NCAA Tournament

Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest coach in women's basketball earlier this season. Now, she'll look to cap off a historic season with Stanford's third national title.

The selection committee announced the 64-team field for the 2021 installment of the tournament Monday, and the Cardinal claimed the No. 1 seed in the Alamo Region.

Connecticut, South Carolina and NC State joined Stanford atop the four regions.

2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

Alamo

Mercado

Hemisfair

River Walk

Stanford successfully navigated its way through arguably the toughest conference in the country. The Cardinal went 25-2, avenging both of their defeats to Colorado and UCLA. In the case of the latter, they hammered the Bruins 75-55 in the Pac-12 title game.

Few programs have enjoyed the kind of consistency Stanford has had under VanDerveer. The program's last national championship was in 1992, though. This could be the year the Cardinal end that drought.

Four players (Kiana Williams, Haley Jones, Lexie Hull and Cameron Brink) are scoring in double figures, and Stanford's defense is eighth in points allowed (52.7 points per game) and second in opponent field-goal percentage (32.6).

Breanna Stewart not only led UConn to four straight national titles but also collected four NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player nods. Paige Bueckers will look to keep pace with Stewart this spring.

The 5'11" guard has been excellent in her first year with the Huskies. She's averaging 19.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds. She's also shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from beyond the arc.

"Name one player that has taken a team this young to where we are today," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Bueckers' case to be the national player of the year. "Who's done more than her? And if you can give me a better argument, then I would say I'll vote for them, too. But I don't think you can."

Crediting Bueckers solely for UConn's 24-1 would be a disservice to the rest of the roster. Evina Westbrook is a dynamic playmaker, while Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa are combining to score 28.3 points per game.

But Bueckers is the singular talent the Huskies have lacked since Stewart graduated and moved on to the WNBA.

Whereas UConn seems to be a lock for the Final Four every year, NC State has struggled historically to get over the hump. Largely a product of the Kay Yow era, the Wolfpack have reached the Sweet 16 on 13 occasions but have just one Final Four trip on their resume.

NC State won both of its head-to-head meetings with Louisville and knocked off No. 1 South Carolina in December.

A double-digit overtime loss to Virginia Tech preceded that first victory over the Cardinals, but Elissa Cunane was absent on that occasion. The junior center made her impact felt in the ACC tournament, averaging 23.3 points and nine rebounds.

The selection committee had NC State fifth behind No. 4 Texas A&M in its most recent top-16 ranking. The committee obviously saw enough in the ACC tourney to vault the Wolfpack into their first-ever No. 1 seed.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament, Baylor enters as the defending champion.

NaLyssa Smith and Moon Ursin were supporting players during that 2019 title run and have emerged as key pieces for the Lady Bears. Smith is the team's leading scorer (18.1 points) and rebounder (9.1 boards), while Ursin has filled up the stat sheet (11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals).

DiDi Richards has made a full recovery from a spinal cord injury in October that left her temporarily paralyzed. The senior guard's defense was invaluable when the team went all the way two years ago, and her contributions on that side of the floor will once again set the tone for Baylor.

The selection committee did Baylor few favors, slotting the Lady Bears into the River Walk Region with UConn. That could be a great Elite Eight clash.

The NCAA is staging the women's tournament across multiple sites in Texas. The Alamodome in San Antonio will host the Final Four starting April 2.

Six officials who were scheduled to work the NCAA men's basketball tournament were sent home because one tested positive for COVID-19 and the others were in close contact without wearing masks.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported the news Monday, noting the officials were granted permission to leave their hotel to get dinner Sunday night because their rooms were not ready and there was not any food, multiple officials said.

However, one of them tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning to the hotel and then tested positive Monday morning. The group that attended the restaurant together was then sent home because of contact tracing.

The NCAA issued a statement, noting all but two of the officials were replaced:

Goodman noted the NCAA initially brought 60 officials to Indiana to work the Big Dance compared to the typical 100.

The NCAA is attempting to complete the event after its men's and women's tournaments were canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the entire men's tournament will take place in Indiana.

In theory, a controlled environment with less travel will help prevent the virus' spread.

Virginia, Kansas and Duke dropped out of their conference tournaments because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. The Cavaliers and Jayhawks qualified for the 68-team field.

One of the measures the NCAA took this year was to name four replacement teams should a team in the bracket have to drop out by Tuesday because of COVID-19 concerns. Those teams are Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Ole Miss.