Top of the field: South Carolina projected as No. 1 overall seed in first NCAA reveal
South Carolina is the projected No. 1 team in the upcoming NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the selection committee announced Thursday night on ESPN.
The first reveal of the top 16 teams came during halftime of the Stanford vs. Arizona women’s basketball game. As a top 16 seed, South Carolina would be the host school for first- and second-round games.
The tournament’s Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds will be played in two locations this season — Greenville and Seattle — before the Final Four takes place in Dallas.
USC, Indiana, Stanford and UConn make up the top four seeds (in order) in the field, followed by LSU, Utah, Iowa and Duke. South Carolina is one of the two No. 1 seeds in the Greenville region, with Indiana being the other.
South Carolina’s quadrant of the bracket includes 2-seed Duke, 3-seed Maryland and 4-seed Ohio State. The top seeds in the four regionals, which were set before Thursday’s games were played, were revealed as:
- Greenville Regional 1: South Carolina (1), Duke (2), Maryland (3), Ohio State (4)
- Greenville Regional 2: Indiana (1), Utah (2), Notre Dame (3), Villanova (4)
- Seattle Regional 1: UConn (1), LSU (2), Michigan (3), Virginia Tech (4)
- Seattle Regional 2: Stanford (1), Iowa (2), Texas (3), North Carolina (4)
South Carolina, ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, improved to 24-0 (11-0 SEC) after Thursday night’s win over Auburn.
The next reveal date for the top 16 teams is on Feb. 23 at halftime of the broadcast when the Gamecocks play Tennessee in Knoxville.
Selection Sunday, which officially reveals the NCAA tournament entire field, is on March 12 at 8 p.m on ESPN.
The First Four games take place March 15 and 16. The first and second rounds span from March 17-20. Regional round games run from March 24-27, and the Final Four and national championship games will happen March 31 and April 2, respectively.
South Carolina has won two national championships since 2017, with three Final Four appearances and four Elite Eight appearances in that span.
NCAA women’s tournament projected top 16 seeds
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Indiana
- 3. Stanford
- 4. UConn
- 5. LSU
- 6. Utah
- 7. Iowa
- 8. Duke
- 9. Maryland
- 10. Notre Dame
- 11. Michigan
- 12. Texas
- 13. Virginia Tech
- 14. North Carolina
- 15. Villanova
- 16. Ohio State
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 10:25 PM.
