03/01/26 10:46:00
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03/01 10:44 CST Texas moves to No. 1 seed in latest NCAA women's bracket
preview, joins UConn, UCLA, South Carolina
Texas moves to No. 1 seed in latest NCAA women's bracket preview, joins UConn,
UCLA, South Carolina
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
Texas joined UConn, UCLA and South Carolina as No. 1 seeds in the women's NCAA
Tournament if it began now.
The Longhorns replaced Vanderbilt as the fourth top seed in the second reveal
by the NCAA basketball selection committee of teams in line for the top 16
seeds Sunday. Texas was a No. 2 seed in the initial reveal on Feb. 14, which
was shown right after the Longhorns lost to Vanderbilt.
"We were all viewing it the same way, in the conversation it was so close and
that head-to-head tipped the scales last time," NCAA women's basketball
selection committee chair Amanda Braun told The Associated Press in a phone
interview. "The loss (by Vanderbilt) tipped it back. The overall resume of
Texas is stronger than Vanderbilt in a few different ways."
Undefeated UConn was still the overall No. 1 seed, edging UCLA and South
Carolina.
"We had some conversations, obviously it's not all cut and dry, but we feel
good where we landed," Braun said. "We do look at it as what has happened since
last reveal and none of those three lost and had pretty convincing wins against
really good teams."
The committee uses 12 criteria to determine who belongs in the field and where
teams should be seeded.
"Things can still happen in the next two weeks," the chairwoman said.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games,
with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth
straight year. Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16, and
Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.
UConn and South Carolina were projected as the top seeds in the Fort Worth
Regional, with UCLA and Texas in Sacramento. The Huskies, as the top overall
seed, would potentially have the Friday-Sunday games on the second weekend,
allowing them an extra day of rest before the Final Four.
Joining UConn in its bracket was No. 2 seed LSU, third-seed Louisville and
fourth-seed Maryland.
The Bruins would have No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, No. 3 seed Duke and fourth-seeded
Ohio State in their region.
The Big Ten had seven of the top 16 seeds and the SEC had five.
"When you watch them those are really good teams. Every element we look at, the
Big Ten has a lot of really good teams," Braun said. "We don't really know how
many are going in as we are doing it one-by-one and then they are seven of the
best 16."
Joining the Gamecocks in Fort Worth would be No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 TCU and No.
4 Minnesota. The Longhorns would have No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Oklahoma and
fourth-seed Michigan State in California.
TCU is hoping to be in one of the Fort Worth brackets so that Horned Frogs
wouldn't have to leave home. The arena where the regional is being played is
roughly 10 minutes from campus.
Teams just outside the top 16 included Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina
and West Virginia. Ole Miss was in the initial top 16 reveal.
The Final Four will be played in Phoenix on April 3 and the NCAA championship
game is two days later.
The NCAA has been doing in-season reveals since 2015 to give teams an early
idea of where they could be come selection night. Sunday's reveal did not
factor in the games scheduled for later that day, which included South
Carolina-Kentucky, Duke-North Carolina and Vanderbilt-Tennessee.
Next up will be the reveal of the top 16 teams in alphabetical order a day
before Selection Sunday on March 15. It's the first time the NCAA will do that
so as to gives schools an extra day to sell tickets as well as to give ESPN
more time to get its equipment in place to broadcast the tournament.
___
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