UCLA Women's Hoops: Bruins Draw a #3 Seed Against Wyoming
The Bruins slotted into a tough region, but a path to the Final Four is there.
There was much less nervous energy surrounding the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team heading into Selection Monday. The Bruins were almost assured of making the tournament, with a 16-5 record, strong wins against great teams in Stanford, Arizona, and Oregon, and a runner-up spot in the Pac-12 Tournament.
So it came as no surprise to see the Bruins slot into a #3 seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, ending up in the Hemisfair region in a first-round matchup with the Wyoming Cowgirls.
On the surface, this does not appear to be a difficult first-round matchup for the Bruins. The Cowgirls stole the Mountain West Conference’s automatic bid, running through the conference tournament despite going 8-8 in the conference and having not played a game in the two weeks prior. Wyoming ended up with a NET ranking of 99, so this should hopefully be a nice warm-up for the Bruins.
That said, the rest of the Hemisfair region should be interesting. In the second round, the Bruins will likely face #6 Texas, a team that features projected #1 WNBA draft pick, Charli Collier. Should the Bruins get past the Longhorns, they will likely face #2 Maryland, the team featuring the best offense in women’s college basketball. The clash in styles between the two teams should make for a fascinating game. If the Bruins win that, they likely will face #1 South Carolina, who rode an SEC Tournament victory to claim that spot.
The Pac-12 had a strong year, and that was emblematic of their representation in the tournament. Six Pac-12 teams made the tournament, with Stanford grabbing a #1 seed and two long droughts broken by Arizona and Washington State.
Like the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament will all be taking place in the same location. The entire tournament will take place in San Antonio, with various first and second-round games taking place throughout the city before settling into the Alamodome for the Sweet Sixteen onward.
Here’s to the Bruins continuing their streak of strong tournament performances and breaking through to the Final Four.
Go Bruins!