Dawn Staley and South Carolina are once again a No. 1 seed in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament — a familiar role for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina earned the the top overall seed in this year’s tournament field, which was announced Sunday night. The Gamecocks have been No. 1 in a region six times since 2014.
The women’s tournament itself also is getting back to a familiar setting.
For the first time since 2019, the tournament will feature games on campus sites with fans in the stands.
“I just think the semblance of normalcy, I hope brings back some good feelings and the excitement and the hoopla that is part of this event, which is what makes it so great, is the fans,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I think having them back is going to make all the difference in the world.”
Auriemma’s Huskies are a No. 2 seed in this year’s competitive field.
North Carolina State, Stanford and Louisville are the other No. 1 seeds.
Staley isn’t buying the argument that as the top seed her Gamecocks will have an easy road to winning their second national championship.
“They said that the No. 1 overall seed has an easier path to the Final Four. I don’t see that,” Staley said. “But I do believe we’re going to play our best basketball from here on out.”
Potentially awaiting Aliyah Boston and the Gamecocks in the regional final could be Caitlin Clark and No. 2 Iowa in a matchup of two top players in the sport.
While there will be much familiarity to the tournament, there also are some major changes — including expanding the field to 68 teams.
This year’s bracket grew to match the men’s field with the play-in games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Gamecocks, who top the Greensboro Region, will face the winner of Howard and Incarnate Word — one of the First Four games.
Expanding the field was one of the many changes to the women’s basketball tournament in the wake of inequities revealed at last season’s NCAAs.
North Carolina State is the top seed in the Bridgeport Region and could face UConn in the regional final. The Huskies finally are getting healthy with reigning Associated Press player of the year Paige Bueckers working her way back from a knee injury that sidelined her for two months.
“They have all the pieces, all of their players playing,’ said women’s basketball selection committee chair Nina King. “Relative to Bridgeport, we place the teams on the seed lines on an S-curve. When we place them in the regionals we try and stay true to the S-curve. … It’s how it fell this year and that’s why Connecticut is in Bridgeport.”
Defending champion Stanford headlines the Spokane Region. The Cardinal cruised through the Pac-12 and will try to win a second straight national title. Texas, which won the Big 12 earlier on Sunday, handed the Cardinal one of its three losses this season.
