S.C., IU, Stanford, Utah projected top women’s seeds in final reveal

Two Pac-12 teams are now projected as No. 1 seeds by the NCAA women’s basketball committee, which released its second and final top 16 seeding reveal Thursday night.

The projections were made taking into account results through Wednesday’s games. Being in the top 16 is key in the NCAA women’s tournament, as it allows teams to host early-round games.

The top three seeds stayed the same from the previous reveal on Feb. 9: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Indiana, and No. 3 Stanford. Now joining that group are No. 4 Utah. The Cardinal won in double overtime at Colorado on Thursday to clinch at least a share of their 26th regular-season league championship.

The Utes moved up from No. 6 in the last reveal despite having lost at Arizona on Feb. 17. They beat California on Thursday and will host Stanford on Saturday. With a win, Utah can tie the Cardinal and clinch a share of its first Pac-12 title; the Utes joined the league in 2011 and are seeking their first women’s Final Four. Ohio State also moved up despite a loss since the last reveal, although that defeat was to Big Ten champion Indiana. Ohio State went from No. 16 in the first reveal to No. 12 in this one.

The Hoosiers and Buckeyes are among five Big Ten teams among the top 16, the most of any conference. The others are No. 6 Maryland, No. 9 Iowa, and No. 16 Michigan.

The ACC has three teams among the top 16: No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 11 Duke. The Pac-12 also has three, with No. 15 Arizona joining Stanford and Utah. Arizona is the only team in the second reveal that was not in the first, replacing North Carolina of the ACC. However, Arizona fell at Oregon on Thursday.

The SEC and Big East — No. 7 UConn, which dropped three spots from the first reveal, and No. 14 Villanova — both have two teams among the top 16. The SEC’s other team along with South Carolina is No. 5 LSU, which has just one loss but appears to be held out of the top four by the committee because of a weak nonconference schedule.

The Big 12 just has one team in the top 16 in No. 13 Texas. The Longhorns are tied atop the Big 12 at 12-3 with Oklahoma, which will host the Longhorns on Saturday. Oklahoma is 22-4 overall and has won six in a row yet still hasn’t cracked the top 16.

The NCAA women’s tournament selection show is March 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The women will have 68 teams, with the “First Four” games played March 15-16 at four of the top-16 host sites.

The first- and second-round games will be played March 17-20 at host sites. This is the first season for two regionals instead of four; they will be held in Greenville, South Carolina and in Seattle, with the semifinals on March 24-25, and the finals March 26-27.

The women’s Final Four will be at American Airlines Center in Dallas on March 31-April 2.