It’s bracketology season in women’s college basketball. Let’s take a closer look at teams on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
The regular season in women’s college basketball is over for most leagues, but teams still have plenty to play for before we reach Selection Sunday. While some teams feel comfortable about making the Big Dance and will be jockeying for seeding, others are just trying to crack the field.
Those are our bubble teams, and many of them have work to do if they want to hear their names called on Selection Sunday. Winning games is the best recipe for getting in.
Here are the teams who need a victory – or two or three – in their respective conference tournaments to ensure a March Madness bid.
Saint Joseph’s
The simplest path for the Hawks to make the NCAA Tournament would be to simply win the A-10 Tournament happening this week in Henrico, Virginia. At the very least, St. Joe’s needs a semifinal win over Richmond, which seems like a lock to make the Big Dance. But it’s unclear if just an appearance in the conference title game would be enough to push the Hawks in as an at-large. The good news, St. Joe’s completed a regular season sweep over the strongest team on the other side of the bracket, George Mason, which has bubble hopes of its own.
St. Joe’s is powered this season by forward Laura Ziegler, who is arguably piecing together a season worthy of All-American consideration. The 6-foot-2 junior from Denmark is the only player in all of Division I women’s college basketball averaging at least 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game this season.
Princeton
To make a potential three-bid Ivy League a reality, Princeton needs to win its final regular season game – against fourth-place Penn – and then needs to at least beat Harvard in the semifinals of Ivy Madness to put itself in good position for Selection Sunday. Like St. Joe’s in the A-10, the simplest path for Princeton to make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament would be to win Ivy Madness.
Despite losing star Madison St. Rose early in the season, the Tigers are 49th in the NET and have four Quad 1 and 2 victories.
Colorado
The Buffs got themselves a nice Quad 2 win over a fellow bubble team in Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday. But despite reaching the 20-win mark, they still need some help to make the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado has a difficult task in front of it on Friday when it plays against top-seeded TCU in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in Kansas City. Should the Buffs pull off an upset, that would do wonders for their NCAA Tournament resume, but Colorado lost at TCU by 13 points earlier this season. It’s likely that Colorado will need help elsewhere. Put more specific, they need other teams on the bubble – like Marquette, Seton Hall, Princeton and St. Joseph’s – to lose early in their conference tournaments.
Indiana
The Hoosiers did themselves a big favor by notching a win over Oregon in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. That 78-62 victory over the Ducks, behind 18 points from Yarden Garzon, will go down as a solid Quad 2 win. That should be enough to secure a berth in March Madness for Indiana, which hasn’t missed the field since 2018. Propping up the Hoosiers’ resume at the moment are four impressive victories, over Columbia, Baylor, Iowa and Ohio State, all locks to make the tournament.
But Indiana could help itself even more, and not be sweating heading into Selection Sunday, if it gets a win on Friday in Indianapolis over No. 1 seed USC. While that sounds like a tall order – and it very much is – it’s worth remembering that the Hoosiers had the Trojans on the ropes in Bloomington back in January. Indiana led by as much as 11 points before JuJu Watkins saved the day for USC late in the fourth quarter.
The win over Oregon should be enough. A solid showing against USC should help. An upset win makes Indiana a lock for the field of 68.
