On Thursday night, the women's NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed their second and final top 16 seed projections for the season.
There were significant changes at the top of the rankings, however. The USC Trojans topped the chart as the No. 1 seed following an upset over UCLA. On the flip side, South Carolina dropped to a No. 2 seed due to the 87-58 loss to UConn on February 16. It is the first time since the 2018-2019 tournament that head coach Dawn Staley's Gamecocks are not a No. 1 seed. The good news is, they have the opportunity to rebound. South Carolina will play Kentucky on Sunday to earn the coin toss for the seeding.
The complete top 16 seed projections are as follows:
- UCLA
- Texas
- USC
- Notre Dame
- South Carolina
- UConn
- LSU
- NC State
- TCU
- UNC
- Duke
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Kentucky
- Kansas State
- Ohio State
There is still a lot that can change to shift the seedings before the actual tournament seeds are announced. But these projections from the selection committee set the stage for an intensely competitive NCAA Tournament, with several of these teams aiming for top positions.