March Madness: UConn, UCLA, Texas and SC lead NCAAM bracket
The Huskies (34-0) are seeking their 13th national title and aim to become the first team to retain the championship since 2013.
The UConn Huskies received the designation as the number 1 seed in the overall classification of the NCAA women’s tournament this Sunday, and enter “March Madness” needing six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in university history.
The Huskies (34-0) are seeking their 13th national title and are aiming to become the first team to retain the championship since the Huskies themselves won four consecutive titles from 2013 to 2016. They are joined by the UCLA Bruins, the Texas Longhorns and the South Carolina Gamecocks as the other No. 1 seeds.
UConn, led by stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, will open the tournament with a home game against the 16th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners and compete in the Fort Worth Regional. If the seeding holds up as expected, the Huskies could face the No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores, a team coached by former UConn star Shea Ralph.
UCLA (31-1) sat just behind the Huskies as the second seed in the overall tournament standings. The Bruins have chained 25 consecutive victories in dominant fashion; Their only loss so far this season came against Texas, in a game played on a neutral court.
UCLA reached the Final Four last year before being eliminated by UConn. Cori Close’s team swept the Big Ten conference and has an experienced group — led by center Lauren Betts — that aspires to win the first NCAA championship in the university’s history.
The Bruins will try to win the first women’s national championship for the Big Ten conference since 1999. They are one of 12 Big Ten teams in the tournament bracket, a number that ties the record set last season for the most teams from the same conference qualified for the tournament. The SEC contributes 10 teams; the ACC, 9; and the Big 12, 8.
Other top teams in the UCLA region include the LSU Tigers (No. 2), the Duke Blue Devils (No. 3), and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (No. 4).
The Longhorns (31-3) earned the third No. 1 seed after winning the SEC tournament title. They defeated South Carolina in two of the three meetings they had throughout the season. Texas will compete in Regional 3 in Fort Worth. Other elite teams in the Texas region include the Michigan Wolverines (No. 2), the Louisville Cardinals (No. 3), and the West Virginia Mountaineers (No. 4).
The Gamecocks (31-3) are the No. 1 seed in Sacramento Regional 4 and have held the No. 1 seed position for six consecutive seasons. They will be joined by the Iowa Buckeyes (No. 2), TCU (No. 3) and the Oklahoma Sooners (No. 4).
The Tennessee Volunteers kept alive their streak of qualifying for every NCAA tournament since the first edition in 1982. The Lady Vols, seeded No. 10—and who have lost seven consecutive games—had only 16 wins this season; This is the lowest number for an invitational-ranked team (*at-large*) since Oklahoma also recorded 16 wins in 2018. This seeding position is the lowest in the history of this prestigious program since Tennessee was ranked No. 11 in 2019.
The Charleston Cougars won the Colonial Athletic Association and thus managed to access the tournament bracket for the first time in the history of the institution. The Cougars are the 14th seed and are the only rookie team in the competition. Last season, there were six new teams.
The BYU Cougars, North Dakota State Bison, Utah Utes and Texas A&M Aggies were the first four teams left out of the bracket.
For the second consecutive year, teams participating in the women’s tournament will receive financial compensation—similar to what happens in the men’s tournament—for each round they play. The NCAA calls its win-counting system, automatic qualifications and invitations “units,” which determines the amount of money paid to conferences. One unit represents the payment conferences receive each time one of their teams participates in the NCAA tournament.
This year, the NCAA will award additional units to the teams that reach the championship game, as well as the team that wins the title. This extra compensation has been incorporated into the general pool and does not reduce the overall value of the units.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host the first and second round matches, while the regional rounds will be played at two neutral venues for the fourth consecutive year. Fort Worth (Texas) will host half of the teams qualified for the “Sweet 16” (round of 16), and Sacramento (California) will host the other eight teams.
The “Final Four” will be held in Phoenix on April 3, with the championship game taking place two days later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
