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.
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Bracket Watch
Lower-seeded teams won in three of the four Big Ten tournament quarterfinal games on Thursday: fifth-seeded Northwestern over 4-seed Michigan, No. 7 seed Michigan State over second-seeded Indiana and 6-seed Iowa over No. 3 seed Rutgers. That resulted in a better Bracketology seed for Iowa (jumped one line to a No. 6) and a seed line lost for both Indiana (down to a No. 4) and Michigan (down to a No. 6). Meanwhile, the lone bubble team still playing — Oklahoma — takes the court for the first time in the Big 12 tournament on Friday. Wins over Oklahoma State and possibly West Virginia would put the Sooners in the field.
