March is almost here. I mean, March is here if you're one of those people who believe calendars determine which month it is, but most of us know that March isn't a month — it's a concept.
And on Sunday, the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament will be revealed, which officially begins the real month of March. But who's going to be in that field? And which 16 teams will earn the right to host the first weekend on their campus?
Here's what the top four seeds in each region could look like when the NCAA Women's Tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday.
Region 1: Birmingham
1. UCLA
2. TCU
3. Duke
4. Alabama
Who earns the No. 1 overall seed? It looks like a battle between UCLA and South Carolina at this point. TBH, it could go either way. Both teams have strong resumes. But UCLA has the advantage of having a head-to-head win over South Carolina, which I think the committee is going to lean heavily on when seeding this tournament.
TCU and Duke are in a fight for the final No. 2 seed. This is another that could go either direction. Duke's ACC Tournament run was one of the most impressive things we saw all season, but TCU's overall body of work is stronger.
The biggest thing up for grabs right now is the final No. 4 seed. I feel that 15 of the 16 top seeds are locked in. Maybe there's some movement about where they'll rank, but there's only one top four seed that's really up for grabs.
ESPN and Her Hoop Stats both have Ole Miss earning a top four seed. I get that. The Rebels have some nice wins on their resume, beating LSU and Kentucky. But they also have 10 losses. Last year, no top four seed had more than seven. We've seen double-digit loss teams earn a home weekend in the tournament as recently as Tennessee in 2023, but I just think some really strong teams have to be completely ignored for it to happen this year. 23-8 Alabama is my pick to sneak into the last spot. The Crimson Tide won when the two teams went head to head.
Region 2: Spokane
1. South Carolina
2. NC State
3. LSU
4. Baylor
I don't really think there's much to talk about here. I covered why UCLA gets the No. 1 overall seed over South Carolina above.
NC State has a classic No. 2 seed resume. Four of its six losses were to teams projected to be a top three seed while the team had huge wins over Notre Dame and Duke. Little bad mixed in with a lot of good results.
LSU was a contender all year for a No. 2 seed, but losing three of your final four games is not the way you want to head into the tournament.
Baylor grabs a top four seed after a very underrated season. The Bears didn't have the toughest Big 12 schedule and couldn't get past TCU, but Baylor proved to definitively be the second-best team in the nation's fourth-best conference. That's deserving of a No. 4 seed.
Region 3: Spokane
1. USC
2. Notre Dame
3. Kentucky
4. Ohio State
Another region without many surprises. USC is still a No. 1 seed despite losing to UCLA in the Big Ten championship game. Kentucky and Ohio State have flaws but are still really talented teams.
But let's talk about Notre Dame.
The Irish spent most of this season looking like one of the nation's elite teams, but the team has stumbled down the stretch, going 2-3 over its last five games.
The losses weren't bad losses. All were close and all were to ranked teams. However, losses are losses, and a true title contender probably wouldn't head into the NCAA Tournament on this downward slide.
However, the totality of the team's season still earns it a No. 2 seed. You could argue that Duke's 61-56 win over Notre Dame during the ACC Tournament is proof that those two teams should be swapped, but I just can't see the selection committee dropping Notre Dame out of the two line.
Region 4: Birmingham
1. Texas
2. UConn
3. Oklahoma
4. North Carolina
North Carolina is a good basketball team that has some really good wins on its resume, but a late season loss to Virginia is probably enough to keep them from moving up to a No. 3 seed.
Oklahoma is a weird basketball team, an offensive juggernaut that struggles defensively. It has big wins over Kentucky, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Michigan on its resume, but also was absolutely annihilated by South Carolina twice.
Texas was ranked No. 1 in the country before losing to South Carolina in the SEC championship game. The Longhorns have three losses — two to South Carolina and one in overtime to Notre Dame. They deserve a No. 1 seed.
If it felt like I was speeding through this section, it's because I am — it's because I just really wanted to get to UConn and talk about why the Huskies, ranked No. 3 in the nation, aren't really in contention for a No. 1 seed.
And that's because as good as UConn is, playing in the Big East puts the team at a disadvantage. It just isn't facing the caliber of team on a nightly basis to really prove it deserves a No. 1 seed. Sure, the Huskies schedule strong teams in non-conference play and had a huge 87-58 win over South Carolina on the resume, but Creighton is the only other Big East team with a Her Hoop Stats rating in the top 50. It's not as bad as it was when the team was stuck in the American, but it's tough to give them a No. 1 seed when their second-best conference opponent was an 18-14 Villanova team.