March 17, 2025
Women’s selection committee chair discusses the 2025 NCAA Tournament
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee chair Derita Dawkins spoke about the process of creating a bracket that best represents how each team performed in regular season play, saying the committee had some really difficult conversations coming up with final seedings.
The women’s college basketball bracket for the 2025 NCAA tournament was unveiled during Sunday evening’s selection show.. Following the show, NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee chair Derita Dawkins spoke about the process of creating a bracket that best represents how each team performed in regular season play, saying the committee had some really difficult conversations coming up with final seedings.
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UCLA was given the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournamen. The Bruins, South Carolina, Texas, and USC were awarded the number one spot in their respective regions. Dawkins shared that the final bracket “resulted from the work that we’ve done throughout the season, watching games, having team discussions, etc.”
For Lauren Betts and the Bruins (30-2), this is their first time in program history being a No. 1 overall seed, benefiting from their victory over South Carolina (30-3) as well as their Big Ten Tournament title win over USC. While the Gamecocks are also a one-seed, this is their first time in four years not being the overall top team.
There were two key factors between deciding the fate for UCLA and the reigning champions this year. “One was the head to head matchup and the other was one of our criteria which was competitive in losses and South Carolina suffered a 29-point loss to UConn,” Dawkins explained.
South Carolina has the chance to become the first repeat champions since UConn in 2015-16. However, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley told ESPN that she was a “bit surprised” following the reveal of the bracket.
“Because we manufacture our schedule and put ourselves in position to be the No. 1 overall seed. I do think if you do the blind test and put our resume against any other team in the field, I think you’d pick us. That’s just plain and simple.”
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Also at the No. 1 spot of their region is Texas (31-3). Madison Booker and the Longhorns will be trying to make their first Final Four appearance since 2003. USC (28-3) received the final one-seed for their region, beating out UConn (31-3). In December, the Trojans beat the Huskies 72-70 and could potentially face each other in a rematch during the tournament.
When selecting teams to be in the bracket, specifically Duke (2) and North Carolina (3), who are in the same pod, Dawkins says the committee stays “as close to the S curve as possible.” She continues, “That’s the spot they earned. If you look, you’ll see what the overall seed is for a team, and if you follow the S curve, it makes better sense what you’re seeing there. So this wasn’t about us putting them in the same pod. We put them in the spot they earned.”
For the first time in conference history, the Ivy League has three teams competing in the tournament. Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia. Dawkins said each team had “incredible seasons” and were selected based on merit. There are also six teams making their tournament debuts, including UC Davis, FDU, and William & Mary.
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Despite the rankings of each school in the bracket, Dawkins says overall, fans just want to watch good basketball, and that’s what they’re going to get. “I think the teams deserve to be seated and bracketed according to the work they’ve done all year on the court. And that’s what we did,” she explained on ESPN. “We stuck true to the S curve, put those teams in the slots that they earned, and that’s the bracket. I think the fans are going to see some really good basketball, and they’re going to see some new matchups.”
The First Four play-in games will begin on March 19 at 7 p.m. with a matchup between Iowa State (11) and Princeton and UC San Diego (16) vs Southern U (16) at 9 p.m. On Thursday, March 20 Columbia (11) and Washington (11) will play for a spot in the tournament at 7 p.m. followed by High Point (16) and William & Mary (16) at 9 p.m.
The first round games will kick off on Friday, March 21 at 11:30 a.m. with a game between Michigan (6) and the winner of the Iowa State/Princeton game. The NCAA championship game will be held on April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
