UConn was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday as they enter March Madness targeting back-to-back titles.
As expected, the Huskies were joined as a No. 1 seed by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina.
The Huskies, undefeated so far this season, are looking for their 13th national title and to become the first team to repeat as champions since they won four in a row from 2013-16.
UConn is just six more victories away from completing the seventh undefeated season in school history.
They will open their hunt for the national title at home against 16th-seeded Texas-San Antonio and will play in the Fort Worth Regional.
If seeds hold, the Huskies could face No. 2 Vanderbilt, which is coached by former UConn great Shea Ralph.
UConn was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday
The Huskies, undefeated so far this season, are looking for their 13th national title
UCLA (pictured, Gianna Kneepkens), Texas and South Carolina joined UConn as No. 1 seeds
UCLA (31-1) was just behind the Huskies as the second overall seed in the tournament. The Bruins have won 25 straight games in dominant fashion with the lone loss this season coming against Texas on a neutral court.
UCLA reached the Final Four last year before losing to UConn. Cori Close’s team ran through the Big Ten and has an experienced group led by center Lauren Betts looking to win the school’s first NCAA championship.
The Bruins will try to win the first women’s national championship for the Big Ten Conference since 1999.
Other top teams in UCLA’s region are No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Minnesota.
For the second consecutive year, teams in the women’s tournament will be financially compensated, in a similar fashion to the men’s field, for each round they play.
‘Units’ are what the NCAA calls its tally of wins, automatic qualifiers and at-large bids that determine how much conferences are paid. A unit is money paid to conferences when one of its teams appears in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the NCAA is giving teams that reach the championship game and the one that wins the title extra units. That extra compensation was added to the overall pool and doesn’t decrease the overall value of the units.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight year. Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.
The Final Four will be played in Phoenix on April 3 and the championship game is two days later.
