Seven Pac-12 women's basketball teams begin postseason play
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• Six Pac-12 teams begin their postseason journeys in the NCAA Tournament, marking the fifth-straight year at least five Pac-12 teams earned bids and one short of the league mark set last season. OREGON, UCLA and STANFORD received a top-16 seeding, earning the right to host a first- and second-round game.
• UTAH rounds out the Conference’s postseason teams as the Utes earned an invitation to the WNIT. They kick off the league’s postseason action, hosting UNLV on Friday in Salt Lake.
• Pac-12 Champion Oregon earned a No. 2 seed, the best in program history. The Bruins are a No. 3, receiving a top-16 seed for the third-consecutive year. The Cardinal is a No. 4 seed and is making its 31st-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Also earning bids are sixth-seeded OREGON STATE, seventh-seeded ARIZONA STATE and seventh-seeded CALIFORNIA. The Beavs and Sun Devils are making their fifth-consecutive tournament appearances, and the Golden Bears are in the tournament for the sixth time in seven years.
• Four Pac-12 teams appear in the final Associated Press poll, the fourth-straight year the Conference has at least four teams in the final ranking. The Ducks are No. 6, making its first appearance in the final poll since 2000. UCLA is No. 9, its second top-10 showing in three years. OSU is ranked 13th and Stanford is 15th. The Beavs’ top-15 ranking is their fourth-straight and the Cardinal are in the final writers’ ranking for the 17th-straight year.
• Oregon’s Kelly Graves was named a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year honor, while Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer received the WBCA’s Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award.
• Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu is a finalist for the WBCA’s Wade Trophy, presented to women’s college basketball’s national player of the year. She has already started to receive All-American honors, receiving the nod from ESPNW and USA Today. UCLA’s Jordin Canada joined Ionescu on both All-American squads, while OSU’s Marie Gulich earns the national nod from ESPNW and Stanford’s Brittany McPhee from USA Today.
• Oregon won its first-ever Pac-12 Tournament title, adding to its first regular-season crown since 2000. Ionescu was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
ALBANY REGIONAL
Friday, March 16 • First Round (Columbia, S.C.)
#7 CALIFORNIA (21-10) vs. #10 VIRGNIA (18-13), 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
#2 South Carolina (26-6) vs. #15 NC A&T (23-8), 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Sunday, March 18 • Second Round (Columbia, S.C.)
First round game winners, TBA
SPOKANE REGIONAL
Friday, March 16 • First Round (Eugene, Ore.)
#7 Green Bay (29-3) vs. #10 Minnesota (23-8), 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m PT (ESPN2)
#2 OREGON (30-4) vs. #15 Seattle (18-14), 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Sunday, March 18 • Second Round (Eugene, Ore.)
First round game winners, TBA
KANSAS CITY REGIONAL
Saturday, March 17 • First Round (Austin, Texas)
#7 ARIZONA STATE (21-12) vs. #10 Nebraska (21-10), 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
#2 Texas (26-6) vs. #15 Maine (23-9), 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
Monday, March 19 • Second Round (Austin, Texas)
First round game winners, TBA
Saturday, March 17 • First Round (Los Angeles)
#3 UCLA (24-7) vs. #14 American (26-6), 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
#6 Iowa (24-7) vs. #11 Creighton (18-12), 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Monday, March 19 • Second Round (Los Angeles)
First round game winners, TBA
LEXINGTON REGIONAL
Saturday, March 17 • First Round (Stanford, Calif.)
#5 Missouri (24-7) vs. #12 FGCU (30-4), 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
#4 STANFORD (22-10) vs. #13 Gonzaga (27-5), 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Monday, March 19 • Second Round (Stanford, Calif.)
First round game winners, TBA
Friday, March 16 • First Round (Knoxville, Tenn.)
#6 OREGON STATE (23-7) vs. #11 Western Kentucky (24-8), 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
#3 Tennessee (24-7) vs. #14 Liberty (24-9), 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Sunday, March 18 • Second Round (Knoxville, Tenn.)
First round game winners, TBA
All first- and second-round games to be broadcast on ESPN2/ESPN3.com.
WNIT SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 15 • First Round
UTAH (17-13) vs. UNLV (19-11), 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET