The Women's NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed top 16 seed forecasts at the second and final hours on Thursday night, just before the rivalry clash between North Carolina and Duke.
Both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels remained in the top 16 on the committee, as did the nearby Tobacco Rolled Dribull NC. If the rankings apply, it will mark the first time since 1998 that all three schools in the North Carolina Research Triangle have held NCAA Tournament Games over the weekend. That, coupled with the first round of men's games at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, will make the area a college basketball center in mid-March.
Elsewhere in the top 16 there was a shake-up at the top. The USC Trojans, supported by an upset victory over rival UCLA, moved to one line. Meanwhile, South Carolina is hampered by the loss of a biased home uconnfell into two lines. If these predictions were to be realized, it would mark the first time since the 2018-19 tournament when Dawn Staley's Gamecocks were not the No. 1 seed.
Here's the full top 16 public:
- UCLA
- Texas
- USC
- Notre Dame
- South Carolina
- uconn
- LSU
- NC status
- TCU
- Unc
- Duke
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Kentucky
- Kansas
- Ohio
Winner: USC
The Trojan was the number one seed last year, returning to the top line in a regular season game he will play at rival UCLA on Saturday. The USC victory could knock the Bruins out of their mark for the overall seed in first place, making the game even higher stakes. Of course, we were able to meet USC and UCLA for the third time in the Big Ten tournament.
If USC stays on one line, it will mark the first consecutive number one seed since the 1983 and 1984 seasons. These Trojans led by Cheryl Miller have won the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive time.
Loser: South Carolina
Gamecocks and the counterpart of that second Texas Longhorns The only two teams in the country to score 11 wins in a Quad game, and the Select Committee was clearly disappointed by Staley's team playing boat racing at home by UConn, 87-58 on February 16th.
The good news for South Carolina is that there are plenty of opportunities to make up for this ground. They will play in Kentucky (14th in their latest release) on Sunday and could face just a handful of top 16 teams in the Greenville, South Carolina SEC tournament starting next week.
Winners: Tennessee and SEC
After not holding last season's Opening Weekend Game in Kelly Harper's final year, the Ladyvols are in a good position to bring the NCAA Tournament game back to Knoxville this year. From the first Top 16 to Thursday's forecast, Tennessee was the biggest riser, jumping four spots from the 16th to the 12th. Kim Caldwell's team has won three games since it was first revealed, including a victory over AP ranked Alabama.
Overall, the SEC looks like the most top-heavy meeting with six teams in the top 16. There are four in the ACC, three in the Big Ten, two in the Big 12, and one in the Big East in the UConn Husky.
Ohio and Kansas seem to be the most common people who have been eliminated. The Wildcats lost twice since their final top 16 was revealed, beating three spots, but Ohio State is 16th after losing to unranked Indiana. Any further slip-ups from the Buckeyes and Kansas could potentially sacrifice home court advantage in the opening round.
