Big 12 Conference Lands Seven Teams In NCAA Women’s Tournament
As expected the Big 12 Conference received seven bids to the Women’s NCAA Tournament, which starts later this week at campus sites around the country.
The Texas Longhorns — who won the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday — were the only Big 12 team to claim a No. 1 seed.
The Longhorns (30-4) are the top seed in Portland Region Four and will host first- and second-round games at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Their first-round opponent will be No. 16 Drexel.
Texas has won two of the last three Big 12 Tournament titles and will move to the SEC, along with Oklahoma, in July. Ranked No. 5 in last week’s AP Top 25, Texas is seeking its first trip to the Final Four since 2003. Texas hasn’t won a national title since 1986.
Below Texas, there was some question whether any of the other Big 12 teams would host, most notably Kansas State, which has been in the Top 25 most of the season and at one point led the Big 12 in the regular season. Texas sent Kansas State home in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
No. 16-ranked Kansas State (25-7) received a No. 4 seed and will host a subregional in Albany Regional Two. The Wildcats — who missed the NCAA Tournament last season — will face No. 13 Portland in the first round. Kansas State has not been to a Sweet 16 since 2002.
Oklahoma (22-9) won the Big 12 regular season title but was eliminated in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals by Iowa State. Ranked No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25, Oklahoma received a No. 5 seed and will play in Albany Regional One. The Sooners will face No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast in the first round in Bloomington, Ind.
Oklahoma’s last Sweet 16 appearance was in 2013.
The Big 12’s only other Top 25 team, No. 19 Baylor (24-7), left the Big 12 Tournament with a quarterfinals loss to Iowa State. The Bears will play in the Portland Regional Three as a No. 5 seed in a sub-regional at Blacksburg, Va. The Bears will face either Vanderbilt or Columbia, who must play in a First Four game as No. 12 seeds.
Iowa State (20-11) reached the Big 12 Tournament championship game and lost to Texas. The Cyclones were supposed to be rebuilding this year, but they started three freshmen and played without veteran guard Emily Ryan for nine games and still managed a No. 4 seed at the Big 12 Tournament.
The Cyclones will travel to Stanford, Calif., and will be a No. 7 seed in Portland Regional Four. The Cyclones will face No. 10 seed Maryland in the first round. Iowa State reached the Sweet 16 two years ago.
West Virginia (24-7) was ranked for a good portion of the season under first-year coach Mark Kellogg and was eliminated by Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals. The Mountaineers received a No. 8 seed and will play in the Albany Regional Two. Their sub-regional is in Iowa City, Iowa, and they will play No. 9 Princeton in the first round.
The Mountaineers could get a second-round matchup with Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
West Virginia’s only Sweet 16 appearance was in 1992.
Kansas (19-12) was the final Big 12 team to get a bid. The Jayhawks missed last year’s NCAA Tournament but won the postseason WNIT. Kansas received a No. 8 seed and will play in the Portland Regional Three. The Jayhawks will travel to Los Angeles to play No. 9 Michigan in the first round.
Kansas last reached a Sweet 16 in 2013.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
