Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — As the No. 16-ranked team in the country in the latest Associated Press Top 25, BYU women's basketball has built a case for a top-four seed in this year's NCAA women's basketball tournament — a crucial seed that would allow for up to two home games in the higher-seed hosted first and second rounds.
But the Cougars found themselves on the outside looking in Thursday during the NCAA's early reveal show.
South Carolina, Stanford, North Carolina State and Tennessee each earned a No. 1 seed, and BYU was pushed outside the top-four line that fell beyond No. 16 Kansas State.
Prior to Thursday's show, ESPN's Charlie Creme projected BYU as a No. 3 seed and hosting a sub-regional for two rounds in Provo. With the latest update, the venerated bracketologist moved the Cougars to a No. 5 seed opposite Long Beach State (or the automatic qualifier from the Big West) in the Eugene, Oregon regional.
Here's the full first look at the top-16, organized by regional assignments. BYU would be in the Wichita Region, according to current projections:
Bridgeport Region:
- NC State
- Indiana
- LSU
- Baylor
Greensboro Region:
- South Carolina
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Kansas State
Spokane Region:
- Stanford
- Texas
- UConn
- Georgia
Wichita Region:
- Tennessee
- Louisville
- Iowa State
- Oregon

"Even though we are 46 days from Selection Sunday, this first reveal allowed the committee to dig into the games played to date and not only helped to identify those teams that were in the top 16 but also those teams to watch closely as the season progresses," said Duke athletic director Nina King, who chairs of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee. "We will continue watching hundreds of games over the coming weeks as we ready for selections in early March."
Thursday's disappointment is a setback, but not the end result. The NCAA will host two more top-16 reveals this season: Feb. 10 during halftime of South Carolina's game against Kentucky on ESPN, and Feb. 28 when Baylor faces Iowa State on ESPN2.
The Cougars could still impress the committee enough to slide into one of those spots, but the margin is thin.
In addition to its No. 16 rating in the AP poll, BYU is 17-1 overall and 7-0 in West Coast Conference play. Riding a nine-game winning streak, Shaylee Gonzales, Paisley Harding, Lauren Gustin and the rest of the Cougars rank No. 8 nationally in scoring margin at 19.5 points per game.
"I think we love to compete and we love to win; staying with that mindset, we don't overlook any team," BYU senior Tegan Graham said after Thursday night's win over Santa Clara. "That's why you keep seeing these double-digit wins. As much respect as we have for ourselves, we also respect our opponent — and that's why we execute what we execute. We have a game plan, we go do it, and we win big."
But the toughest stretch of the conference season is on the horizon. After Saturday's home tip against San Francisco (2 p.m. MST, BYUtv), the Cougars head to the Pacific Northwest for back-to-back road games against Portland and Gonzaga.
The Pilots (13-4, 3-2 WCC) are currently third in the conference and riding a two-game winning streak, presenting a challenge similar to the Cougars' previous bout with then-No. 3 Santa Clara on Thursday.
Then comes the big one: Gonzaga, in Spokane, with a huge swatch of the college basketball world watching. The Zags (15-4, 6-0 WCC) are currently the only other WCC team inside Creme's projected field of 68, and the ESPN projection has them in a First Four matchup with UCLA for a No. 11 seed in the Waco regional.
Gonzaga has the motivation to win that game, as it would likely all-but clinch a spot in the tournament. But a road win over the Bulldogs could also vault BYU into top-16 consideration.
The two sides will also meet Feb. 19 in Provo, and are expected to carry the top-two seeds into the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.
Still a lot to prove, and plenty of places to prove it — no matter where that proof leads the squad.
"I don't think it makes a difference," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said of his team's response to the projections. "I don't know if there's a team that I've seen — and I've watched a lot of games — that we can't compete with. If we play our game, we can beat anybody. I think we proved it last year with Rutgers, the No. 3 team in the Big Ten. Everybody thought they were awesome, and we beat them. That's the way this team is.
"Our main goal is to get better every day, and try to improve and do the things we need to."
