What Seed Will BYU Women’s Basketball Receive For NCAA Tournament?
Mar 8, 2022, 5:44 PM
BYU Cougars women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins rubs his ear as Gonzaga Bulldogs fans cheer behind him during the 2022 WCC Women's Basketball Tournament final game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. BYU lost 59-71. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
LAS VEGAS – No. 15 BYU women’s basketball had an excellent season that concluded with only three losses.
But coming from a mid-major conference like the West Coast Conference, a three-loss season might not warrant the type of seed that you would typically expect from a team that boasts a 26-3 record.
.@byuwbb will look to bounce back in the Women’s NCAA Tournament after falling to the Zags in the WCC title game.@Mitch_Harper & @JacobCHatch with a recap from Vegas.#BYU #GoCougs
pic.twitter.com/lzXhFyT4CL— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 9, 2022
In January, the NCAA Selection Committee gave an early reveal of what their top-16 teams in the field of 68 would be at that date. BYU, with only one loss at that time —a loss to a Big 12 team in overtime—, was nowhere to be found in the top-16 seed teams.
The top-16 seeds are significant in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament. But they hold greater significance in the women’s bracket as it gives those teams the chance to host the first two rounds of the NCAAs in their home venue.
Now after losses to Portland in the regular season and Gonzaga during Tuesday’s WCC Tournament final, what seed will they receive?
BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins gave his opinion on where he thinks his team will land in the bracket.
“Well, hopefully, we still go to the NCAA Tournament,” Judkins chuckled to reporters after the 71-59 loss to Gonzaga. “I think we’re fifth or sixth, probably now. If we would have won this, maybe fourth. I think we’ve earned it. You don’t go by one week and two days to decide teams and where they are seeded. They don’t do it with the big boys. So I don’t know why they would want to do it with us. But it doesn’t make a difference to us.
“When we won yesterday, I said the same things, we want to get in a good situation we match up well with our opponent. I mean, if Gonzaga and us played 100 games, we’d go 50/50. We’re just so competitive with each other and we know each other so well.”
ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme had BYU as a five-seed entering Tuesday’s WCC Tournament title game, despiting being the No. 9 team in the NET ratings.
Wherever BYU lands in the newly formed field of 68, they’ll likely be on the road as they chase down their quest for a first-ever Final Four appearance.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
