Uconn opens new drive for women’s title

NEW YORK — Unbeaten Connecticut, Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State are the No. 1 seeds in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies (32-0) enter as the lone unbeaten team and will be vying for their 12th national championship. Last season, Uconn came into the NCAAS as the overwhelming favorite before their 111-game winning streak ended with a loss to Mississippi State in the Final Four.

This year’s Final Four is in Columbus, Ohio, and will take place March 30. The national championship game is on Sunday, April 1.

Defending national champion South Carolina and A’ja Wilson await as a possible Elite Eight matchup for Uconn in the Albany Regional. The Gamecocks are the 2 seed. Florida State and Georgia are the other top seeds in the Huskies’ part of the bracket.

Uconn, which has been a No. 1 seed every year since 2007, opens up against No. 16 seed Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) on Saturday.

Like the Huskies, the Irish (29-3) are a No. 1 seed again. Notre Dame has been a top seed the last seven years. This might be one of coach Muffet Mcgraw’s finest accomplishments. Notre Dame lost four pivotal players to injury, but only three games on the season. Two of those losses came to Louisville.

The Irish are in the Spokane Regional and open up against Cal State Northridge on Friday. If Notre Dame advances, the Irish would head out west to potentially face No. 2 seed Oregon if the seeds hold.

Louisville (32-2) won the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time this season. The Cardinals open up against Mountain West champion Boise State and are one of eight ACC teams in the field. The Southeastern Conference has seven teams in the tournament, while the Pac-12 has six.

Mississippi State (32-1) is a No. 1 seed for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs won their first 32 games this season before losing to South Carolina in the SEC title game. With most of their players back from last season’s runner-up finish — including Morgan Williams, who hit the game-winner in overtime to knock off Uconn — the Bulldogs hope to make another deep NCAA run.