NCAA Women's Basketball Bracketology: The conference play bloodbath

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TOLEDO, OH – DECEMBER 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw watches the action on the court during a regular season non-conference game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Toledo Rockets on December 8, 2018, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

South Bend:

1. Notre Dame (ACC)
16. Southern (SWAC)

8. Arizona State
9. LSU

Iowa City:

5. South Dakota (Summit)
12. Belmont (OVC)

4. Iowa (Big Ten)
13. Dayton (Atlantic 10)

There’s no explanation necessary as to why Notre Dame is where it is. That 8/9 matchup, however, is a little curious. LSU, which is clinging to that win at Florida State as its best so far, is a true 10 seed, but was bumped up to a 9 to avoid conference teams facing each other too early. As for Arizona State, yes, the Sun Devils will probably be much better than an 8 by the time Selection Monday rolls around. But for now, that’s a reflection of a few solid-if-underwhelming wins over Cal and Utah, with plenty of room to move up. That Oregon/Oregon State road trip looms…

Milwaukee:

6. Miami
11. Utah

3. Marquette (Big East)
14. Stephen F. Austin (Southland)

Waco:

7. Rutgers
10. Texas A&M

2. Baylor (Big 12)
15. UC Irvine (Big West)

Welcome to the field, Utah! We were holding on the Utes as they rolled through their non-conference against horrendous competition, but after a 4-1 start to the Pac-12 schedule, it’s safe to say this team is for real. Megan Huff ranks in the top five in the conference in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg) while shooting 43 percent from three and 83 percent from the line.

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NCAA Women’s Basketball Bracketology: The conference play bloodbath

By Russell Steinberg | Jan 16, 2019