2013 NCAA Women’s Tournament — Returning Champion Baylor Among Top Seeds
Returning national champion Baylor was named a top seed in the 2013 NCAA women's tournament field of 64 announced on Monday night. Dominating senior center Brittney Griner helped lead the Lady Bears (32-1) to a unanimous No. 1 ranking in the latest Associated Press poll released earlier Monday.
Notre Dame, Connecticut and Stanford were also selected as No. 1 regional seeds by the selection committee. Baylor's only loss this season was to Stanford in November.
Perennial power Tennessee was given the No. 2 seed in Baylor's region. The Lady Vols (24-7) remained a national power despite the resignation of coach Pat Summitt, who stepped down after last season due to early onset dementia.
Baylor, Stanford and Connecticut will be among 16 host schools for the first two rounds of the tournament, which begins Saturday. Notre Dame will travel to Iowa City, Ia. for its first-round game.
Regional semifinals and championships will be played March 30 — April 2 in Oklahoma City; Spokane, Wash.; Norfolk, Va.; and Bridgeport, Conn. The Final Four is slated for April 7 in New Orleans, with the national title game scheduled for April 9.
Here are the ordered seeds for each region of the 2013 Women's NCAA tournament:
Oklahoma City
1. Baylor
2. Tennessee
3. UCLA
4. Purdue
5. Louisville
6. Oklahoma
7. Syracuse
8. Florida State
9. Princeton
10. Creighton
11. Central Michigan
12. Middle Tennessee State
13. Liberty
14. Stetson
15. Oral Roberts
16. Prairie View
Spokane
1. Stanford
2. California
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Iowa State
6. LSU
7. Texas Tech
8. Michigan
9. Villanova
10. South Florida
11. Green Bay
12. Gonzaga
13. Montana
14. Cal Poly
15. Fresno State
16. Tulsa
Norfolk
1. Notre Dame
2. Duke
3. Texas A&M
4. South Carolina
5. Colorado
6. Nebraska
7. Oklahoma State
8. Miami (FL)
9. Iowa
10. DePaul
11. Chattanooga
12. Kansas
13. South Dakota State
14. Wichita State
15. Hampton
16. Tennessee-Martin
Bridgeport
1. Connecticut
2. Kentucky
3. North Carolina
4. Maryland
5. Michigan State
6. Delaware
7. Dayton
8. Vanderbilt
9. Saint Joseph's
10. St. John's (NY)
11. West Virginia
12. Marist
13. Quinnipiac
14. Albany
15. Navy
16. Idaho