UNC, WVU make top 16, to host women’s tournament games

The top 16 seeds, which will host the opening round of the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament, were released in alphabetical order on Saturday, with two teams that were not in the last two projected top 16s by the selection committee making the final 16: North Carolina and West Virginia.

It’s a new move by the NCAA: The actual top 16 teams were announced as a teaser a day before the full 68-team bracket is released on Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show on ESPN (8 p.m. ET).

The 16 hosting teams are, in alphabetical order: Duke, Iowa, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, UCLA, UConn, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.

UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina — teams that made last season’s women’s Final Four — are essentially set to clinch the No. 1 seed. The Huskies are 34–0 and are the only undefeated team in Division I women’s hoops. They are looking for the program’s seventh perfect season and 13th national championship.

The NCAA released projected top-16 reveals on February 14 and March 1, and the Tar Heels and Mountaineers were not on either list. But after winning 12 of their last 13 in the regular season and making the ACC Tournament semifinals, North Carolina made it to the finals. West Virginia earned its spot in the Top 16 with a win over league regular season champion TCU in the Big 12 Tournament final.

This is a big moment for climbers. The last time they hosted an NCAA tournament game was in 1992.

Maryland was ranked 13th in both previous projected top 16 seedings but was eliminated in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament after losing to Oregon. The other team that was in the second seeding but was eliminated is Michigan State, which was seeded at No. 14 on March 1. But the Spartans lost to Ohio State later that day and then to Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

First Four games are March 18-19. First and second round games are March 20-23.

This year’s regionals are in Fort Worth, Texas and Sacramento, California. The women’s tournament changed to a two-region system in 2023, with two champions crowned at each site. Sweet 16 games are March 27-28 and Elite Eight games are March 29-30.

The women’s Final Four will be held at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, with the semifinal games on April 3 and the national championship game on April 5.

All women’s NCAA Tournament games are on ABC/ESPN Networks.