INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee announced that it will reveal the top-10 teams in seed order three times during the month of February, 2016.
The rankings will be announced as part of Big Monday college basketball telecasts on ESPN2 on Feb. 1, 15 and 29. On Feb. 1, the Big Monday games include Notre Dame at Duke at 7 p.m. ET and Arizona St. at Oregon St. at 11 p.m. ET. Feb. 15 schedule will feature South Carolina at Tennessee at 7 p.m. and USF at Louisville at 9 p.m. ET. The Feb. 29 announcement will be made during ESPN2’s airing of the USF at UConn game that tips at 7 p.m. ET. Exact timing of the exclusive top 10 reveal is still being determined.
The three February announcements will have no bearing on the final bracket that will be revealed on Selection Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“The committee continues to look for new ways to increase interest in the championship and believes that the early reveal of the top 10 seeds next February will generate excitement in the basketball community,” said Chris Dawson, chair of the Division I Women’s Championship
Sport Committee and associate commissioner at the Pac-12 Conference. “The early reveal will also provide a sneak peak for the teams vying for top seed positions in the 2016 championship.”
The first- and second rounds of the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will be played March 18-21 on the home courts of the top 16 seeds. Regional action will take place March 25-28, with Lexington, Ky. (Rupp Arena) and Sioux Falls, S.D. (Denny Sanford Premier Center) hosting on March 25 and 27, while Bridgeport, Conn. (Webster Bank Arena) and Dallas, Texas (American Airlines Center) will host regional games on March 26 and 28. The 2016 Women’s Final Four will be held April 3 and 5 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
