UT leads 5 Texas schools in women’s field
A look at the five schools from the state of Texas in the women’s NCAA Tournament:
Texas
Region, seed:
No. 1
First-round opponent: No. 16 Drexel (19-14).
2 p.m.
When/where:
Friday; Austin. ESPNU.
Portland 4,
TV:
About the matchup:
The Longhorns earned their first No. 1 seed since 2004 after taking the Big 12 title behind freshman Madison Booker. The Dragons are on a seven-game win streak and won the CAA tournament on Sunday by defeating No. 1 seed Stony Brook, 68-60. Despite entering its conference tournament as a No. 7 seed, Drexel won its second CAA championship in the last four years.
Path to Sweet 16: If Texas beats Drexel, then the Longhorns will face either Alabama or Florida State in the second round. If Texas makes it to Portland, No. 2 Stanford could be there as well.
Baylor
Region, seed: Portland,
No. 5.
First-round opponent: Either No. 10 Vanderbilt or Columbia. When/where: 5 p.m. Friday; Blacksburg, Va.
ESPNU.
TV:
About the matchup:
The Bears had a slump after a 14-0 start but have won six of seven. They will have to await the result of the First Four games to know their opponent. It shouldn’t matter as long as Dre’una Edwards, Sarah Andrews and Darianna Littlepage-buggs are scoring.
Path to Sweet 16: Baylor would most likely have to face No. 4 Virginia Tech on its home court, so it would be a challenge to get to Portland but the Bears have been able to play with just about everyone this season.
Texas A&M
Region, seed: Albany Region, No. 11 seed First-round opponent: No. 6 seed Nebraska (22-11) When/where: 9:30 p.m. Friday; Corvallis, Ore.
TV: ESPNU.
About the matchup: Last week A&M stole its athletic director from Nebraska, Trev Alberts, and now the women’s selection committee has matched up the Aggies and Cornhuskers (and the men’s committee did the same). Nebraska leads the all-time series 15-9 and the teams last met in 2013 in the NCAA Tournament, when the Cornhuskers prevailed 74-63 in the round of 32 in College Station. Nebraska is led by forward Alexis Markowski with 16 points per game and the Aggies are led by guard Aicha Coulibaly with 13 points per game.
Path to Sweet 16: Should the Aggies beat the Cornhuskers, they should have a favorable matchup in the next round against third-seeded Oregon State (in a home game for the
Beavers) or 14th-seeded Eastern Washington. A&M last made the Sweet 16 in 2021, also the last time the Aggies made the NCAA Tournament under then-coach Gary Blair, who won a national title with the program in 2011.
Rice
Region, seed: Albany, No. 14
First-round opponent: No. 3 LSU (28-5). When/where: 3 p.m. Friday; Baton Rouge.
TV: ESPN.
About the matchup: The Owls are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and the first time under coach Lindsay Edmonds. Rice was the No. 9 seed in the AAC conference tournament but put together four wins in four days to get the bid. The reward is a match against the defending national champions on their home court. Angel Reese, who was a key player in last year’s title run for LSU, was the SEC Player of the Year and has been dominant as Kim Mulkey’s team dealt
with injuries and other distractions.
Path to Sweet 16:
It couldn’t get much harder for the Owls. Louisville or Middle Tennessee would be up next if Rice is able to pull one of biggest upsets in NCAA history.
Texas A&m-corpus Christi
Region, seed: Portland, No. 16 seed. First-round opponent: No. 1 USC (26-5). When/where: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Los Angeles. TV: ESPN.
About the matchup: The Islanders are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance after beating Lamar for the Southland Conference tournament title. Their reward is a match against the Trojans and Juju Watkins, the freshman who is just a step behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark as perhaps the most exciting player in the country.
Path to Sweet 16: It would be nice to dream about beating USC and getting an “easier” game against either Kansas or Michigan.