If the season ended today, South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford, and Utah would be the No. 1 seeds according to the latest NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee top-16 early reveal announced on Thursday evening.
LSU, Maryland, UConn and Virginia Tech were identified as the No. 2 seeds. The nine through 16 seeds featured Iowa, Notre Dame, Duke and Ohio State on the three line, while Texas, Villanova, Arizona and Michigan were tabbed as No. 4 seeds.
The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship regional rounds in 2023 will be utilizing a two-site format, with eight competing teams playing at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, and eight teams at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
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The committee provided region assignments for all 16 seeds, with Greenville Regional 1 including South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Iowa and Michigan. Greenville Regional 2 included Indiana, UConn, Notre Dame and Arizona. Seattle Regional 3 included Stanford, Maryland, Duke and Villanova, while Seattle Regional 4 included Utah, LSU, Ohio State and Texas. The number listed next to the regional site location (e.g. Seattle Regional 4) reflects the true seed number of the number one seed within that respective regional pod.
“Being only 18 days away from Selection Sunday, it’s going to be fun to watch how teams close out the regular season and their respective conference tournaments” said Lisa Peterson, senior associate commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference and chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. “We are anticipating a lot of great games down the home stretch of the season, which will hopefully provide additional clarity for the committee.”
The defending national champion, South Carolina, 27-0 overall and 14-0 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play, was the No. 1 overall seed in both top-16 reveals this season. The undefeated Gamecocks are currently the No. 1 team in the latest Associated Press women’s college basketball top 25 poll.
Indiana, 26-1 overall and 16-1 in Big Ten Conference play, was the No. 2 overall seed. The Hoosiers are riding a 14-game winning streak going into the Big Ten regular season finale at No. 9 seed Iowa on Feb. 26.
Stanford, 26-3 overall and 14-2 in Pac-12 Conference play, was the No. 3 overall seed. Winners of nine of the last 10 games, the Cardinal came up short against South Carolina, 76-71 in overtime, in a game played Nov. 20 at Stanford.
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Utah, 23-3 overall and 12-3 in the Pac-12, moved up to the No. 4 overall seed in the second top-16 reveal after being the No. 6 seed in the first reveal on Feb. 9. The Utes are 8-2 over the last 10 games.
The top-16 teams announced during both reveals this season have no bearing on the final 68-team field for the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship that will be announced during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The First Four opening-round games of the 2023 championship will take place March 15-16 and will again be conducted on the campuses of four of the teams seeded in the top 16. First- and second-round games will take place March 17-20 on the campuses of the top-16 seeds. Regional play in Greenville and Seattle will take place March 24-27, with each site hosting two regional semifinal games March 24 and two March 25. In addition, each site will host a regional championship game March 26 and on March 27. The 2023 Women’s Final Four will be played March 31 and April 2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee – February 23 – Top 16 Ranking*
- South Carolina
- Indiana
- Stanford
- Utah
- LSU
- Maryland
- UConn
- Virginia Tech
- Iowa
- Notre Dame
- Duke
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Villanova
- Arizona
- Michigan
Regional ASSIGNMENTS
Greenville Regional 1:
Greenville Regional 2:
Seattle Regional 3:
Seattle Regional 4:
*Rankings and regional assignments based on games played through Wednesday, February 22.
