UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, and Notre Dame currently hold the top No. 1 seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament if it were to commence today. On Sunday, the NCAA basketball selection committee unveiled its initial lineup of the leading 16 teams for the tournament.
NCAA women’s basketball selection committee chair Derita Dawkins expressed confidence in the top four seeds during a phone interview, stating that the committee collectively believed they had accurately identified the leading teams for the top slot.
Southern California and LSU are also strong contenders, with the Trojans recently claiming victory over UCLA, handing them their first defeat of the season last Thursday.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team tournament will be responsible for hosting the first and second rounds. For the third consecutive year, the regional rounds will take place at two neutral sites—Spokane, Washington, will accommodate half of the Sweet 16 teams, while Birmingham, Alabama, will host the other eight squads.
In the proposed Spokane Regional, UCLA and Notre Dame are projected as No. 1 seeds, while South Carolina and Texas are anticipated to be in Birmingham. UCLA stands as the overall No. 1 seed, positioning them for potential Friday-Sunday games in the second weekend, granting them an additional day for rest before the Final Four.
Bruins coach Cori Close reflected on her team’s performance after a close 75-69 victory over No. 22 Michigan State on Sunday evening. Close emphasized the team’s ambition to secure a No. 1 seed, hoping they can maintain their competitive edge throughout the remainder of the season.
Joining UCLA in their regional bracket are LSU as the No. 2 seed, Duke at No. 3, and Tennessee as the No. 4 seed. LSU was reallocated from another region to adhere to the strategic principle of assigning the leading four teams from the same conference into distinct regions. Due to the changes in conference dynamics, particularly with the Pac-12’s decline, this has caused some adjustments but also presents challenges this season.
The Fighting Irish would face No. 2 seed USC, along with Kansas State and Kentucky in their bracket. This could pave the way for an Elite Eight clash featuring two of the nation’s elite players—JuJu Watkins from USC and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.
In South Carolina’s region, top teams include No. 2 seed N.C. State, TCU, and Oklahoma, while Texas is projected to include UConn, North Carolina, and Ohio State as No. 2 seeds. Dawkins highlighted the reasoning behind Texas earning the third overall No. 1 seed, citing their impressive count of 10 wins against top teams as opposed to Notre Dame’s six.
Teams narrowly missing the top 16 positions include Alabama, Baylor, Michigan State, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
The Final Four is scheduled to take place in Tampa, Florida, on April 4, with the NCAA championship game following two days later. Since 2015, the NCAA has conducted in-season reveals to provide teams with an early glimpse into their tournament prospects. The Sunday reveal was preliminary and did not consider games scheduled later in the day, which included a defeat for South Carolina against UConn and a win for Texas over LSU.
Dawkins humorously acknowledged the excitement of the day’s significant matchups, remarking, “We always look for who busts our bracket first.” The NCAA plans to conduct one more reveal on February 27, leading up to the official seedings announcement on March 16.
