For the first time, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament field expands to 68 teams, matching the men’s tournament as the NCAA begins a long overdue to bridge some of the gap between the two tournaments in terms of equity. With the expanded field, there were 36 at-large bids to be handed out on Sunday night, as the women’s field moved from Selection Monday to Selection Sunday for the first time.
Like on the men’s side, this year’s tournament feels as open as ever, with the top teams all proving to be beatable this season and plenty of teams believing they could be the ones to make a deep run come tournament time. The four No. 1 seeds this year are South Carolina, NC State, Stanford, and Louisville, with some extremely enticing potential Elite Eight matchups like South Carolina-Iowa and NC State-UConn.
Here’s the complete bracket (printable version here), with the full TV schedule, tip times, and announce teams still to come.
First 4
16. Howard vs. 16. Incarnate Word
11. Dayton vs. 11. DePaul
16. Longwood vs. 16. Mount St. Mary’s
11. Missouri State vs. 11. Florida State
Greensboro Region
1. South Carolina vs. 16. Howard or Incarnate Word
8. Miami (FL) vs. 9. South Florida
5. UNC vs. 12. Stephen F. Austin
4. Arizona vs. 13. UNLV
6. Georgia vs. 11. Dayton or DePaul
3. Iowa State vs. 14. UT Arlington
7. Colorado vs. 10. Creighton
2. Iowa vs. 15. Illinois State
Bridgeport Region
1. NC State vs. 16. Longwood or Mount St. Mary’s
8. Washington State vs. 9. Kansas State
5. Notre Dame vs. 12. UMass
4. Oklahoma vs. 13. IUPUI
6. Kentucky vs. 11. Princeton
3. Indiana vs. 14. Charlotte
7. UCF vs. 10. Florida
2. UConn vs. 15. Mercer
Spokane Region
1. Stanford vs. 16. Montana State
8. Kansas vs. 9. Georgia Tech
5. Virginia Tech vs. 12. FGCU
4. Maryland vs. 13. Delaware
6. Ohio State vs. 11. Missouri State or Florida State
3. LSU vs. 14. Jackson State
7. Utah vs. 10. Arkansas
2. Texas vs. 15. Fairfield
Wichita Region
1. Louisville vs. 16. Albany
8. Nebraska vs. 9. Gonzaga
5. Oregon vs. 12. Belmont
4. Tennessee vs. 13. Buffalo
6. BYU vs. 11. Villanova
3. Michigan vs. 14. American
7. Ole Miss vs. 10. South Dakota
2. Baylor vs. 15. Hawai’i
