Women’s basketball is in the same boat as men’s basketball with conference tournaments about to tip-off in the coming days. Teams are jockeying to get themselves better seeds, but some teams are in better shape than others. According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Louisville is not a team that has to worry much about its spot in the bracket.
The Cardinals are projected to be the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, headlining the Chicago Region. Louisville’s placement ahead of conference rival Notre Dame is interesting as the Fighting Irish beat the Cardinals in their only regular season matchup. Notre Dame’s fixture as the No. 3 overall seed sends the Fighting Irish to play in the Portland Region, instead of playing close to home in Chicago.
Baylor is the projected top overall seed with a record of 28-1.
The Lady Bears have won 20 consecutive games, including a 68-57 win over UConn. The Huskies round out the top seed line as they are the fourth overall team in the projected women’s field. UConn’s 78-69 loss to Louisville looks to be the main deciding factor on how the number one seeds are being structured.
Notre Dame lost by 18 points to UConn at home and lost to a middling North Carolina team in Chapel Hill, but are seeded ahead of the Huskies. The Fighting Irish beat Louisville 82-8 in their only matchup of the season, but Louisville got the favored Chicago Region and number two overall seed. The strength of the ACC also benefited both teams as five teams were seeded among the top 16 teams in the bracket reveal.
UConn has won every conference game this season by at least 10 points with nine wins of over 30 points. The overall lack of competition in the American hurts the Huskies as UCF is the only other team in the conference projected to make the tournament.
The Women’s bracket will be released on March 18, meaning there is a lot of time for the committee to sort out which teams are the best.
2019 Women’s NCAA Tournament Early Top 16 Seeds
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- Baylor (No. 1 seed — Greensboro Region)
- Louisville (No. 1 seed — Chicago Region)
- Notre Dame (No. 1 seed — Portland Region)
- UConn (No. 1 seed — Albany Region)
- Oregon
- Mississippi State
- Stanford
- Iowa
- NC State
- Maryland
- Oregon State
- South Carolina
- Miami (FL)
- Iowa State
- Syracuse
- Texas A&M
