By DOUG FEINBERG
The Associated Press
UConn is in its normal position with a No. 1 seed for the NCAA women’s tournament. Familiar territory for Stanford and South Carolina as well.
It is a new day for the state of North Carolina. And the Huskies, although accustomed to their position in the key, are facing some uncertainties after coach Geno Auriemma tested positive for the coronavirus.
NC State is number 1 seed for the first time, joining Stanford, South Carolina and Connecticut on the main lines of the San Antonio themed regions for the women’s tournament. The Cardinal won the general No. 1 when the field was revealed on Monday night.
“Number 1 is a great honor, obviously,” said NC State coach Wes Moore. “You know me, I just prefer to stay as number 2 and stay in bed.”
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer played down the first choice.
“What I really say to our team is that seeds don’t matter,” she said. “It’s not like you get extra points when you show up at the gym.”
VanDerveer said that being healthy and excited to play is the most important thing. The teams will basically be locked up in hotels, except to go to training or games as part of the strict COVID-19 security protocols.
Auriemma’s arrival in Texas will be postponed. He will remain isolated for 10 days and can join the team on March 24. The other members of the UConn travel group tested negative for COVID-19.
Auriemma will miss the opening game of the Huskies against High Point – one of four NCAA rookies – and a possible second round showdown against Syracuse or South Dakota.
“I am an innocent bystander now. I’m going to sit and watch them do their thing, ”he said. “(Assistant coach Chris Dailey) is undefeated in tournaments. I don’t think you can get a coach with a better tournament record than she is.”
Although the coronavirus caused many disruptions in the schedule over the course of the regular season, it appears that most of the teams on the field arrived healthy at the tournament.
Stanford, making his debut against the Utah Valley, had a major odyssey this season because of the coronavirus. He had to drive on the road for nine weeks after Santa Clara County health officials announced that they were banning all contact sports in late November.
The cardinal, in search of the third national championship, is the seed of the Alamo region. The Hemisfair, Mercado and River Walk are the other region names.
In recent years, winning one of the first 16 seeds would put a team at home in the first two rounds of the tournament, but that is not the case in March. All games will be played in the San Antonio area because of the pandemic, with the last four rounds being played at the Alamodome.
This could be one of the most open tournaments, with a dozen teams capable of winning the title. This year, there were five teams in first place in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll, including the Huskies, who finished the season in first place.
The national semifinals take place on April 2nd, and the championship game will be on April 4th.
Tennessee continued its sequence of making the NCAA Tournament every 39 years. Joining High Point as NCAA rookies are Stony Brook, Utah Valley and Bradley.
Notre Dame’s series of 24 straight appearances in the NCAA has come to an end. The Irish were one of the first four teams out of the tournament. They were joined off the field by Houston, DePaul and Oklahoma.
Even without Notre Dame, ACC is well represented with eight teams. The SEC and the Big Ten each had seven schools. Pac-12 had six and Big 12 had five.
With no tournaments played last season because of the virus, Baylor is still the champion. Coach Kim Mulkey’s team is very different from the one who won the title, but is still quite talented, winning the regular season of the 12 major and conference tournaments.
The Lady Bears are the number 2 seed in the UConn region.
Like Baylor, the other three seeds – Louisville, Texas A&M and Maryland – were at some point considered for a row.
“We had a lot of teams, a lot of discussion about who are the four who were right for a line,” said Nina King, chairman of the NCAA selection committee.