The 2021 NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracket was announced Monday evening.
The four No. 1 seeds were in order Stanford, UConn, North Carolina State and South Carolina.
Each of them won their conference tournament championships. Big Ten champion Maryland was the top No. 2 seed, and Big 12 champ Baylor claimed the two seed in the same region as UConn. The other two seeds are Louisville and Texas A&M.
UConn, who moved back to the Big East this season, completed its eighth straight undefeated conference season. The Huskies participated in the American Athletic Conference the last seven years. The Big East received just one other bids as Marquette received a 10 seed.
The Huskies will begin their quest for a record 12th national championship without hall-of-fame head coach Geno Auriemma, who tested positive for Covid-19 Sunday. He is quarantining at home and is not experiencing any symptoms, according to the school’s release.
According to ESPN, Auriemma can return to the team on March 24, the day after the Huskies’ potential second-round game. Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey is 10-0 when filling in for Auriemma, as stated on the Selection Show.
The ACC had the most teams in the field with eight teams. The SEC and Big Ten were tied for second with seven teams each. Six of the seven SEC teams are top-four seeds.
Tennessee extended its streak of making every NCAA Tournament. The Vols are a 3 seed and are set to face 14 seed Middle Tennessee in the first round. Kellie Harper has now taken four teams to the Big Dance. She previously led Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State to the tournament.
This year marks the first tournament appearance for four teams: Stony Brook (a 14 seed vs. Arizona), Bradley (an 11 seed vs. Texas), Utah Valley (a 16 vs. Stanford) and High Point (a 16 vs. UConn).
This year snaps 30+ year droughts for two teams: Wake Forest, who is back in the field for the first time since 1988, and Washington State, whose last appearance was in 1991.
The four regions are named after San Antonio landmarks: Mercado, Hemisfair, Alamo, River Walk. All the games are set to take place in the San Antonio-Austin, Texas area.
The first-round games are slated for Sunday and Monday. The Final Four is set for April 2, and the national championship game is booked for April 4.
The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, so this was the first bracket reveal in 727 days.