The selection committee for the women’s NCAA Tournament has given fans their first glimpse as to what seeding might look like when March Madness rolls around.
Ahead of the clash between SEC contenders South Carolina and LSU on Feb. 14, the committee unveiled its first of two projections for the top 16 seeds. Members of the committee met in Indianapolis a few days ago to put together a mock bracket.
Undefeated UConn was tabbed as the No. 1 overall seed, followed by UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Commodores defeated Texas 86-70 at home on Thursday, a victory that seemingly pushed Shea Ralph’s team to the one-line. Vanderbilt hasn’t been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2002.
Full top 16 projection:
UConn
UCLA
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Texas
Michigan
Louisville
LSU
Ohio State
Duke
Iowa
TCU
Maryland
Michigan State
Ole Miss
Oklahoma
Big Ten, SEC dominant in women’s basketball
The Big Ten and SEC have looked like the deepest and most competitive conferences in women’s college basketball all season and both were rewarded in this first projection with six seeds each in the top 16.
If Ole Miss holds on to its spot, it would be a historic seeding for the Rebels. They haven’t been a top-four seed since 1992. Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s team is 20-5 this season and has won six of its last eight games. But the Rebels have a tough schedule coming up with four consecutive games against ranked opponents within the next eight days: Kentucky, Tennessee, LSU and South Carolina.
Michigan State is projected to host opening weekend games for the first time since 2016.
In this projection, the ACC has two top 16 seeds, while the Big 12 and Big East have just one each. Opportunities remain for teams like Baylor, West Virginia and North Carolina to play their way into hosting rights.
The selection committee will unveil a second projection of the top 16 seeds in two weeks, on Sunday, March 1, at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN. The day before Selection Sunday — March 14 — the committee will announce which teams earned top 16 seeds and hosting rights before revealing the full bracket.