UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt would be the No. 1 seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament if it began now.
The NCAA basketball selection committee did its first reveal of the teams in line for the top 16 seeds Saturday.
Undefeated UConn was the overall No. 1 seed, edging UCLA.
The committee uses 12 criteria to determine who belongs in the field and where teams should be seeded.
“Some are subjective there and some data driven,” NCAA women’s basketball selection committee chair Amanda Braun told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “The overall record for UConn and the observable component are impressive. UCLA observable is also very strong as well.”
Showing how fluid things are in seeding, the Commodores moved up to the 1-line after beating Texas on Thursday.
“It was that close between the two of them that head-to-head made a difference. ”We were impressed by both teams.”
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight 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 Regional, with UCLA and Vanderbilt in Sacramento. The Huskies were the overall 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 was No. 2 seed LSU, third-seed Ohio State and fourth-seed Oklahoma.
The Bruins would have No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 seed Duke and fourth-seeded Ole Miss in their region. The Longhorns were slotted 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-seed Maryland in California.
“As we move down to the three’s and four’s there was a lot of discussion amongst the group,” Braun said. “You’re splitting hairs to move them up one or down one.”
TCU is hoping to be in one of the Fort Worth brackets so that Horned Frogs wouldn’t have to leave home. The arena where the regional is being played is roughly 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 and the NCAA championship game is two days later.
The NCAA has been doing in-season reveals since 2015 to give teams an early idea of where they could be come selection night. Saturday’s reveal did not factor in the games scheduled for later that day, which included South Carolina visiting LSU.
The NCAA will have one more reveal on March 1 before the real seedings are announced on March 15. For the first time, the selection committee will release the teams that will host the first two rounds in alphabetical order the day before the bracket is revealed. That gives those schools an extra day to sell tickets.
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