The road to the Final Four has officially begun. This year’s Selection Sunday had no shortage of drama and excitement as teams on both the men’s and women’s side of the bracket waited to see if they made it into the field of 68.
For the women, the focus of Selection Sunday was on the battle for the No. 1 overall seed. Big Ten champion UCLA was able to secure the top seed in the tournament, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of teams like South Carolina and USC.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley made it clear to the media following their selection as a No. 1 seed in their region that she was “disappointed” by the committee’s decision to crown the Bruins as the No. 1 overall seed.
“Obviously it’s disappointing,” Staley said. “I’d like to get some feedback on how they’ve come to this conclusion. We’ve manufactured a schedule that, if done right, it should produce a No. 1 overall seed.”
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was just as direct in her response to UCLA’s position atop the bracket. Gottlieb feels that the Trojans — who beat the Bruins twice this season — were disrespected by not getting the No. 1 overall seed.
“I never thought I’d be a 1-seed and feel disrespected,” Gottlieb said following the bracket reveal. “Sometimes I don’t understand the people who make decisions in women’s college basketball and why they do what they do.”
On the men’s side of things, the questions surrounded which bubble teams would make it into the Big Dance and who would be left out in the cold.
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Teams like North Carolina, Texas and San Diego State were able to bounce off the bubble and into the tournament. This left programs like Ohio State, Indiana and others on the outside looking in. Yet no sub in the men’s NCAA Tournament was bigger than the exclusion of West Virginia. Despite a 19-13 record with big wins over Arizona and Gonzaga in neutral site games, the Mountaineers didn’t get an invite. This prompted Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark to release a statement regarding the decision.
“I was surprised and disappointed to see West Virginia not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament,” Yormark said. “In addition to their six Quad 1 wins, the Mountaineers won 10 conference games in one of the toughest leagues in the country. West Virginia deserved a spot, and fans across the country agree. Coach Devries and his team did an incredible job fighting adversity and winning big games all season. Regardless of this disappointing outcome, I’m incredibly proud of how they represented the Big 12 all season.”
Aside from the drama stirred up by Selection Sunday, a laundry list of schools woke up a lot happier Monday since both their men’s and women’s programs will be competing for a spot in the Final Four. By conference, the SEC leads the way with eight schools competing on both sides of the tournament. The SEC is followed closely by the Big Ten, while smaller conferences like the WAC and Conference USA also saw programs make both tournaments.
ACC
Louisville Cardinals
North Carolina Tar Heels
Duke Blue Devils
Big East
Creighton Bluejays
UConn Huskies
Big Ten
Michigan Wolverines
UCLA Bruins
Michigan State Spartans
Maryland Terrapins
Illinois Fighting Illini
Oregon Ducks
Big 12
Iowa State Cyclones
Baylor Bears
MEAC
Norfolk State Spartans
SEC
Ole Miss Rebels
Oklahoma Sooners
Tennessee Volunteers
Kentucky Wildcats
Texas Longhorns
Alabama Crimson Tide
Vanderbilt Commodores
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Conference USA
Liberty Flames
WAC
Grand Canyon Antelopes
Mountain West
San Diego State Aztecs
Big South
High Point
Big West
UC San Diego
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