The first top-16 rankings revealed by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee gave a glimpse into how teams would be seeded if the season ended now. South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford and UConn would be the No. 1 seeds.
There is one more committee rankings reveal on Feb. 23 before Selection Sunday on March 12. Until then, NCAA Digital’s Autumn Johnson predicted the full 68-team field based on the first top-16 rankings.
MORE: Breaking down the first top-16 rankings reveal
Autumn Johnson's NCAA tournament bracket prediction after top-16 reveal
| SEED | GREENVILLE – REGIONAL 1 | GREENVILLE – REGIONAL 2 | SEATTLE – REGIONAL 3 | SEATTLE – REGIONAL 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | Indiana | Stanford | UConn |
| 16 | Jackson State/Southern Utah | Albany | Morgan State | Long Beach State/SE Louisiana |
| 8 | Creighton | Ole Miss | Illinois | Oregon |
| 9 | Middle Tennessee | Kansas | Alabama | Arkansas |
| 5 | UCLA | Florida State | Oklahoma | Iowa State |
| 12 | Rhode Island | South Dakota State | Columbia | UNLV |
| 4 | Ohio State | Villanova | North Carolina | Virginia Tech |
| 13 | Montana State | Bowling Green | Boston University | Northern Iowa |
| 6 | Arizona | South Florida | Gonzaga | NC State |
| 11 | Mississippi State/Oklahoma State | Washington State/Nebraska | Georgia | Marquette |
| 3 | Maryland | Notre Dame | Texas | Michigan |
| 14 | Drexel | Green Bay | Troy | Eastern Illinois |
| 7 | Tennessee | Baylor | Louisville | Colorado |
| 10 | Miami (Fla.) | FGCU | USC | Purdue |
| 2 | Duke | Utah | Iowa | LSU |
| 15 | Iona | Gardener-Webb | Samford | Fairleigh Dickinson |
No. 1 seeds: South Carolina, Stanford, Indiana and UConn
South Carolina: The Gamecocks ranked No. 1 overall in the committee rankings and are Autumn Johnson’s preseason national championship pick. At 24-0 and 11-0 in the SEC, South Carolina has cultivated a path to repeat. Dawn Staley’s squad recently picked up an impressive non-conference win over top-5 ranked UConn in a title game rematch.
Indiana: The Hoosiers consistently rose the ranks this season. With only one blemish in an 83-78 upset loss to Michigan State, Indiana sits atop a conference above five ranked teams. The Hoosiers have seven ranked wins with a chance to possibly add three more to their resume before the regular season ends.
💯 UNBEATEN: The last two undefeated teams in DI college basketball
Stanford: The Cardinal recently fell in an upset to Washington, an unranked team. That stunner was the second conference defeat of Stanford’s season after falling to Southern California a few weeks prior. The Cardinal, however, still lead the conference with several top 25 teams. Like Indiana, Stanford could potentially add even more ranked wins to an already impressive pile.
UConn: The Huskies are currently on their first losing streak in 30 years after falling to South Carolina and then Marquette in an upset loss. Despite the recent downward trend, UConn (21-4, 13-1 Big East) has survived one of the toughest schedules in the country with a serious case of the injury bug. Star sophomore Azzi Fudd has missed 16 games after former Player of the Year Paige Bueckers went down for the entire season in August to just name a couple. The Huskies have five ranked wins, with four in the top-10.
Last four in
- Mississippi State
- Nebraska
- Washington State
- Oklahoma State
First four out
- Princeton
- Missouri
- St. John’s
- Oregon State
MARCH MADNESS: NCAA tournament full schedule dates, times
The automatic qualifiers
Teams receive automatic qualifiers when winning their respective conference tournaments. Here are Johnson's 32 AQ picks:
| CONFERENCE | AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER |
|---|---|
| America East | Albany |
| American Athletic | South Florida |
| Atlantic 10 | Rhode Island |
| ACC | Duke |
| ASUN | FGCU |
| Big 12 | Texas |
| Big East | UConn |
| Big Sky | Montana State |
| Big South | Gardener-Webb |
| Big Ten | Indiana |
| Big West | Long Beach State |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Drexel |
| Conference USA | Middle Tennessee |
| Horizon | Green Bay |
| Ivy | Columbia |
| MAAC | Iona |
| MAC | Bowling Green |
| MEAC | Morgan State |
| Missouri Valley | Northern Iowa |
| Mountain West | UNLV |
| Northeast | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| Ohio Valley | Eastern Illinois |
| Pac-12 | Stanford |
| Patriot | Boston University |
| SEC | South Carolina |
| Southern | Samford |
| Southland | SE Louisiana |
| SWAC | Jackson State |
| Summit League | South Dakota State |
| Sun Belt | Troy |
| West Coast | Gonzaga |
| Western Athletic Conference | Southern Utah |
