Selection Sunday is so close we can taste it, but there’s still a lot of basketball to be played this week and next, as teams finish the regular season and head into their conference tournaments. Many have already locked up top 4 seeds — which means they’ll host the first two rounds of the women’s tournament — but the order looks dramatically different than it did just a couple weeks ago.
On Thursday, the women’s NCAA selection committee will hold its second top-16 seed reveal on ESPN2 (6:30 p.m. ET). It’s a glimpse at how the selection committee is thinking about the top teams and, if the tournament started tomorrow, a preview of what the bracket would look like.
Remember, in women’s basketball, there are no quads, so if you hear anyone talking about “quad wins,” you can dismiss that person’s take. The women’s committee works off categories, and the all-important NET rankings play a major role in seeding the tournament.
The committee had its first top-16 seed reveal two weeks ago, on Feb. 15. South Carolina, undefeated and top-ranked, is locked in at the No. 1 overall seed. But there’s been movement below the Gamecocks. Here’s our prediction of how the selection committee’s reveal will go.
Top 16 seed predictions
1. South Carolina
2. Ohio State
3. Stanford
4. Texas
5. Southern Cal
6. Virginia Tech
7. Iowa
8. UCLA
9. NC State
10. UConn
11. Oregon State
12. LSU
13. Colorado
14. Gonzaga
15. Oklahoma
16. Indiana
Regional pairing predictions
Albany 1
1. South Carolina
2. UCLA
3. UConn
4. Indiana
Portland 1
1. Stanford
2. Iowa
3. NC State
4. Gonzaga
Albany 2
1. Ohio State
2. Southern Cal
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
Portland 2
1. Texas
2. Virginia Tech
3. Oregon State
4. Colorado
On the bubble
As usual, a handful of teams are fighting for their lives at the end of the regular season, desperately trying to play their way into the NCAA tournament. Here are five teams on the bubble whose postseason future could change dramatically over the next week.
Arizona: The Wildcats picked up one of the best wins of the season by beating Stanford in Maples Center last week, but an 8-8 conference record is tough to swallow. Sweeping No. 8 UCLA and No. 9 USC this weekend in Tucson would put Arizona in great position to make the tournament.
Vanderbilt: A NET ranking of 58 is not the way to the committee’s heart. The Commodores probably need to pull an upset (or two) in the SEC tournament to play their way in.
Maryland: The Terps have been playing well as of late, but were dealt a significant blow last week when guard Lavender Briggs went down with a season-ending knee injury. Can they rally and give No. 12 Indiana a game this weekend, or are they emotionally depleted?
Princeton: The Tigers had a clear path to the tournament as the automatic qualifier out of the Ivy League, but dropping a game to unranked Columbia last week has put them on shaky ground now.
Kansas: Winning two games in a row, including over No. 14 Kansas State, is turning heads. But a win over No. 22 Oklahoma, which just locked up the regular season Big 12 title, would help even more. One more win over a ranked team and KU is probably in.
Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell
