NCAAW
Mechelle Voepel 4y

5 Pac-12 teams among top 16 tourney seeds in latest reveal

Women's College Basketball, South Carolina Gamecocks, Baylor Bears, Oregon Ducks, Maryland Terrapins, Louisville Cardinals, UConn Huskies, Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins, Northwestern Wildcats, NC State Wolfpack, Missouri State Lady Bears, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Iowa Hawkeyes, Arizona Wildcats, Oregon State Beavers, DePaul Blue Demons

The Pac-12 retained its five seeds in the top 16, as revealed by the NCAA women's basketball selection committee on Monday. The league also had five in the top 16 in the first reveal in February.

Joining league champion Oregon, which is No. 3, are No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 UCLA, No. 14 Arizona and No. 15 Oregon State.

The Arizona Wildcats, the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 tournament, are assured of making the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005.

The 16 teams remained the same as last time, just in a slightly different order. The top four seeds overall -- which would be the No. 1 seed in each region -- are No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Maryland.

In the last reveal, Louisville was a No. 1 seed. Maryland, which shared the Big Ten title with Northwestern, moved up from No. 8 in the last reveal.

Selection Monday is two weeks away, and the results of conference tournaments could still impact the top 16. But here are how the regionals project now:

Dallas Regional: No. 2 Baylor, No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 13 Iowa

The Lady Bears are on their way to a third consecutive perfect season in the Big 12, with two games left before the league tournament in Kansas City. Stanford and Mississippi State have had some recent stumbles but still project as strong teams for the NCAA tournament. And despite the loss of superstar Megan Gustafson, Iowa will be returning to the Big Dance after finishing third in the Big Ten.

Portland Regional: No. 3 Oregon, No. 6 UConn, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 16 DePaul

The Ducks look very strong headed into the Pac-12 tournament, and they will be tough to beat if they advance as expected to their Portland Regional. They advanced to their first Women's Final Four last season out of Portland. UConn, used to being in regionals much closer to campus, would have a long trip to the West Coast.

Greenville Regional: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 8 UCLA, No. 10 NC State, No. 15 Oregon State

The Gamecocks were perfect in the SEC and haven't lost since November. They will be in Greenville, South Carolina, for the SEC tournament, and then could make that short trip from Columbia again for the regionals. NC State struggled in a stretch of losing three of four recently, but ended the regular season with two victories and the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament.

Fort Wayne Regional: No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Louisville, No. 12 Gonzaga, No. 14. Arizona

The Terps started the Big Ten season 2-2, but it's been all victories since. Beginning Jan. 12, they have won 14 in a row and moved into No. 1-seed territory. But not far behind is ACC champion Louisville, which could slide into a No. 1 seed if Maryland doesn't win the Big Ten tournament title and the Cardinals do win their league tournament.

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