The best NCAA Women’s Tournament teams at each seed

For the first time this year, the NCAA Women’s Tournament will expand to 68 teams, matching the men’s showcase, which expanded to that number of teams chasing a national championship in 2011. That’s more chances for a longshot to make a run and take down the sport’s elite.

Selection Sunday for the women is March 13, the same day as the men’s reveal with First Four games beginning March 16. Upsets happen every year in the tournament, while other teams that’ve been highly ranked all season continue their dominance to a Final Four. The 2022 edition of March Madness will be the first in three years with the possibility of full-capacity crowds, meaning few who’ll play under those bright lights have experienced it before.

With Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, we’re looking at the best NCAA women’s tournament team at each seed. It’s not necessarily the teams that advanced the furthest or the squad that had the best overall season. It’s our best shot at the team that best stands out from its competition. Only teams from the 1989 NCAA Tournament to present day were eligible for this list, as the field expanded to 48 teams, giving an even playing field. The field expanded again to 64 teams in 1994, before the change this year.

The first 16-seed upset of a No. 1 seed in NCAA history wasn’t UMBC’s takedown of Virginia in 2018. It happened 20 years earlier with Harvard beating No. 1 seed Stanford on its home court. The Crimson Tide were ranked 62nd out of the 64 teams in the tournament and took a 9-point lead into halftime.

The Cardinals were without All-Americans Kristin Folkl and Vanessa Nygaard for the game, but still had more than enough talent where a Harvard victory appeared unlikely. Stanford played better in the second half, but couldn’t avoid the humongous upset. It’s the only 16-over-1 result in the history of the women’s tournament. Harvard’s run ended in the Round of 32 to a team we’ll see later in the countdown. The Crimson Tide’s final record was 22-5.

On the men’s side, every seed has won at least one game, with multiple upsets occurring in every facet except for No.1 vs. No. 16. That’s not the case in the women’s tournament where a 15-seed and 14-seed have both never been victorious. There have been a few close calls at both levels, with the Roadrunners coming the closest of any 15-seed to pulling the upset 13 years ago.

UTSA took in-state opponent and No. 2 seed Baylor to overtime before falling 87-82. The Roadrunners finished the year 24-9 and were the winners of the Southland Conference. UTSA has not made the tournament since, while Baylor again barely escaped a loss in the second round to South Dakota State before losing to eventual-national-runners-up Louisville in the Sweet 16.

Three teams tie for the closest call for a 14-seed knocking off a No. 3, each suffering a 2-point defeat. One of those 3-seeds lost in the Round of 32, eliminating 2003 Austin Peay from being the choice. The other two close-call No. 3s both lost in the Sweet 16. Head-to-head, 2004 Eastern Michigan’s record beats 2012 Creighton, giving the Eagles the nod.

EMU nearly defeated No. 3 Boston College, with BC besting No. 6 seed Ohio State in the Round of 32 and losing to another team on our countdown in the Sweet 16. Eastern Michigan won the Mid-American Conference 18 years ago and finished with an overall record of 22-8. The Eagles have made the tournament once since, as a No. 12 seed in 2012.

A trio of No. 13 seeds have made it to the Sweet 16. Liberty’s squad from 2005 had its season end with a 90-48 blowout to LSU. Texas A&M’s 1994 team lost by 26 to then-No. 1 Purdue, while the most recent 13-seed to win two NCAA women’s tournament games, Marist in 2007, hung tough with eventual-national-champion Tennessee before losing by 19.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions only lost one game in league play and finished the year 29-6 behind leadership from Julianne Viani and Alisa Kresge. The Red Foxes made every women’s tournament from 2006-14, returning to The Big Dance under coach Brian Giorgis last season.

Two squads have taken the famed 5-12 upset to the Sweet 16 on the women’s side. The most recent was only five years ago. Quinnipiac won 29 games, compared to 24 for the 1996 San Francisco squad, which had the first Sweet 16 breakthrough for a No. 12 seed. The Bobcats were the only non-Florida team at the 2017 Coral Gables regional, first defeating Florida to advance to face Miami on its home court.

Quinnipiac beat the Hurricanes by seven to advance to the Sweet 16 where eventual-national-champion South Carolina was waiting. The Bobcats made the jump to Division I in 1998 and appeared in three straight tournaments from 2017-19, also pulling a slight first-round upset in 2018 as No. 9 seed, again over Miami.

The lowest seed to reach an Elite Eight on the women’s side is No. 11, with Gonzaga becoming the first to do so a little more than a decade ago. The Bulldogs had won games in two straight NCAA Tournaments before the 2011 edition, advancing to the Sweet 16 with their 2010 squad. Gonzaga started its trio of history-making wins by taking down Iowa, then beating No. 3 seed UCLA by 14 to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Bulldogs got by Louisville to advance to the Elite Eight before falling one step short of the Final Four with a loss to No. 1 seed Stanford. Gonzaga’s final record was 31-5 on the season and have been back to the Sweet 16 twice since the 2011 season. Gonzaga nearly had a repeat trip to the Elite Eight in 2015, taking Tennessee to overtime one round before.

The first double-digit seed, and one of only three all-time, to make an Elite Eight was Lamar’s 1991 run. Oregon also advanced to one game short of the Final Four with the freshmen duo of Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard. The Ducks also finished the year 8-10 in the Pac-12 Conference and with 14 overall losses, while Lamar finished with a record of 29-4.

The Cardinals won each of their first three NCAA Tournament games by at least 14 points, taking down No. 7 seed Texas, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Arkansas before falling to No. 1 Virginia in the Elite Eight. Lamar has made one NCAA Tournament appearance since that run, winning the Southland Conference in 2010.

The lowest seed to make a Final Four is represented by the Razorbacks’ run 24 years ago. Arkansas entered the tournament with an unimpressive 18-10 record, going 7-7 in Southeastern Conference play. The Razorbacks defeated Hawaii to open tournament play and became the only 9-seed to beat a No. 16 on the women’s side by beating Harvard in the second round.

In the Sweet 16, Arkansas won by 16 over Kansas and punched its ticket to the Final Four with a victory over No. 2 seed Duke. The longest Cinderella NCAA Tournament run for a women’s team came to an end before the championship game, losing to the eventual national champion, which we’ll see later in the countdown.

The 30-year anniversary of Missouri State, formerly Southwest Missouri State, making a run to the Final Four is this season, with the Lady Bears likely celebrating the occasion in Springfield with another NCAA Tournament appearance. Missouri State won the Gateway Conference, now known as the Missouri Valley Conference, with a 17-1 record in league play.

The Lady Bears’ tournament started with a 16-point win over Kansas, continued with an overtime victory against No. 1 seed Iowa. To reach the Final Four, Missouri State blew out two of the nation’s elite teams, UCLA by 26 and Ole Miss by 23. Western Kentucky ended MSU’s season at 31-3.

A pair of No. 7 seeds have advanced to the Final Four in Minnesota’s run 18 years ago and Washington’s 2016 squad, led by Kelsey Plum. The Golden Gophers take the top spot due to having less losses during their respective seasons and a better showing in their final game of the year.

Minnesota started the tournament with an 11-point win over UCLA and advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 19-point victory over No. 2 seed Kansas State. The Golden Gophers, led by Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville, advanced to the Final Four with wins over Boston College and Duke, before falling to the eventual national champion, which will appear later on this list.

The Fighting Irish’s run to the Final Four 25 years ago was the only 6-seed to make it to college basketball’s final weekend from the women’s tournament. Notre Dame had a strong at-large resume, finishing the regular season with a 27-6 record, including a 17-1 mark in Big East Conference play.

Notre Dame started the tournament with a 31-point win over Memphis, then a narrow win over No. 3 seed and host Texas. Wins over Alabama and George Washington secured the Fighting Irish’s place in the Final Four. Notre Dame was denied a chance at the title by eventual-champion Tennessee, who also knocked off Big East champion, previously undefeated UConn in the Elite Eight.

Only No. 5 seeds and higher have advanced to championship games in the women’s tournament. The Cardinals are the only non-top-4-seed team to hold that distinction, making a run to the title game nine years ago. Louisville was an at-large team with a regular-season record of 24-8.

After easy victories over Middle Tennessee State and Purdue to advance to the Sweet 16, the Cardinals took down top overall seed Baylor to move forward to the Elite Eight. After beating Tennessee to advance to the Final Four, another victory over California set up Louisville with a game against UConn for the title. The Huskies dominated that game in New Orleans.

It’s been 28 years since a No. 4 seed has appeared in a championship game, happening for the first time in 1992 with Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech was the most recent team to achieve the feat and is one of the teams closest to winning a championship but never lifted the title. The Bulldogs defeated SMU and Ole Miss at home to reach the Sweet 16.

Louisiana Tech took down top-seeded Tennessee and USC to reach the Final Four. A 3-point win over Alabama secured the Bulldogs’ place in the title game. A buzzer-beater took Tech from champions to runners-up. The Bulldogs finished the season 31-4. Speaking of the team that beat Louisiana Tech…

The Tar Heels defeated Louisiana Tech on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Charlotte Smith and claimed the national championship, one of only two No. 3 seeds to lift a title, the other being 1997’s Tennessee squad. North Carolina entered the tournament with 27 wins and was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s champion.

UNC easily advanced to the Sweet 16, taking down Georgia Southern and Old Dominion. A close victory over Vanderbilt and a 12-point win over UConn sent the Tar Heels to the Final Four. North Carolina defeated No. 1 seed Purdue by 15 to advance to the championship game. Smith’s championship-winning basket came off an inbounds pass from under the basket with 0.7 seconds left in the game.

Plenty of strong champions have received a 2-seed in the tournament, but having a list commemorating the best women’s teams of any kind and completely denying UConn felt wrong. The Huskies are deserving of this spot. Other teams considered were Maryland’s 2006 squad, Texas A&M in 2011 and Texas Tech, led by Sheryl Swoopes, in 1993.

With star Diana Taurasi pulling the strings on one of many legendary teams coached by Geno Auriemma, the Huskies won every tournament game by nine points or more, including a defeat of Pat Summit’s Tennessee in the championship game. It was the fifth of 11 UConn national titles.

Arguably the greatest college basketball team of all time takes the top spot. Playing an incredibly tough schedule, the Lady Vols went wire to wire as the nation’s top team and didn’t lose a game all season. A roster full of stars such as Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Semeka Randall and current Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper, formerly Kellie Jolly, combined with Summit sparked a dominant season.

Tennessee’s toughest NCAA Tournament matchup came in the Elite Eight, beating North Carolina by six points. No other tournament game was close, with runners-up Louisiana Tech losing by the second-smallest deficit of 18. The Lady Vols played in three games all season decided by single digits, finishing 39-0.