The NCAA will preview its women’s seeding for March Madness, the day before Selection Sunday. On Saturday, the association announced the top 16 seeds for the women’s tournament.
The NCAA lists the teams in alphabetical order, and the exact seedings remain a mystery until Sunday’s selection ceremony. But the news does reveal who will host the early games: In the women’s tournament, the top four seeds in each quadrant will host the first two rounds.
As far as the AP rankings go, there are no surprises on the list: 15 of the 16 teams are among the top 15 programs, according to the latest AP poll, which dropped Monday.
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The only exception is Minnesota, which ranked only 16th despite ranking 18th in the AP poll. The Golden Gophers defeated No. 16 Kentucky, which lost to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals; they were better in the Big Ten, beating No. 17 Maryland. The Terrapins were seeded lower than Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament and were ultimately defeated by Oregon in the second round.
In order of ranking, these teams are:
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4 South Carolina (31-3)
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12 West Virginia (27-6)
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15 North Carolina (26-7)
With some margins still tight after conference tournaments, it’s unclear whether seeding will follow the exact pattern of the AP rankings: A team’s seeding weight may vary based on conference championship or overall record. But one of the biggest questions will also be who enters the tournament as the top seed. UConn, the only undefeated team, has been ranked atop the AP poll all season, but UCLA has a decidedly tougher schedule coming off a losing season.
Now, those 16 teams will be the top seeds and early hosts, joining the 20 teams that automatically qualify for the conference title game. The remaining automatic bids will be distributed on Saturday, with the remaining conferences holding their championship finals.