Dancing in SLC: Utah women host Gardner-Webb in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY — It's been almost two weeks since Lynne Roberts' team last played a basketball game.

Her team was surprisingly bounced early from the Pac-12 Tournament to eventual conference champion Washington State after a season where Utah (25-4) had lost only three games during the regular season. It served as a bit of a wake-up call that Utah could be beaten and nothing was guaranteed in the postseason.

Survive and advance.

But on Sunday, there was one guarantee officially handed out: Utah will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Huntsman Center for its region as a No. 2 seed. The Utes will open up the Big Dance on Friday against No. 15 seeded Gardner-Webb (29-4), who won the Big South Conference.

"I'm pleased that we got a 2 seed; I think we earned that with the course of the whole season," Roberts said. "I know losing in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament kept us out of that one seed, but I thought we were a deserved two."

It's the second straight season that Utah has appeared in the NCAA Tournament, but the first as a No. 2 seed. It's also only the second time in the Pac-12 era that Utah has been a participant in the tournament. Utah has never been higher than a No. 5 seed (last came during the 2005-06 season) in the NCAA Tournament.

"These guys are competitors, and they're ticked off because we want to win," Roberts said moments after Utah lost in the Pac-12 Tournament. "And I think competitive people let losses — and when you get knocked down, it's more fuel to the fire. So it's almost, I think, better. ... We've got things we can get better at, and I have no doubt that we'll be spitting nails by the time the ball gets thrown up in that first-round game."

But there can be no more losses along the way if Utah hopes to live up to its high seeding.

Ahead of the season, Utah's goal was to make it to the second week of the tournament — last time was during the 2005-06 season — and beat the second round appearance it achieved last season. But based on its one-time No. 3 ranking in the country and wins over several top women's programs, there's optimism the team can achieve more.

Utah will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Huntsman Center, with No. 7 North Carolina State meeting up with Ivy League champion No. 10 Princeton. Barring an upset, Utah will play the winner of that game before a potential Sweet 16 matchup with No. 3 LSU.

The Utes are in the same regional as No. 1 Indiana, but they wouldn't meet up with the Hoosiers until a possible Elite 8 matchup.

"Honestly, it's my first time since I've been in college in the tournament, so just to get in and be one of the top seeds, I think that's just a blessing itself," said Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili. "Being one of the top seats in the tournament, it's surreal. Like, I would have never thought that I would be in this position. But it's just a blessing to be in this position, and I'm just grateful for it and I don't take it for granted."

Joining Utah from the Beehive State in the NCAA Tournament is WAC champion Southern Utah, who earned a 14 seed and will play third-seeded Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

The Pac-12 got seven teams in the NCAA Tournament, with Stanford earning the last remaining No. 1 seed. The Utes split its series with the Cardinal and were projected to get a 1 seed before its quarterfinal loss to Washington State, which earned a 5 seed and will play Florida Gulf Coast.

Also earning a bid to the Big Dance was No. 4 UCLA (vs. Sacramento State), No. 6 Colorado (vs. Middle Tennessee), No. 7 Arizona (vs. West Virginia), and No. 8 USC (vs. South Dakota State).

Related topics