Postponed games, long COVID-19 pauses for some programs and few nonconference contests have made this season different than any we have ever seen. Yet the 2021 women’s NCAA tournament is coming into focus, and is expected to be contested by 64 teams. After last season’s tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, getting to this point feels like a mission accomplished even if the journey was unlike any other.
The NCAA tournament also will look different. The entire tourney will be played at a single destination — the San Antonio region — with multiple venues, limited fans and an adjusted schedule. The Women’s Final Four will be held at the Alamodome on April 2 and 4. The road to the Lone Star State begins with Selection Monday on March 15. Along the way, and as automatic bids are won, we will continue to update Bracketology and the projected tournament field.
Bracket Watch
North Carolina has won five of its past six and two straight games over top-50 NET opponents. That has lifted the Tar Heels off the Last Four In list and moved them more securely in the field. Oregon State has done the same, propelled by consecutive top-10 NET wins over UCLA and Oregon. As a result, Michigan State and South Dakota have fallen into the Last Four In. The SEC and ACC each have eight teams in the field, and the American once again has two, with UCF claiming the AAC’s automatic bid. Though we try to avoid this scenario, Kentucky is allowed in the same top half of the Mercado Region with fellow SEC team Texas A&M because they have not played three times during the regular season and conference tournament. (They played only once during the regular season.)
