LSU women’s basketball team, led by coach Kim Mulkey, is eyeing a No. 1 seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament. The team has had a spectacular season with a record of 26-1, including a No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. However, the Tigers are not sure whether they will make it to the top line due to their weak non-conference strength of schedule, ranked near No. 300 nationally.

Mulkey has acknowledged that the selection committee will consider non-conference strength of schedule while deciding on the top seeds for the tournament. She stated that even if they had beaten No. 1 South Carolina, it would not have guaranteed a jump to the 1-line due to their weak schedule.

The team’s chances for a No. 1 seed depend on the performance of other teams in the running, including Stanford, Utah, UConn, Maryland, and Iowa. The latest projections by ESPN’s Charlie Creme had LSU on the 1-line, while the selection committee favored Utah for the final No. 1 seed.

LSU is currently holding steady as a No. 2 seed in ESPN’s bracket, while CBS Sports has projected them as a No. 2 seed along with Utah. The Tigers need to avoid losses to teams they should beat to keep their chances alive.

As the regular season nears its end, the Tigers will be keeping an eye on other teams’ performances during conference tournaments. With the regular season finale against Mississippi State, LSU has an opportunity to solidify their position and possibly make a push for the No. 1 seed.

In the opening round of the tournament, the Tigers would potentially face Fairleigh Dickinson or Southern Utah, with a matchup against No. 7 Oklahoma State or No. 10 Columbia in Baton Rouge.

The post LSU Women’s Basketball’s NCAA Tournament 1-Seed Race: Latest Updates appeared first on womenssportsnow.com.

The women’s NCAA tournament will undergo significant change for the second consecutive season. The field expanded to 68 teams last year. This season, the customary four regional sites have been reduced to two: Seattle and Greenville, South Carolina. The top 16 teams will continue to host the first and second rounds, and the First Four games will again be played at the site of the first-round games to which they feed. Defending champion South Carolina is the heavy favorite, and the Gamecocks seek to become the first repeat champions since UConn in 2015-16. The Final Four is March 31 and April 2 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

More:https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/30423107/ncaa-women-bracketology-2023-women-college-basketball-projections

The post WOMEN’S BRACKETOLOGY: 2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT appeared first on womenssportsnow.com.

The Big Ten Conference is leading the way in women’s college basketball with five of its teams securing top 16 seeds in the NCAA seeding reveal. The Indiana Hoosiers, who are 23-1 and the projected No. 2 overall seed, headline the Big Ten representation, which also includes the No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes, No. 9 Maryland Terrapins, No. 11 Michigan Wolverines, and No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes.

In Thursday’s reveal, which takes into account results through Wednesday, the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks have named the No. 1 seed with an undefeated record of 24-0. Meanwhile, the ACC also boasts four teams in the top 16, including the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils, who lead the conference with a 21-3 record and an 11-2 record in the ACC. The Big East, SEC, and Pac-12 each have two teams in the top 16, while the Big 12 has only one representative, the Texas Longhorns.

The No. 4 overall seed is the UConn Huskies, while the Stanford Cardinal are No. 3. The NCAA women’s tournament selection show is on March 12, and the women’s Final Four will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas from March 31 to April 2.

The top 16 seeds in order are South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford, UConn, LSU, Utah, Iowa, Duke, Maryland, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Villanova, and Ohio State. The regional assignments will be divided between Greenville and Seattle, with the first and second-round games to be played from March 17-20 at host sites, and the semifinals taking place on March 24-25.

With five teams among the top 16, the Big Ten Conference is demonstrating its dominance in women’s basketball, and Indiana’s 11-game winning streak, including 7 victories against ranked foes, is a testament to the conference’s strength. The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is shaping up to be an exciting showcase of the best teams and players in the country, and fans can look forward to an intense battle for the championship title.

The post Big Ten Dominates the NCAA Women’s Top-16 Seeds appeared first on womenssportsnow.com.

Read more…

The post NCAAW roundup: Dyaisha Fair of Syracuse Orange hits 2,500 points appeared first on womenssportsnow.com.