Women’s tourney expanding to 68 teams
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is expanding to 68 teams beginning with the current season, giving it an equal number of participants as the men’s tournament as part of a concerted effort at gender parity.
The men’s tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011 with four first-round games traditionally played in Dayton, Ohio. The first four for the women’s tournament will take place on the campuses of teams seeded in the top 16 this season, but they will move to a to-be-determined neutral site beginning with the 2023 tournament.
The expansion of the women’s tournament was among the recommendations put forth in August after a comprehensive external gender equity review conducted by the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink. It was commissioned after backlash driven by social media of disparities in the men’s and women’s tournaments, including weight rooms and other facilities.
ESPN will broadcast the first four games along with the rest of the women’s tournament.
Other recommendations include exploring a joint Final Four with the semifinals and title games held in the same city on the same weekend, though that would not happen until at least 2027 with sites already locked in until that point.
The NCAA already had approved the women’s tournament using the phrase March Madness in its branding.
GEORGE MASON 71, NO. 20 MARYLAND 66 >> D’Shawn Schwartz scored a careerhigh 24 points, DeVon Cooper added 16 and the Patriots withstood a frantic comeback bid by the Terrapins to pull off the road upset Wednesday night.
George Mason (4-0) let a 10-point lead dwindle to 5956 before Cooper made a layup and Schwartz made a 3-pointer for an eight-point cushion with 3:06 to go. That was just enough to provide the Patriots with their first win over a ranked foe since 2007 and their firstever victory over Maryland (3-1), which won the previous nine games against its Virginia-based opponent.
The Terrapins used a pair of 3-pointers by Eric Ayala to get to 67-66 in the final minute before Josh Oduro scored inside for the Patriots. Ayala then missed a potential game-tying 3, dooming Maryland to a humbling defeat.
Donta Scott had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins, who were seeking to start 4-0 for the eighth consecutive year. NO. 8 TEXAS 62, NORTHERN COLORADO 49 >> Tre Mitchell had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the host Longhorns (2-1).
NO. 9 BAYLOR 92, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 47 >> LJ Cryer scored 20 points, freshman Kendall Brown had 19 and the defending national champion Bears tied a school record with 21 steals while extending their home winning streak to 16 in a row.
James Akinjo, the senior transfer from Arizona, had his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 assists for Baylor (3-0).