Race for women’s NCAA basketball title wide open as Selection Sunday nears

• The race for the women’s NCAA basketball title is wide open less than three weeks from Selection Sunday. Who’s got a shot at the crown?
• The No. 1 team in the nation has been beaten in back-to-back weeks –– first UCLA, then Notre Dame.
• The parity in the women’s game has never been more apparent, with several teams believing they have a shot at the title.

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The race for a spot in the women’s NCAA Tournament is heating up just 19 days before Selection Sunday, which falls on March 16. There has been quite a shake-up in the polls recently as teams ranked No. 1 lost in back-to-back weeks.

Who is the No. 1 team in the nation?

UCLA dropped its first game of the season against rival USC on Feb. 13. Then, on Sunday, Feb.23, Notre Dame lost a double overtime thriller to NC State. That loss put an end to the Fighting Irish’s 19-game winning streak.

The new No. 1 team in the country, the Texas Longhorns, is now on high alert. It’s been 21 years since the Longhorns have been in the top spot. They survived their first challenge, beating Georgia 57-26 on Monday night, Feb. 24. Now, head coach Vic Schaefer thinks the sky’s the limit.

“I just think, when you’ve got a nucleus –– it’s not all of them, if it was all of them, we’d be way better –– and that’s the thing that encourages me about this team,” Schaefer said. “Ya’ll think we’re playing at this unbelievable level; I look out there and see a team that can be so much better.”

Which teams are in the running for a top seed?

The UCLA Bruins are still vying for a No. 1 seed. However, it seems opponents are starting to figure out how to stay close to them. After their loss to USC, they squeaked out a two-point win over Iowa—their previous 22 games were all wins by more than 10 points. The Trojans and Bruins will rematch on Saturday, March 1.

After the top three, another group of teams will also challenge for a top seed in the tournament. USC, UConn and South Carolina are all hoping to impress the selection committee in the next two weeks.

The Huskies trounced South Carolina two weeks ago on the road, ending the Gamecocks 71-game home winning streak, and Paige Bueckers believes her team is playing with better pace.

“We want to play quick but not in a hurry, we want to play under control but also play fast,” Bueckers said. “That’s been a key in the last couple of weeks, our transition offense. But we also want to focus on our transition defense as well.”

Who are the ‘best of the rest’?

The best of the rest include the LSU Tigers, TCU, North Carolina and North Carolina State, Tennessee and Ohio State. With between two and three games left in the regular season, depending on the team, the field is wide open.

For instance, the NC State Wolfpack, who just beat Notre Dame, feel like they’re peaking at the perfect time.

“It’s day to day. This a big win, though it kind of compensates a little for last week and the big win Thursday,” Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore said. “You know, we just went through a stretch of five out of six games against ranked opponents, and we just won four out of five of them against ranked opponents. It says a lot. It was a juggernaut stretch.”

But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming. The parity in women’s college basketball has never been more apparent. A surprise team could sneak into the tournament and prove that March Madness is just that.