BYU To Face Auburn In NCAA Tournament, Bracket Leaked Early
Mar 18, 2019, 3:33 PM
BYU's bench erupts after a three point shot by Brigham Young Cougars guard Brenna Chase (1) as BYU and Gonzaga women play for the WCC tournament championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. (Scott Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – After obtaining a 25-6 record and clinching the conference championship over Gonzaga in the WCC tournament, the BYU women’s basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament fate during the Selection Show.
The Cougars are headed to Palo Alto to play 10-seed Auburn as a 7-seed. The game will tip off on Saturday from Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.
BYU punched its ticket to the Big Dance by beating nationally-ranked Gonzaga in the WCC tournament championship game. It was the third time this season that the Cougars upset the Bulldogs.
Notre Dame's title defense begins!
The full Chicago region: pic.twitter.com/lhPsmqwcBw
— espnW (@espnW) March 18, 2019
The Tigers come into the tournament as a 10-seed after wrapping up the season with a 22-9 record. They were knocked out of the Big 12 tournament in the second round by Texas A&M.
The 7-seed that the Cougars received for this year’s edition of the tournament is the highest seed in program history.
It’s the 13th appearance in program history for the Cougars. BYU’s best showings in the tournament came in 2002 and 2014, when the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16.
ESPN’s Error
There appeared to be some confusion regarding the revealing of the bracket. Although the Selection Show on ESPN2 was scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday night, it appeared that the tournament pairings were accidentally flashed on screen during one of the network’s earlier shows. Perhaps as a result, the Selection Show was moved up a couple of hours.
Official statement on the early reveal of the 2019 NCAA DI Women's Basketball bracket: #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/kwoQ4Bw0SZ
— NCAA WBB (@ncaawbb) March 18, 2019
