UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and USC claim top seeds in women's NCAA Tournament
When the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament begins Friday, the UCLA Bruins will be its top overall seed.
When the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament begins Friday, the UCLA Bruins will be its top overall seed.
It is the highest seed in the UCLA's history, but whether it can remain on top of the 68-team field will be determined over the next three weeks leading to the national semifinals on April 4 and the championship game on April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The top challengers for UCLA (30-2) include fellow No. 1 seeds South Carolina (30-3), Texas (31-3), and USC (28-3). Behind JuJu Watkins, the Big Ten Player of the Year and the nation's second-leading scorer at 24.6 points per game, the Trojans handed UCLA its only two losses. But UCLA earned revenge this week, beating its crosstown rival in the Big Ten tournament championship game by overcoming a 13-point deficit.
South Carolina’s streak of four consecutive tournaments as the top overall seed was snapped. Derita Dawkins, the chair of the tournament's selection committee, told ESPN on Sunday that UCLA's head-to-head win over South Carolina by 15 points on Nov. 24 was a factor in the Bruins' earning the top seed.
The other factor, Dawkins said, "was one of our criteria which was competitive in losses, and South Carolina suffered a 29-point loss to UConn."
Rating: 5