Her Hoop Stats Bracketology: Selection Sunday
Three more tickets remain to be punched, but the field of 68 is almost set
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It’s finally here! The NCAA women’s tournament bracket will be revealed at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN this evening, signaling the start of March Madness. There are still tickets left to be punched today in the Patriot League, Missouri Valley Conference and Coastal Athletic Association, but the field is otherwise mostly set entering Selection Sunday. The NEC championship game is also being played today, but Sacred Heart claimed its spot in the tournament with a semifinal win because Le Moyne is ineligible.
Two of the No. 1 seeds (South Carolina and Stanford) stay the same as the last top-16 seed reveal from the selection committee on Feb. 29. However, conference tournament play shook up the other two spots on the top seed line. Iowa climbed to a No. 1 seed after defeating Ohio State in its regular season finale and going on to claim the Big Ten Tournament title. Southern California defeated both UCLA (in double overtime) and Stanford en route to a Pac-12 Tournament trophy to also ascend to a No. 1 seed.
Over the last week, we’ve also seen the bubble shrink after a stunning upset in the WCC final where Portland beat Gonzaga to take the automatic bid. The Zags are still an at-large team, sending Penn State to the wrong side of the bubble as the first team out.
Other potential two-bid conferences, such as the Ivy League, saw potential at-large teams also claim victory in the championship. That has left the bubble largely untouched in the last few days with Marquette, Mississippi State Vanderbilt and Arizona landing the last four spots in the bracket. Alongside Penn State, Texas A&M, Washington State and Columbia find themselves just outside of the field of 68.
The ACC’s depth continues to shine through in this year’s bracket with nine teams in, the most among all leagues. The SEC is second with eight teams in, with two of those sitting amongst the ‘Last Four In’. Six of the seven Pac-12 teams in the field sit on the top-five seed lines, with five among the top-16 overall seeds in the position to host the first two rounds.
Check out the latest full bracket here, which will be updated throughout the day for the final three conference championships claimed.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.