ASU WOMEN GET NO. 5 SEED
No. 5 seed Sun Devils open vs. UCF
Head coach Charli Turner Thorne, seen Monday at practice in Tempe, and the Sun Devils will open the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday against UCF.
For Charli Turner Thorne, who is taking her 14th Arizona State women’s basketball team to the NCAA Tournament, the details about the bid are more important than the hoopla surrounding it.
So she was actually happy to find out early Monday, during practice in fact, that ASU would be playing against UCF in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament and potentially against host Miami in the second.
UCF (26-6) plays predominantly zone defense so No. 22-ranked ASU (2010) got a jump on its preparation for a 4 p.m. Friday game that will require cross-country travel.
“Our team was just finishing up stretch when we heard somebody leaked the bracket,” Turner Thorne said. “It’s all good. I hate sitting in that room and the anticipation. So I’m totally cool with someone showing me on the phone who we’re playing and where we’re going. I kind of figured we’d go East.”
As a No. 5 seed, ASU, which set a school record with its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, is headed to a sub-regional hosted by a No. 4 seed. That eliminated Oregon State because of the Pac-12 tie and left No. 15 South Carolina, hosting in Charlotte, and No. 14 Texas A&M as options in addition to No. 19 Miami.
Like in past years, ASU planned to have an NCAA Tournament watch party at the Carson Center following practice. But plans changed once the bracket information was broadcast prematurely on ESPN.
“There is the ceremony of it,” Turner Thorne said.
“Didn’t it happen with the men’s bracket? They survived. There’s a little bit of a letdown, but the tournament is the real deal. There’s probably a lot of people just relieved to know sooner rather than later or to have information. Certainly as coaches we feel that way. I don’t think it hurts the game. It just made things a little exciting today.”
ASU players also took the early announcement in stride and focused more on how to find a way to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.
“It was actually good for us for practice,” senior guard Courtney Ekmark said. “We saw before it had been leaked, but we couldn’t find anywhere online who we were playing. So the coaches told us after we warmed up. I wanted to know who we played right away because now we have somebody to look forward to playing.”
Forward Kianna Ibis said not having the watch party “is a little disappointing, but it doesn’t really matter to me. It’s more for the freshmen experiencing that, but I’ve already experienced it three times.
“I was shooting free throws and Charli was like, ‘Bring it in, they accidentally released the bracket.’ I’m like, ‘That was different.’ She said, ‘We’re just going to go over some plays right now.’ I’m like, ‘OK cool, we’re starting early.’ ”
Tournament details
ASU's opening game is at 4 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. A second-round game would be on Sunday.
ASU is seeking its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2015, something fourthyear seniors Ibis and Charnea JohnsonChapman have yet to experience. Senior Courtney Ekmark played on two NCAA championship teams at Connecticut before transferring to ASU, where she is in her second season.
The Sun Devils will be playing UCF (26-6) for the first time. They are 3-0 alltime vs. Miami (24-8) including wins in 2013-14 (75-73) and 2014-15 (65-61).
In the ratings percentage index, a tool used to help determine postseason qualifiers, ASU is No. 23 combined with a No. 11 strength of schedule. The Sun Devils are 9-10 vs. quadrant 1-2 opponents, another NCAA Tournament selection measurement.
ASU is among six Pac-12 teams in the NCAA field. No. 6 Stanford and No. 7 Oregon are hosting as No. 2 seeds as is No. 11 Oregon State as a No. 4 seed. No. 20 UCLA is a No. 6 seed and California is a No. 8 seed.
After the first and second rounds, regional play will be held March 29-April 1 in Albany, N.Y., Portland, Greensboro, N.C., and Chicago. ASU is in the Portland region that includes No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Syracuse.
The NCAA Final Four is April 5-7 in Tampa, Fla.