Top Seed Baylor Leads Seven Big 12 Teams In Women’s Bracket

BIG 12 PRESS RELEASE

Defending national champion Baylor, which easily proved itself the best team (again) in the Big 12 Conference, now gets the chance to go nationwide - again.

The Lady Bears (32-1) were named the overall No. 1 seed in the 64-team NCAA Division I Women's Tournament bracket that was announced Monday night. Last season, Baylor was an unprecedented 40-0 in winning the school's second national championship and the second consecutive national title for the Big 12.

Baylor, who earned the Conference's automatic bid, was one of six Big 12 schools to make the field. Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and West Virginia earned at-large bids. Kansas and West Virginia were two of the last four teams to be an at-large selection.

The Lady Bears host the opening weekend and will start play against Prairie View at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Waco. The winner of that game will take on the winner of No. 8 seed Florida State and No. 9 seed Princeton.

Baylor is the No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Region. Oklahoma was also placed in that region. The No. 6 seed Sooners will face No. 11 seed Central Michigan at 10:10 a.m. Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. If the Sooners will, they could face No. 3 seed UCLA, which plays No. 14 seed Stetson. The Bruins defeated OU, 86-80, in mid-November.

Kansas and Oklahoma State were placed in the Norfolk Region where Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed.

Kansas, which last year was one of the last at-large teams to make the bracket, was awarded a No. 12 seed. The Jayhawks will face former Big 12 member Colorado on the Buffs' home court at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Boulder, Colo.

Oklahoma State is the No. 7 seed and will take on No. 10 seed DePaul at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Durham, N.C.

West Virginia, in its first season in the Big 12, earned an at-large bid and is the No. 11 seed in the Bridgeport Region. The Mountaineers will take on No. 6 seed Delaware, which is led by Elena Delle Donne, the nation's second-leading scorer at 25.3 points per game. That game will be at 11:15 a.m. Sunday in Newark, Del.

Iowa State and Texas Tech were each placed in the Spokane (Wash.) Regional, where Stanford is the top seed.

The Cyclones are a No. 5 seed and will open against Gonzaga, a No. 12 seed, at 3:15 Saturday. Gonzaga will be playing on its homecourt. The winner of that game goes against the winner of No. 4 seed Georgia and No. 13 Montana.

Texas Tech is hosting the opening record and the Lady Raiders are a No. 7 seed. They'll open play against No. 10 seed South Florida, which will be playing in its second NCAA Tournament and first since 2006. That game is at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. If Texas Tech wins its first-round game, it will face the winner of No. 2 seed Cal and No. 15 seed Fresno State.

Earlier Monday, the Lady Bears finished No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll for the second straight year. Baylor was No. 1 for the final 11 weeks of the season and received all 40 first-place votes for the fourth straight week.

"I am very fortunate to be able to coach this group of players," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "They strive to be the best they can be and have worked hard to get to and stay at the top of their game. The No. 1 ranking is another example that their efforts have paid off."