UConn has been No. 1 in the Associated Press poll all season long.
INDIANAPOLIS -- The first of three NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee top-16 reveals will take place this week at halftime of ESPN’s Thursday Showcase game featuring Tennessee at Notre Dame that tips at 7 p.m. ET on January 18.
In addition, two other top-16 reveals are scheduled this season to take place on Thursday, February 1 during halftime of the UConn-South Carolina game on ESPN (7 p.m. ET) and Monday, February 19, during ESPN2’s Big Monday/Play4Kay tripleheader that includes Florida State at Duke (6 p.m.), Baylor at Texas (8 p.m. ET) and UCLA at Oregon (10 p.m. ET).
Each reveal will include the top-16 in seed order in addition to the top four teams assigned to their potential regional site as of that date. For the final reveal on February 19, teams will be identified with potential regional assignments for all 16 teams.
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The three top-16 announcements will have no bearing on the final 64-team field for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship that will be announced during the Selection Special on Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
“The committee continues to support the early reveal of our top 16 seeds as a way to build conversation around women’s basketball and to raise awareness and momentum for the coming championship,” said Rhonda Lundin Bennett, chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at the University of Nevada.
The first- and second rounds of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will be played March 16-19 on the home courts of the top 16 seeds. Regional action will take place March 23-26, with Kansas City, Missouri (Sprint Center) and Lexington, Kentucky (Rupp Arena) hosting on March 23 and 25, while Albany, New York (Times Union Center) and Spokane, Washington (Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena) will host regional games on March 24 and 26. The 2018 Women’s Final Four will be held March 30 and April 1 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
