Four Big Ten Schools Make NCAA WBB Tourney

Arizona was fourth in the poll, while North Carolina, the fourth No. 1 seed, was ranked fifth.

Between bites of Mike Neighbors’ chicken spaghetti the other night at his Mercer Island home, the Huskies exchanged ideas during a team dinner about where they will start the NCAA women’s basketball tournament that begins this week. All that sounds a lot like the fate of the Wichita State men, which was the most under-seeded team in the men’s tournament after similarly dominating the Valley.

It won’t be UConn.

UConn is the No.1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The championship game is scheduled for April 2.

The test of the rest for the selection committee will be about geography.

Let’s say they do get by Stanford – hypothetically speaking – they would face Notre Dame in the Elite Eight before meeting No. 1 SC in the Final Four, prior to an inevitable meeting with UConn in the championship.

ACC champion Notre Dame received the final No. 1 seed and will play in the Lexington Region, and will host Robert Morris in the first round.

In his final bracket projection, ESPN’s Charlie Charlie Creme had Missouri as a No. 6 seed in the Durham, N.C., pod of the Bridgeport regional. “But it’s hard to see, among other things, how Syracuse, a Final Four team a year ago, was four seeds worse than ACC mate Miami (a No. 4 seed in the Stockon Region)”, Vopel wrote. They play the early rounds at home in Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. “We just have to get ready and try to play the best we can in the NIT”.

Baylor received the top seed in the Oklahoma City region, arguably the tournament’s deepest region.

How will it play out Monday?

If seeds hold, UConn would face UCLA in the Sweet 16. “Obviously, they didn’t make us wait as long this year, but it’s still super exciting”. Last evening the ladies got the news they have been waiting for – they were awarded their second straight berth to the Big Dance under Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.

Temple seems ready to end its NCAA drought and return for the first time since 2011. Maryland; 3. Florida State; 4. Then comes either Duke or Maryland in the Elite Eight – and Notre Dame and SC are sitting on the other side of the bracket. The Irish have not lost since January 16 and have faced quality competition over the last four weeks (wins over Syracuse, Florida State, Louisville and Duke).

UConn potentially wouldn’t have to leave the state of CT until the Final Four in Dallas. The Irish will avoid UConn until the final but Stanford, Texas and Kentucky (in Lexington) will be tricky games.

This could be the most wide-open regional.

If there is one school unhappy with its regional placement it’s SC.

Guard Jordin Canada and forward Monique Billings are both standout juniors for the Bruins. This is indispensable journalism, brought to you by the largest, most experienced newsroom in the region. Then UConn took off, outscoring Baylor 16-2, and that was that. The Cardinals’ upset of the Bears in 2013 has to be among the top five in NCAA Tournament history. The Bobcats average 23 three-point attempts, which is four fewer than the Huskies who rank 10th in the nation in attempts behind the arc.