UTAH UTES

Utah Utes Projected As No. 1 Seed In Women’s NCAA Tournament

Feb 23, 2023, 6:23 PM | Updated: Feb 24, 2023, 10:13 am

APUtah would join South Carolina, Indiana and Stanford as No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament if it began now.

The NCAA women’s basketball selection committee did its second and final reveal Thursday of the teams in line for the top 16 seeds before selection Sunday. South Carolina, Indiana and Stanford were also listed as top seeds in the earlier reveal.

“That was the easiest part of the day. I am really looking forward to seeing those teams play towards the end of the season,” selection committee chair Lisa Peterson said in a phone interview. “Indiana and Iowa, Stanford and Utah play this weekend.”

None of Thursday night’s games were factored in, including No. 3 Stanford’s double-overtime win over No. 21 Colorado. This is the final weekend of the regular season for most major conferences.

The Utes — ranked eighth in the AP Top 25 — moved up to the one-line, replacing UConn, which was beaten by St. John’s on Tuesday night. Utah faces Stanford on Saturday to close out its regular season. The Huskies fell to a No. 2 seed, seventh overall.

Peterson said the biggest debate was about who the fourth No. 1 should be — Utah or LSU.

“That was probably the biggest topic of conversation,” she said. “You have more information when you’re looking at these teams. One thing that stuck out was the number of top 25 and 50 wins when you compare LSU to Utah. It was a difficult choice for sure. One thing we couldn’t get past was (LSU’s) strength of the schedule.”

The top 16 seeds will host first- and second-round games with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the first time instead of the traditional four. Seattle will host half of the Sweet 16 and Greenville, South Carolina, will host the other eight teams.

South Carolina and Indiana were projected as the top seeds in the Greenville Regional with Stanford and Utah in Seattle. The unbeaten Gamecocks were the overall No. 1 seed.

RELATED: Utah Women’s Basketball Tough Out Win Against ASU Without Alissa Pili

Joining the Gamecocks in their projected bracket were No. 2 Virginia Tech, No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Michigan. The Hoosiers would have No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Arizona.

The other top teams in Stanford’s region were No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Villanova. Utah would be joined by LSU, Ohio State and Texas.

Arizona was the only team not included in the original reveal that entered the second one. The Wildcats replaced North Carolina.

Teams just outside the top 16 included the Tar Heels, Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma and UCLA.

The Big Ten had five teams in the top 16 while the Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 each had three. The Southeastern Conference and Big East had two and the Big 12 had one.

The Final Four will be played in Dallas on March 31 and the NCAA championship game is two days later. Dallas is also hosting the Division II and III championship games on April 1.

Selection Sunday is March 12.

The NCAA has been doing in-season reveals for women’s basketball since 2015 to give teams an early idea of where they could end up in the bracket.

  • Utah Utes Scoreboard

  • Utah Utes Team Leaders

  • Utah Utes Standings

Utah Utes

Alissa-Pili-Makes-Incredible-Basket-Against-Princeton-In-NCAA-Tournament...
Michelle Bodkin

Utah Women Stamp Their Ticket To Sweet 16

Utah women's basketball stayed strong and stamped their ticket to the Sweet 16 next weekend in South Carolina.
2 days ago
Utah-Gymnasts-Take-Selfie-After-Threepeating-As-Pac-12-Champions...
Michelle Bodkin

Red Rocks Make History With ‘Gutsy’ Threepeat, Await Regional Destination

The Red Rocks made history yesterday earning a "gutsy" threepeat as Pac-12 Champions and will now await their NCAA Regional destination.
2 days ago
Utah-Gymnastics-Lights-The-U-With-Former-Athletes-At-Huntsman-Center...
Michelle Bodkin

Red Rocks Win Third Straight Pac-12 Championship

For the third straight time, Utah gymnastics are Pac-12 Champions earning the title in front of their fans at the Maverik Center.
3 days ago
Alissa-Pili-Jenna-Johnson-During-First-Round-Of-NCAA-Tournament-At-Huntsman-Center...
Michelle Bodkin

Utah Women Make History, Will Take On Princeton

Utah women's basketball made history in their NCAA Tournament win over Gardner-Webb and will face Princeton on Sunday in the second round.
4 days ago
Kennady-McQueen-Versus-Gardner-Webb-NCAA-Tournament...
Michelle Bodkin

Utah Puts Away Gardner-Webb, Advances To Second Round Of NCCA Tournament

Utah came out on fire, putting away Gardner-Webb and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
4 days ago
UTah-Women's-Basketball-Team-Celebrate-Big-Play-By-Gianna-Kneepkens...
Michelle Bodkin

Jazz Wish Utah Women’s Basketball ‘Good Luck’ In NCAA Tournament

Utah women's basketball is hosting Gardner-Webb in the first round of the NCAA Tournament tonight and the Utah Jazz wished them luck.
4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

High angle view of the beautiful Rose Bowl Stadium...
KSL Digital Sales

How to Prepare for the 2023 Rose Bowl

Everything you need to know to plan your 2023 Rose Bowl trip in Pasadena, California. This year, the Utes will face Penn State.
Jordan-Clarkson-Utah-Jazz...
KSL Digital Sales

Notable Moments From The Utah Jazz Season… So Far

At the beginning of the season, the Utah Jazz were second to last. Now they rank in the top 10 teams in the Western Conference.
Football soccer ball on grass field on stadium...
KSL Digital Sales

Everything You Need to Know to Watch the 2022 World Cup

Find out where and when to watch the upcoming games and final match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including where to find live updates.
ksl sports logos...
KSL Sports

KSL Sports Newsletter: Sign Up Now

Sign up today for the KSL Sports newsletter. Get the latest Utah sports news delivered to your inbox.
jimmy-buffett-tour-art...
KSL Sports

Win Tickets Wednesday: Jimmy Buffett

Get your Hawaiian shirts ready.
Iron Maiden tour...
KSL Sports

Win Tickets Wednesday: Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden returns to Utah in 2022 with The Legacy of the Beast tour.
Utah Utes Projected As No. 1 Seed In Women’s NCAA Tournament