UConn women’s basketball a 1-seed in first NCAA bracket reveal

UConn women’s basketball came in as the 1-seed in the Seattle Regional during the NCAA Selection Committee’s initial bracket reveal on Thursday.

LSU (2-seed), Michigan (3), and Virginia Tech (4) were the other teams in the Huskies’ region. If all seeds hold, UConn would face South Carolina in the Final Four while Indiana and Stanford were the top seeds in the opposite two regions.

The Huskies (21-4) were expected to be a 1-seed, though their loss to Marquette likely dropped them to the fourth overall seed. They’re first in strength of schedule, second in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and the third-best team according to Her Hoop Stats.

Three of UConn’s losses (South Carolina, Maryland, Notre Dame) came on the road, while all but one came to teams in the top-16 reveal. Overall, the Huskies are 4-3 against teams in the reveal with wins against Iowa (2-seed), Duke (2), Texas (3), and Villanova (4). They’ll face Villanova again on Feb. 18 and could see the Wildcats a third time in the NCAA Tournament.

UConn has also built its resume despite a host of injuries. Azzi Fudd (right knee) has missed 16 games so far — and all four losses came without her on the floor — Caroline Ducharme (concussion protocol) has been out 13 games, Dorka Juhász (broken thumb) sat out seven contests, Ayanna Patterson (concussion protocol) was sidelined for four games, Aubrey Griffin (COVID-19) was out for two games while Nika Mühl (concussion protocol) missed one game.

UConn has not been a 1-seed since the 2017-18 season. Instead, the Huskies reached the Final Four as a 2-seed in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

A lot can still change before Selection Sunday on March 12. Last season, UConn was a 3-seed in the first bracket reveal but ended up as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The committee will hold a second reveal on Feb. 23.