different regions was protected.
The SEC and Big Ten each have six of the top 16 seeds.
Joining the Gamecocks in Fort Worth would be No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Michigan State. The Commodores would have No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 TCU and fourth-seeded Maryland California.
“As we move into threes and fours, there’s been a lot of discussion within the group,” Braun said. “You split hairs to make them go up or down by one.”
TCU hopes to be in one of the Fort Worth brackets so the Horned Frogs don’t have to leave home. The arena where the regional championship takes place is approximately 10 minutes from campus.
Teams just outside the top 16 included Baylor and West Virginia.
The Final Four will be played in Phoenix on April 3, with the NCAA championship game two days later.
The NCAA has held in-season reveals since 2015 to give teams an early idea of where they might be on selection night. Saturday’s reveal did not take into account games scheduled for later in the day, including South Carolina’s visit to LSU.
The NCAA will make another reveal on March 1 before the real rankings are announced on March 15. For the first time, the selection committee will publish the teams that will host the first two rounds in alphabetical order the day before the table is revealed. This gives these schools an extra day to sell tickets.
