Waco:
1. Baylor (Big 12)
16. New Mexico State (WAC)
8. South Dakota State (Summit)
9. California
Charlotte:
5. Florida State
12. Penn (Ivy)
4. South Carolina
13. Bucknell (Patriot)
This was a good week for South Carolina, and not only because the Gamecocks picked up a pair of SEC wins. They were also granted a waiver to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in (somewhat) nearby Charlotte. This had been an issue because their home arena is going to host a men’s first/second round site, making it unavailable for a potential 4 seed (or better) women’s team. The Gamecocks have their homecourt advantage back.
Coral Gables:
6. Michigan State
11. Tennessee
3. Miami
14. VCU (Atlantic 10)
Palo Alto:
7. Texas
10. UCF
2. Stanford
15. Portland State (Big Sky)
I should send Katie Abrahamson-Henderson some cookies or something. I keep sliding UCF down despite the Knights sitting at 20-5 with an RPI of 18. The problem is, there isn’t much substance to those numbers. The RPI is high because of some strategic non-conference scheduling against solid low-majors. UCF has, in fact, beaten just two teams in the projected field: Quinnipiac and Mercer. They’re still safely in the bracket, but the margin for error is slim.