BAYLOR, UT EARN NO. 2 SEEDS
Lady Bears not upset about being a No. 2 despite 31-1 record
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M long ago left the league that Texas and Baylor compete in, but the Texas triangle of women’s college basketball formed by the trio is as strong as ever.
Baylor, UT and A&M all are playing host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament starting this weekend, with the Lady Bedars and Longhorns as No. 2 seeds and the Aggies as a No. 4 seed.
Baylor faces No. 15 seed Grambling on Friday, A&M takes on No. 13 Drake on Friday, and UT plays No. 15 seed Maine on Saturday.
Baylor (31-1) is part of the Lexington, Ky., regional, while UT (26-6) will head to Kansas City, Mo., if it wins two home games, and A&M (24-9) will travel to Spokane, Wash., if it emerges victorious in College Station.
The national No. 1 seeds are Connecticut, Mississippi State, Louisville and Notre Dame. Connecticut (32-0) is the lone undefeated team headed into the postseason, while Baylor and Mississippi State (32-1) each have one loss.
The Lady Bears rank second nationally in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, but they still didn’t earn one of the top four seeds.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey pointed out that the Lady Bears have won a national title before as a No. 2 seed, and she also was thrilled to draw Grambling as the opening-round foe.
“I have one request. I want them to bring their band,” Mulkey said. “And our band better be ready. If you’ve never seen Grambling State University and their band, you’re in for a treat.”
The Austin foursome includes No. 7 Arizona State and No. 10 Nebraska, while No. 7 Michigan and No. 10 Northern Colorado are headed to Waco.
“We have to play every game like it’s our last game,” UT guard Lashann Higgs told reporters in Austin on Monday after the selection show. “If you do that, you never know where it can take you.”
Aggies coach Gary Blair promised he and his players will keep working this weekend in Reed Arena if Drake pulls off an upset on Friday.
“If we lose in the first round, I’ll have my kids up selling popcorn for the second-round game, and I’ll be selling it with them,” Blair said.
The College Station field also includes No. 5 DePaul and No. 12 Oklahoma, with the Sooners (1614) squeezing in thanks to their strength of schedule.
UT, Baylor and A&M all have won at least one women’s national championship, with the Lady Bears leading the way with two
UH, Rice in WNIT
The season will continue for the University of Houston and Rice women’s teams as they accepted spots in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
On Thursday, UH plays at South Dakota, and Rice hosts Texas State in first-round games.
The Texas Southern women will play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, hosting Weber State on Thursday.
in 2005 and 2012. The Longhorns won a championship in 1986 under then-coach Jody Conradt, and the Aggies won a title in 2011 with Blair.
The Lady Bears won both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. Mulkey reiterated that it doesn’t matter if her program didn’t earn one of the four top seeds.
“I don’t get caught up in that, I really don’t,” she said. “Really, what does it matter? The one has to play the two (at some point). We were a two seed in 2005 and we played for and won the national championship.
“You want to be one of the top (16) seeds so your fans can stay home for the first two rounds and see an NCAA Tournament on your home floor. That’s what’s most important.”
For their part, the Aggies, who exited the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, sport one of the nation’s top first-year players in point guard Chennedy Carter. She leads Division I freshmen with 22 points per game and has been named national freshman of the year by USA Today and espnW.
“I’m just happy to be able to play at home with my teammates,” said Carter, adding that she’s not nervous about playing in her first NCAA Tournament. “I’ve played on big stages and played all over the country. I take this as a normal game — a normal day at the office.”