There are many ways in which women’s college basketball is different than the men’s game. When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, there is one especially glaring difference.
While the men play their entire tournament at neutral sites, the top 16 seeds in the women’s field get to host games on the first weekend. Which means, if you have a really good season, you’ll get to play your first two tournament games on your home court, making a top 16 seed incredibly valuable and something that teams strive for.
This month, the selection committee for the women’s NCAA Tournament unveils their top 16 seeds twice, giving a fans a glimpse into what they’re thinking, what they value, and where teams would be seeded if the season ended at that moment.
We got our first top 16 reveal on Thursday night before Caitlin Clark continued her pursuit of the all-time scoring record. Here’s the seed list:
- South Carolina
- Stanford
- Ohio State
- Colorado
- Iowa
- N.C. State
- UCLA
- Texas
- USC
- Virginia Tech
- Oregon State
- UConn
- Kansas State
- LSU
- Indiana
- Louisville
If the tournament started today, these would be the top 16 teams in the bracket!#NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/jPC1c0rwKB
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 15, 2024
With that, let’s take a look at some winners and losers from the reveal.
Winners: The Pac-12
It’s the last season of the Pac-12 as we know it and the conference is absolutely going out with a bang. It has stars like JuJu Watkins and Alissa Pili, stacked teams like Stanford and UCLA, and squads you can’t overlook like Oregon State. Before this league splinters apart, its playing some of its best basketball.
The committee is currently forecasting that the Pac-12 will have five teams hosting first weekend games, the most of any conference. Stanford and Colorado are projected to earn No. 1 seeds, UCLA is a 2-seed, and USC and Oregon State are 3-seeds. While some might argue that the ACC is the deepest conference, the Pac-12 is heavy at the top.
Stanford is the highest seeded Pac-12 team and for good reason. The Cardinal are No. 2 overall in NET and are 7-3 against teams in the top 25 of the NET – which is the most wins any team in the country has against the NET top 25.
If you’re wondering why Colorado is the team that joined Stanford on the 1-line, it’s because the Buffs don’t have any bad losses. They’ve fallen to N.C. State, UCLA and Oregon State, all teams in the top 25 of the NET. The teams right behind the Buffs in the seeding order – Iowa and N.C. State – have losses outside of the top 25, to Nebraska and Miami, respectively.
4-6 should be Iowa, NC State, Colorado otherwise I agree with this https://t.co/8eeFgAvJ7s
— Christian Jackson (@cjack67) February 15, 2024
Losers: Gonzaga
Projections released Thursday morning by The Athletic and HerHoopStats had the Zags hosting first-round games. The Bulldogs’ resume is impressive. They are 24-2 and on an 18-game win streak, they own wins over Stanford, South Dakota State and Arizona, and their only losses came on the road in overtime at Washington State, and on a neutral court to Louisville. Gonzaga is 9-0 against teams ranked 51 to 100 in the NET – which is the best mark of that sort in the country – and they’re 3-2 against teams in the top 50 of the NET.
Simply put, Gonzaga deserves to host. Again – this team beat Stanford! By double digits!
The Bulldogs are 11th in NET, ninth in HerHoopsStats rating and have been ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for the majority of the season.
That Gonzaga wasn’t in the top 16 of this reveal feels like a slight towards mid-majors.
Some folks will say the Bulldogs need to schedule tougher, but they played against five Power 5 opponents in the non-conference slate and beat three of them. What more can the Zags do?
Zags are currently riding a 18 game winning streak, 24-2 overall, ranked No. 11 in the net, are 4-2 in Quad 1 and 6-0 in Quad 2, and beat one of the No. 1 seeds on there (Stanford) by 20 points.
But sure, they aren't one of the top 16 teams in the country https://t.co/I2uXYZ6Csl
— Another Gonzaga Blog (@AnotherZagsBlog) February 15, 2024
Winners: South Carolina
The Gamecocks seem to have the No. 1 overall seed on lock. Here’s what Lisa Peterson, the chair of the committee, said during the reveal show on ESPN: “The gap between one and two is very big. The gap between two through five is very small.”
In short: South Carolina, right now, looks to be head and shoulders above the rest of the field. And indeed, Dawn Staley’s team is the lone undefeated team left in the country.
The Gamecocks have played just three games this year where they haven’t won by double-digits: Utah, North Carolina and LSU – each of which was either on the road or on a neutral court.
Even if South Carolina loses a game or two between now and March 17, it’s hard to argue against the Gamecocks being the top seed.
Losers: Folks mad about lower seeds getting homecourt advantage
Women’s basketball fans, I have something to tell you:
There is not a scenario in which the committee will send UConn to one of the two Portland regionals. The Huskies could be seeded second, fourth or sixth. It doesn’t matter. They are going to Albany.
Any year that there is a regional based in the northeastern U.S., that is where the Huskies will go. Just ask N.C. State, a No. 1 seed in 2022 that had to face No. 2 UConn in Bridgeport in the Elite Eight.
This year, that is going to be true for a few reasons. One, UConn has an incredibly passionate, large and loyal fanbase, and Albany is about two hours and 15 minutes from UConn’s campus. The city of Albany and the NCAA are counting on UConn fans to buy tickets, to pack the stands, to stay in hotels, to spend money at restaurants. Secondly, with South Carolina being the No. 1 overall seed in the Albany 1 region, do you really think the committee is going to pass up the opportunity to have the Huskies and Gamecocks meet in the Elite Eight for a rematch? Those TV ratings will break records, and after all, the NCAA Tournament is a television show.
As for the folks complaining about Oregon State getting to play in Portland, committee chair Lisa Peterson said as long as a team hasn’t played more than three regular season games at a regional site, they can be sent there.
Also: take it easy on the Beavers. They’re getting left behind in the splintering Pac-12. They deserve a break.
IDC IDC IDC…UConn should not be in the Albany regional. Oregon St should not be in Portland. Idc what number they are in seeding, but a 3 seed should not have any type of homecourt advantage in the S16 and possibly the E8. pic.twitter.com/76jdXn7YLt
— Somewhere between COZY and ALIEN SUPERSTAR! (@yanab0015) February 15, 2024
