Selection Sunday - General discussion (merged threads)

[Bobcat73]

Somebody keeps explaining this. They weren't going to put 2 SEC teams as the #1 and #2 in the same Region.

Is Michigan really better than Iowa? Two beat downs by the Hawkeyes in recent weeks say otherwise.

If Vandy beats UConn and LSU beats UCLA (both quite possible), the Final Four could be 4 SEC teams. That would be a disaster for WBB and the national TV ratings. They should have teams from the same conference meeting in the elite 8 to make sure that one of them gets eliminated. Just my thoughts.

 

[Bone Dog]

If Vandy beats UConn and LSU beats UCLA (both quite possible), the Final Four could be 4 SEC teams. That would be a disaster for WBB and the national TV ratings. They should have teams from the same conference meeting in the elite 8 to make sure that one of them gets eliminated. Just my thoughts.

Yet another reason to discourage the formation of super conferences. Since a lot of this is driven by football, it’s worth considering decoupling the sports. Limit conferences to some smaller number and require home-and-home schedules, maybe encourage more OOC games. WCBB is beginning to be a competitive revenue source for some programs, which means this might be a moment for change.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Somebody keeps explaining this. They weren't going to put 2 SEC teams as the #1 and #2 in the same Region.

Is Michigan really better than Iowa? Two beat downs by the Hawkeyes in recent weeks say otherwise.

OK, but what happens when we all start drinking from the ‘SEC is the best thing since sliced bread’ fountain’ and it can’t be avoided?

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Somebody keeps explaining this. They weren't going to put 2 SEC teams as the #1 and #2 in the same Region.

Is Michigan really better than Iowa? Two beat downs by the Hawkeyes in recent weeks say otherwise.

Michigan isn’t the team that nearly beat us. That one kid for Michigan thought the basket was as wide as the Mississippi and everything, and I do mean everything she threw up went in. Hasn’t had a game since, that even remotely comes close to that.

 

[oldude]

OK, but what happens when we all start drinking from the ‘SEC is the best thing since sliced bread’ fountain’ and it can’t be avoided?

Not sure what exactly you mean. The SEC is the best conference in the country and they have been rewarded for it. 13 years ago the Big East was the best conference in the country and they were rewarded for it, ultimately placing 3 of 4 teams in the final four: UConn, ND & Louisville. Would it have been fairer at that time if UConn met ND in the Elite 8 or met Louisville in the Sweet 16?

 

[BRS24]

I would expect that a few of us, especially newbies, would like to see our Huskies participate in the watch party tradition. It reflects genuine enthusiasm for the event and shows a willingness to acknowledge the privilege of the process.

Sarah & Azzi were both interviewed after the Selection show. They indicated that the players were together in some fashion. Azzi described the mood as “chill.”

So for UConn the process is all about the team. It doesn’t reflect any less enthusiasm or disrespect for the process because we are not invited to share the experience on tv.

UConn has not done a live reaction to the reveal in a few years. Whether the school, coaches, or players decided this, IMO it's fine, as UConn lets actions on the court speak for themselves.

 

[BRS24]

If Vandy beats UConn and LSU beats UCLA (both quite possible), the Final Four could be 4 SEC teams. That would be a disaster for WBB and the national TV ratings. They should have teams from the same conference meeting in the elite 8 to make sure that one of them gets eliminated. Just my thoughts.

dooooooooomed

 

[Geew1992]

Probably yes. Iowa State/Syracuse and Oklahoma State/Princeton could be interesting too.

I don't know about the Syracuse/Iowa St game will be. Syracuse's best player is out for the tournament

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Not sure what exactly you mean. The SEC is the best conference in the country and they have been rewarded for it. 13 years ago the Big East was the best conference in the country and they were rewarded for it, ultimately placing 3 of 4 teams in the final four: UConn, ND & Louisville. Would it have been fairer at that time if UConn met ND in the Elite 8 or met Louisville in the Sweet 16?

More about, and I’ll go along for the ride that they’re currently the best, how does the committee eventually prevent having both a #1 and #2 in the same bracket, representing the SEC?

 

[Jonathan14]

Well, they couldn't place West Virginia and TCU in the same regional as both are Big 12 members. I think TCU was listed as the last of the 3-seeds behind Ohio State, Duke, and Louisville. On S-curve logic, South Carolina would draw the weakest of the 3-seeds which you definitely agree is TCU.

But if we're violating the S-curve to give the lowest 1-seed South Carolina one of the lower-ranked 2-seeds because the better 2-seeds are both SEC teams, then why must we adhere to the S-curve when it comes to the 3-seeds? Poor UCLA now has LSU and Duke in its bracket. Shouldn't they (or UConn) be awarded with TCU since they were given the two best 2-seeds?

 

[oldude]

More about, and I’ll go along for the ride that they’re currently the best, how does the committee eventually prevent having both a #1 and #2 in the same bracket, representing the SEC?

In order for that to happen, the SEC would have to have at least 5 of the top 8 seeds in the country. It’s certainly possible, as they have 4 of the top 8 this season.

But I’ll answer that question as Geno would. It’s not the responsibility of the SEC to become less competitive so that other conferences can compete. It’s the responsibility of the other conferences to get better.

 

[JstVisiting]

I agree that the committee and the supposed rules or guidelines it operates under is terrible. The SEC,ACC and Big 10 teams we played this season ( all of whom were ranked when we played them) could not even give us a competitive game, with the notable exception of MICH yet those conferences got undeserving teams in the tournament for beating each other. These same conferences teams also benefit unfairly when it comes to seeding as they won’t put their top teams in the same regional so for example the # 1 and #2 teams ( UConn and UCLA this year) don’t get to play the true # 7 and # 8 seeds as they’ve earned and deserve and instead the SEC teams who aren’t as highly rated or seeded or deserving are slated to play lesser 2 seeds. These supposed big time conferences also have overrated teams that benefit from upsetting each other and getting highly ranked based on both these wins and losses because it artificially increases their strength of schedule. I know many will disagree but there’s no way TN, So Cal or Virginia should be in the tournament, they are terrible teams who lost too many games. TN is an especially egregious case as they get credit for their high strength of schedule yet they were badly beaten by the top tier teams they played and beat nobody really good and have 13 losses and have lost 7 straight and 10 of 12. The other 2 have 13 and 11 losses and were not competitive against any good teams. Something has to be changed and the conferences should not be protected by not having to play their own teams in the regions.

It's unfair non-SEC 1s have to play the SEC 2 seeds who are the toughest, and it's also unfair SEC teams got seeded too high because they are overrated.

Pick one.

 

[Geew1992]

 

[JstVisiting]

Within reason, a Region's 4/5 seeds matter more than the #2 and especially the 3 to a 1 seed.

'Oh no, we might have to play the best 3 (#9) to go to the Final Four!' isn't a real concern. But a particularly strong or bad matchup at 4 or 5 presents an additional losable game, which is all you should really worry about.

UConn got an average 4 and average 5.
UCLA got a weak 4 and an inconsistent but high ceiling 5.
Texas got an average 4 and a strong 5.
South Carolina got a strong 4 and a typical 5.

 

[southie]

But if we're violating the S-curve to give the lowest 1-seed South Carolina one of the lower-ranked 2-seeds because the better 2-seeds are both SEC teams, then why must we adhere to the S-curve when it comes to the 3-seeds? Poor UCLA now has LSU and Duke in its bracket. Shouldn't they (or UConn) be awarded with TCU since they were given the two best 2-seeds?

Because they only move away from the S-curve when they need to; they did so for the 2-seeds to avoid intra-conference pairings among the 1-seeds and 2-seeds. But, if there's no reason to move away from the S-curve for the 3-seeds, then they shouldn't.

 

[H Dog]

It's unfair non-SEC 1s have to play the SEC 2 seeds who are the toughest, and it's also unfair SEC teams got seeded too high because they are overrated.

Pick one.

No thanks, I don’t need to. You conveniently misread or misinterpreted what I was indicating as these are 2 separate points. It is unfair that teams ( like UCLA and UConn this year) who earn the top overall 1 or 2 seed may have to play higher rated 2 or 3 seeds in their bracket than the 3rd and 4th best #1 seeds simply because of conference affiliation. I would think the same thing of it was the Big 10 or ACC or Big East. The second point was that it’s also unfair and wrong that teams like TN and USC get into the tournament with 13 losses based primarily on their strength of schedule and beating a few of the lower tier overated teams within their own conference and being beaten badly by the top teams they play.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

026 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket | NCAA.com, with appended NCAA Dashboard(3/15/2026) to provide insight on:

• (a) the Hypothesis Testing continuum of the 37 At-Large (Type &1 = 2) Qualifiers;
• (b) the 68-team Bracketed S-Curve (Overall Seed (OSeed)).

The NCAA procedures for (a), S-Curve and (b) are here.

&1 Type = 1 (Automatic Qualifier) and 2 (At-large Qualifier).

Top 20 Overall Seed | Remaining Schedule

• 1. UConn | Torvik Schedule
• 2. UCLA | Torvik Schedule
• 3. Texas | Torvik Schedule
• 4. South Carolina | Torvik Schedule
• 5. Iowa | Torvik Schedule
• 6. Michigan | Torvik Schedule
• 7. LSU | Torvik Schedule
• 8. Vanderbilt | Torvik Schedule
• 9. Ohio St. | Torvik Schedule
• 10. Duke | Torvik Schedule
• 11. Louisville | Torvik Schedule
• 12. TCU | Torvik Schedule
• 13. Oklahoma | Torvik Schedule
• 14. West Virginia | Torvik Schedule
• 15. Minnesota | Torvik Schedule
• 16. North Carolina | Torvik Schedule
• 17. Maryland | Torvik Schedule
• 18. Kentucky | Torvik Schedule
• 19. Ole Miss | Torvik Schedule
• 20. Michigan St. | Torvik Schedule

By Conference Bids: Conference Standings | Conference Tournaments

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

2026 WCBB NCAAT by Overall Seeding:

• Number in () is the NET on the day on/before the Bracketology date.
• ESPN (Creme) predicted accurately the Threshold Rejections.
• For seeding, the Selection Committee diverged (NET - Overall Seed) from the NET the most for the following teams: Tennessee (-16), Nebraska (-15), USC (-14), Arizona St. (+13), Clemson (+12), Baylor (+9), Richmond (-7).

 

[JstVisiting]

As a Vandy-skeptic, I think they are the easiest 2 and UConn fans are overrating them due to (1) natural woe is me tendency among a segment of all fan bases; (2) issa SEC-spiracy! segment of many non-SEC fan bases; (3) affinity for a beloved former star player and longtime assistant; (4) lack of familiarity with the team beyond scores; (5) appreciation for a pretty offense; and (6) supernova potential of their star player.

The 'Dores do have a very pretty offense. And UConn will likely completely break it. UConn can usually defend without Schaefer's dare em to call it physicality, and a Geno coached team could swing baseball bats on the court and still not face a -16 FTA deficit in an Elite Eight game like the Longhorns dealt with in Nashville.

Again, maybe they'll prove me wrong and shock the world in the Region finals. (I really hope they do!) But I think they are more likely to lose before they make it to UConn than to give the Huskies a tough game.

 

[Bigboote]

Just two comments on the broadcast:

After the reveal someone whose name I don't remember was talking to Muffet and Carolyn about teams with good guards. Neither mentioned UConn. OTOH, Muffet refrained from bellyaching about UCLA not being the overall #1 seed.

I loved seeing Tammi Reiss and Dawn Staley on together. Most of UVA's games were on the local station when those two were backcourt mates. I don't think I've heard Tammi's voice in over 30 years.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[DRBackup]

Would have rather face some new teams if we advance..... lots of potential rematches... you definitely don't see this in the men's tournament.

That's because the top teams in the men's game change a lot more than in the women's game. UConn, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, LSU, etc.

 

[GamecockFam]

Oooh. I like who we got in Columbia. I was praying it wasn't Lobo because her UConn centric commentary gets annoying at times (I think she tries to not be biased but her commentary always goes back to a Geno quote or something UConn related). Peck's analysis is always off-center and I don't think she makes a great color analyst. Then Antonelli's ACC bias and general smugness about her own opinions always rubs me the wrong way. Anyways, I've always enjoyed Coach White's analysis the most so I'm glad they chose her for Columbia SC.

As a side note, I wonder if we should read into the regions with sideline reporters. Specifically I wonder why Michigan was chosen over Texas or UCLA. Like I think we can assume that the UConn, South Carolina and LSU regionals will have the higher viewing numbers so I understand the thought behind those choices, but Michigan feels kind of random. Do they possibly anticipate some of the bigger upsets and news stories to come out of that site (i.e., Tennessee beating NC State and Michigan)?

 

[cancontent]

An interesting chart comparing the budgets of the teams in the tournament. Some were a bit surprising to me. I would not have expected Iowa's to be higher than Texas' for example.

 

[Centerstream]

I thought since both were in Fort Worth they would match up in final four thats why I questioned it

Isn't the Regional number the key?
UConn Regional 1, UCLA Regional 2, Texas Regional 3 and SoCar Regional 4.