After a solid regular season that saw them finish eighth in the Big Ten standings, the Huskies earned an NCAA Tournament berth. Here's what you need to know.
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies women's basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday at a watch party at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
After finishing 21-10 and losing in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, the Huskies were given an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This is the second-straight NCAA Tournament berth for the Huskies and the second berth for the team under head coach Tina Langley. She has been three times, also getting to the tournament at Rice in 2018-19.
Here's what you need to know:
Top seeds in NCAA Tournament
UConn is undefeated (34-0) and the defending national champions, but no one is handing veteran coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies their 13th national championship trophy just yet. They are led by sophomore Sarah Strong, the favorite for National Player of the Year.
The Huskies are the top overall seed, followed by UCLA (31-1), Texas (31-3) and their fellow Southeastern Conference member, South Carolina (31-3). The Longhorns defeated the Gamecocks 78-61 to win their first SEC tournament title.
UCLA’s only defeat of the season was a 76-65 loss to Texas on Thanksgiving Eve. The Bruins have won 25 consecutive games and have their own National Player of the Year candidate in senior center Lauren Betts.
About the berth for the Huskies
Washington's seed: No. 6
Opponent: South Dakota State
Opponents seed: No. 11
Game date: Friday, March 20
Game time: TBD
Game location: Fort Worth, Texas
NCAA Tournament formats and dates
Since 2022, the women's tournament has matched the men's draw with a total of 68 teams selected. In both tournaments, 31 bids are determined by automatic bids given to conference tournament champions. The other 37 bids are determined by a selection committee.
The men's first and second round action will take place from Thursday-Sunday. The women's action starts just one day later and extends to Monday, March 23. The women's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be held in Forth Worth, Texas and Sacramento, Calif. The Final Four and National Championship games are set to be played in Phoenix, Ariz.
The title game is Sunday, April 5, one day before the men's championship game.
Washington head coach Tina Langley takes a question at the podium during the 2024 Big Ten Womenís Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Melissa Tamez-Imagn ImagesRound one and round two sites
Unlike the men's tournament, the first two rounds of the women's tournament are held at campus sites. There are 16, four-team pods that make up the 64-team field (once the "First Four" games happen). The top 16 teams and the host venues were released on Saturday, prior to the Selection Show.
The 'First Four' games are being played on Wednesday and Thursday.
In alphabetical order (via USA Today):
- Duke, Durham, North Carolina | Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Pete Maravich Assembly Center
- Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky | KFC Yum! Center
- Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan | Crisler Center
- Minnesota, Minneapolis | Williams Arena
- North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Carmichael Arena
- Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio | Value Center Arena
- Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma | Lloyd Noble Center
- South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina | Colonial Life Arena
- TCU, Forth Worth, Texas | Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena
- Texas, Austin, Texas | Moody Center
- UCLA, Los Angeles | Pauley Pavilion
- UConn, Storrs, Connecticut | Gampel Pavilion
- Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee | Memorial Gym
- West Virginia, Morgantown | Hope Coliseum
History
The Huskies have now been to the NCAA Tournament 21 times and they own a lifetime record of 21-20. Washington's best run in the NCAA Tournament was in 2015-16 when the program reached the Final Four under previous head coach Mike Neighbors.
Washington last reached the tournament in 2024-25, losing in the First Four. Prior to that, UW hadn't been to the event since 2016-17.
Note: Brady Farkas, Jami Leabow and Tom Goslowski contributed to this report.
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