Tuesday, March 18, 2014

NCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Tournament: Hampton and Prairie View Destinations Set

SWAC Champions #16 seeded Prairie View faces #1 Connecticut in Storrs; MEAC Champions #12 seeded Hampton plays #5 seeded Michigan State in Chapel Hill

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  -- Historical milestones weave the way through the 64-team field of competitors for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, as announced on Monday by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.

Highlighting the selections are five programs that are making their first appearance, while two others are celebrating being selected more than 30 times in the 33-year history of the championship.

Earning No. 1 seeds are Connecticut (34-0), Notre Dame (32-0), Tennessee (27-5) and South Carolina (27-4). Tennessee was the Southeastern Conference (SEC) tournament champion, while South Carolina was an at-large selection from the SEC after winning the conference regular-season championship. UConn and Notre Dame each concluded the regular season with unblemished records en route to winning conference regular season and tournament titles in the American Athletic and Atlantic Coast Conferences, respectively. The perfect records mark only the second time in the history of Division I women’s basketball that two teams enter the tournament undefeated. The only other time was in 1998 when both Tennessee and Liberty were undefeated entering tournament play. Tennessee went on to win the national championship with a 39-0 record, while Liberty was eliminated in the first round.

Thirty-two conferences were granted automatic bids for the championship and the remaining 32 teams were selected at-large.

First- and second-round games will be played at 16 sites Saturday, March 22 through Tuesday, March 25, with the 16 second-round winners moving on to the four regional sites. The Lincoln Regional (Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.) and the Notre Dame Regional (Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Ind.) will be played on Saturday, March 29 and Monday, March 31, while the Louisville Regional (KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.) and the Stanford Regional (Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.) will be held Sunday, March 30 and Tuesday, April 1. The four regional winners will advance to the 2014 NCAA Women’s Final Four, April 6 and 8 in Nashville, Tenn. at Bridgestone Arena.

Tennessee continues its appearance streak, participating in all 33 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championships. Second on the all-time appearance list is Georgia, making its 31st overall appearance. Akron, North Dakota, South Dakota, Winthrop and Wright State are all making their first NCAA tournament appearance.

In the history of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, 14 schools have captured the national title. Tennessee and UConn lead the way with eight championships apiece. UConn is the defending national champion after claiming the 2013 title in New Orleans with a 93-60 win against Louisville in the title game, matching Tennessee for the most national championships won by a single school. If it is able to score six more wins in the 2014 championship, UConn would equal Baylor’s record for most wins in a season, with Baylor going 40-0 in 2012.

Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
                                  
Automatic Qualifiers
CONFERENCESCHOOLRECORDAPPS.WONLOSTLAST APP.
America EastAlbany28-42022013
American AthleticConnecticut34-02591172013
Atlantic CoastNotre Dame32-02041192013
Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast26-71012012
Atlantic 10Fordham25-71011994
Big EastDePaul27-61810182013
Big SkyNorth Dakota22-9FIRST APPEARANCE
Big SouthWinthrop24-8FIRST APPEARANCE
Big TenNebraska25-6117112013
Big 12Baylor29-41230102013
Big WestCal State Northridge18-141011999
ColonialJames Madison28-59792011
Conference USAMiddle Tennessee29-4165162013
HorizonWright State26-8FIRST APPEARANCE
IvyPennsylvania22-62022004
Metro AtlanticMarist27-69592013
Mid-AmericanAkron23-9FIRST APPEARANCE
Mid-EasternHampton28-47072013
Missouri ValleyWichita State26-61012013
Mountain WestFresno State22-106062013
NortheastRobert Morris21-112022008
Ohio ValleyTennessee-Martin24-73032013
Pac-12Southern California22-121529132006
PatriotArmy25-71012006
SoutheasternTennessee27-532115242013
SouthernChattanooga29-3111112013
SouthlandNorthwestern State21-122022004
SouthwesternPrairie View A&M14-175052013
SummitSouth Dakota19-13FIRST APPEARANCE
Sun BeltWestern Kentucky24-81617162008
West CoastGonzaga29-46862013
Western AthleticIdaho25-82022013

At-Large Bids
 
SCHOOLCONFERENCERECORDAPP.WONLOSTLAST APP.
Arizona StatePac-1222-91113112011
BYUWest Coast26-69392012
CaliforniaPac-1221-99992013
DaytonAtlantic 1023-74242013
DukeAtlantic Coast27-62052202013
FloridaSoutheastern19-121311132012
Florida StateAtlantic Coast20-111213122013
GeorgiaSoutheastern20-113055302013
Georgia TechAtlantic Coast20-118582012
IowaBig Ten26-82218222013
Iowa StateBig 1220-101417142013
KentuckySoutheastern24-81015102013
LSUSoutheastern19-122241222013
LouisvilleAmerican Athletic30-41619162013
MarylandAtlantic Coast24-62133202013
Michigan StateBig Ten22-91316132013
North CarolinaAtlantic Coast24-92442232013
NC StateAtlantic Coast25-72119212010
OklahomaBig 1218-141630162013
Oklahoma StateBig 1223-8118112013
Oregon StatePac-1223-105251996
Penn StateBig Ten22-72430242013
PurdueBig Ten21-82345222013
St. John’s (N.Y.)Big East22-108682013
Saint Joseph’sAtlantic 1022-9126122013
South CarolinaSoutheastern27-41011102013
StanfordPac-1229-32771252013
SyracuseAtlantic Coast22-95052013
TexasBig 1221-112632252012
Texas A&MSoutheastern24-8101892013
VanderbiltSoutheastern18-122639262013
West VirginiaBig 1229-49792013

NCAA RELEASE

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