NCAA women’s committee’s 1st top 16 reveal: UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Vanderbilt are No. 1s

UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt would be the No. 1 seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament if it began now.

The NCAA basketball selection committee did its first reveal of the teams in line for the top 16 seeds Saturday.

Undefeated UConn was the overall No. 1 seed, edging UCLA.

The committee uses 12 criteria to determine who belongs in the field and where teams should be seeded.

“Some are subjective there and some data driven,” NCAA women’s basketball selection committee chair Amanda Braun told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “The overall record for UConn and the observable component are impressive. UCLA observable is also very strong as well.”

Showing how fluid things are in seeding, the Commodores moved up to the 1-line after beating Texas on Thursday.

“It was that close between the two of them that head-to-head made a difference. ”We were impressed by both teams.”

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight year. Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16, and Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.

UConn and South Carolina were projected as the top seeds in the Fort Worth Regional, with UCLA and Vanderbilt in Sacramento. The Huskies were the overall No. 1 seed, meaning they woul...