The Huskies defeat ranked South Carolina 97-79 on their home court at XL Center. Napheesa Collier led the team to their victory with 31 points and 16 rebounds. (Photo by Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
Monday night was a busy one for women’s college basketball.
No. 4 UConn squad defeated No. 11 South Carolina 97-79 in front of a packed home crowd. During halftime of that game, the NCAA women’s basketball selection committee revealed what the top 16 seeds for the tournament would be if the season ended today.
Unsurprisingly, the No. 1 overall seed is Baylor. The Lady Bears remain No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll with their sole loss this season coming against Stanford. On Jan. 3, Baylor defeated then No. 1 UConn 68-57.
The remaining No. 1 overall seeds in the bracket are Louisville, Oregon and Mississippi State. It is truly remarkable how far the Oregon program has come since the addition of junior Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu is the NCAA career-leader in triple-doubles and will likely be the player of the year at the end of the season. Louisville defeated the Huskies 69-78 earlier this season and are currently No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll. Mississippi State is another program that has risen dramatically in recent years. After their stunning buzzer-beater win against UConn two seasons ago the Bulldogs have remained on the national radar.
The UConn squad nabbed a No. 2 seed along with Notre Dame, Stanford and NC State.
The most difficult regional assignment is most definitely Greensboro. The top four seeds in that region are Baylor, Notre Dame, Maryland and South Carolina. All four of the coaches on those teams have Final Four and national championship experience. For that reason, the Greensboro region will surely be the most exciting region to watch.
UConn was placed in the Albany region along with Mississippi State, Oregon State and Miami (FL).
On March 4, the rest of the tournament teams will be revealed and on March 18, the rest of the tournament bracket and the final seeds will be released.
While only the top 16 teams have been revealed, one thing is for sure: The road to the women’s Final Four will in no way be an easy one.
Mariana Dominguez is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.
