ASU Women’s Basketball earns March Madness bid, set for play-in game

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — For the first time since 2019, the Arizona State Women’s Basketball team will be a part of March Madness.

The Sun Devils are a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play the Virginia Cavaliers—also a 10 seed—in a First Four game.

That game will be Thursday, March 19, in Iowa City, Iowa, with the winner moving on to play seventh-seeded Georgia in a Round of 64 game on Saturday.

ASU had a historic start to its season, winning the first 15 games, before up-and-down play in conference, finishing 10th in the Big 12. UVA finished 9th in the ACC.

UConn was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday and enters March Madness needing six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in school history.

The Huskies (34-0) are looking for their 13th national title and becoming the first team to repeat as champions since the Huskies won four in a row from 2013-16. They are joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as the other No. 1 seeds.

UCLA (31-1) was just behind the Huskies as the second overall seed in the tournament. The Bruins have won 25 straight games in dominant fashion, with the lone loss this season coming against Texas on a neutral court. Other top teams in UCLA’s region are No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Minnesota.

The Longhorns (31-3) earned the third No. 1 seed after winning the SEC Tournament title. They beat South Carolina in two of the three meetings this season. Texas will play in Fort Worth Regional 3. Other top teams in Texas’ region are No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 West Virginia.

The Gamecocks (31-3) are the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento Regional 4 and have been a No. 1 seed for six consecutive seasons now. They will be joined by No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 TCU and No, 4 Oklahoma.

The College of Charleston won the Colonial Athletic Association to make the tournament field for the first time in school history. The Cougars are a 14-seed and are the lone first-time entry in the field. Last season, there were six newcomers.

Tournament sites

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight year. Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.

The Final Four will be played in Phoenix on April 3, and the championship game is two days later.

For the first time the NCAA revealed the 16 host schools a day early. It gave schools an extra day to sell tickets, broadcast partner ESPN a head start to move its equipment to the locations and the NCAA more time to get its marketing materials to sites.

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