Women's College Basketball

Texas A&M overtook Louisville as the NCAA unveiled its top 16 projected teams in the 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament.

The Aggies climbed into the No. 3 position behind Connecticut and Stanford. South Carolina was the other No. 1 seed. The Huskies remain the top overall seed for the second straight bracket projection.

Since the NCAA rolled out its initial seeding preview, Louisville went 2-1 to close out the regular season, losing 68-59 to Florida State on Feb. 21. The Cardinals might be able to reestablish themselves as a No. 1 seed if they claim an ACC tournament title, since doing so would likely mean going through NC State.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, just claimed a regular-season SEC Championship following a 65-57 victory over South Carolina.

The tournament committee's rankings exclude Sunday's games. If A&M taking the Gamecocks down had been taken into account, the Aggies may have climbed into the No. 2 spot.

Stanford and UConn seem pretty safe bets to at least sit atop one of the four regions in the Big Dance regardless of how the conference tournaments unfold.

The Cardinal (22-2) are riding an 11-game winning streak, a stretch that includes victories over No. 13 Oregon and No. 9 Arizona. The Huskies are a perfect 17-0 in the Big East prior to Monday's finale against Marquette. They've also claimed nonconference wins against No. 25 Tennessee and No. 1 South Carolina.

Upon the conclusion of conference tournaments across the country, the full bracket will be announced March 15.

Connecticut was the No. 1 overall seed as the selection committee unveiled its first projection for the top 16 teams in the 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament field.

South Carolina, Stanford and Louisville rounded out the rest of the No. 1 seeds.

"This first reveal brought to the forefront the unusual scheduling circumstances of the current season that we as committee members must take into account during the selection and seeding process," selection committee chair Nina King said. "We know that what was announced today is just a snapshot in time with a month to play before selections. We along with all fans will be watching closely over the coming weeks."

The Huskies' position didn't come as a surprise as they moved up to the top spot in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll after knocking off South Carolina 63-59 in overtime. UConn sits at 16-1 with additional victories over DePaul (twice) and Tennessee.

No team is creating much distance on the rest of the pack, and this certainly isn't the most dominant squad of Geno Auriemma's tenure in Storrs, Connecticut.

But UConn would have as good a case as anybody else to be the No. 1 team in the Big Dance.

Likewise, the selection committee won't catch too much grief about South Carolina and Louisville leading a tournament regional.

Bumping NC State to No. 6 in favor of Stanford might raise some eyebrows, though.

While the Wolfpack have a pair of rough losses to Virginia Tech and North Carolina, they've upset a pair of No. 1 teams (South Carolina on Dec. 3 and Louisville on Feb. 1). That aforementioned defeat to the Hokies also came when leading scorer Elissa Cunane was out of the lineup.

Of course, the upper quarter of the 64-team field isn't finalized. NC State might need some help nonetheless considering it doesn't face a ranked opponent for the remainder of the regular season.

Stanford solidified its resume with a 63-61 win over No. 13 Oregon on Monday as well.

The selection committee's second reveal will come March 1 before the full bracket is announced March 15.

Connecticut moved into the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press' Top 25 women's basketball poll on the strength of its 63-59 overtime win over previously top-ranked South Carolina last Monday.

The AP's Doug Feinberg noted the Huskies, who were No. 2, have been ranked first in nine straight seasons. The second-longest active streak is only two years, an achievement shared by South Carolina and Stanford.

"It becomes a little more meaningful or significant when you see some programs and where they were nine years ago and where they are today," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, who has been with the Huskies since 1985. "You appreciate it for sure when you see how hard it is that other really, really good programs [don't do it]. It does bring a sense of, yeah, we're fortunate that we put ourselves in that position every year."

The AP poll was bound to have a new No. 1 team for the third straight week once the Gamecocks suffered their second loss of the year.

Paige Bueckers finished with 31 points, six steals, five assists and four rebounds, and the freshman guard confirmed the outcome with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired deep into overtime.

Connecticut hasn't won a national championship since 2016, which feels like an eternity for a program that reeled off four straight titles and six over an eight-year span.

Bueckers has lived up to the hype. Evina Westbrook has made an immediate impact upon being eligible to play following her transfer from Tennessee. Bueckers' success is also overshadowing the fact UConn has another freshman, Aaliyah Edwards, who's averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 block in just 19.4 minutes per game.

No team in women's basketball looks to be head and shoulders above the pack. This could be the opportunity for the Huskies to once again reign supreme.

South Carolina's 12-game win streak is no more after the top-ranked Gamecocks suffered a 63-59 overtime defeat to No. 2 UConn on Monday night at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.

Paige Bueckers has lived up to the hype as a true freshman, and her legend continues to grow. The 5'11" guard displayed a level of poise belying her years, posting a game-high 31 points along with six steals, five assists and four rebounds.

Bueckers put the finishing touches on the victory with a three-point heave as the shot clock wound down with 10.8 seconds left in overtime.

She also carried the UConn offense late in regulation when South Carolina was rolling thanks to an 11-0 run.

Bueckers halved the Huskies' deficit with a mid-range jumper and tied the game at 54 with 49.5 seconds remaining.

The Gamecocks still had an opportunity to win the game in regulation following a UConn turnover. Destanni Henderson's jumper was off the mark, and putback attempts by Aliyah Boston and Victaria Saxton didn't go down.

As South Carolina built a three-point advantage in overtime, Bueckers once again answered the call with two quick shots to put the Huskies ahead 60-59 before a fortunate bounce sealed the result.

Entering Monday night, UConn and South Carolina were two of the best offensive teams in the country. The Huskies and Gamecocks ranked fourth and 11th in points per game.

However, they combined to score just 48 points in the first half.

UConn really struggled to find a groove, going 12-of-35 from the field, missing all six of its three-pointers, and committing 10 turnovers. Still, the Huskies would have taken a 24-21 lead into the locker room at halftime were it not for a half-court buzzer-beater from Zia Cooke.

UConn needed Bueckers to step up because no other Huskies player scored in double figures. Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had six points apiece while combining to shoot 6-of-21. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley summed it up after the game:

Boston also feasted inside against the UConn frontcourt, and the sophomore forward may have propelled South Carolina to the win were it not for her four fouls. She had a double-double (17 points and 15 rebounds) while playing 43 minutes.

Once Boston was whistled for her fourth personal at the 5:26 mark of the final quarter, though, she couldn't be as aggressive inside.

That briefly took away what had been an advantage for Staley's squad. The Gamecocks out-rebounded UConn 52-39—including grabbing 19 offensive boards—and had 40 points in the paint.

Ultimately, the spotlight belonged to Bueckers.

Geno Auriemma has seen a litany of women's basketball legends put on a Huskies uniform. Although it's far too early to compare Bueckers to stars of UConn past, she appears poised to follow in their footsteps.

And Monday could be a preview of a Final Four or national championship encounter to come this spring.

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team blew out the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night, 103-35, giving head coach Geno Auriemma the 1,099th win of his legendary career.

That victory propelled him to second place on the all-time wins list in Division I women's basketball, ahead of late Tennessee Volunteers head coach Pat Summitt.

He is now chasing Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, who sits atop the wins list with 1,105. That number will continue to grow with VanDerveer—who has been coaching since 1978—still leading the Cardinal.

Auriemma, 66, reflected on the accomplishment before the game, telling reporters he was proud of the achievement:

"It's obviously something that you take tremendous pride in. And you can look back on as an incredible accomplishment, to be able to coach this long. To have the opportunity to coach this long, and to want to do it.

"If you put me back in time and drop me down here in 1984 again and say, 'Hey, try to do this,' I would say it's not doable.' Yet in the next breath I can say, 'But we did it.' And we're not finished yet."

In his 36 years as the head coach at UConn, Auriemma has posted an incredible list of accomplishments:

• 11 national championships
• 20 Final Four appearances
• 12 Final Four appearances in a row (2007-08 to 2018-19)
• .886 winning percentage (best in D-I women's basketball history)
• 111-game winning streak (2014-15 to 2016-17)
• Six undefeated seasons
• 13 National Player of the Year winners

Passing Summitt is no small feat. She was a legend in her own right during her time at Tennessee, with the rivalry between the Huskies and Volunteers becoming the main attraction for women's college basketball in the 1990s and 2000s.

"Back when Pat was alive and winning championships, everybody would talk about Pat in two ways," Auriemma told reporters. "One, 'I admire her so much, she wins so much, she does it the right way.' Then you had the other part of the population that would go, 'Man, I want to beat Tennessee so bad.'"

These days, teams around the nation want to beat UConn so bad. Few do.

The top-ranked Stanford Cardinal are unbeaten no more after suffering a 77-72 overtime defeat to Colorado on the road Sunday.

This is Stanford's first loss to an unranked opponent since Dec. 22, 2019, when it fell to Texas. ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel also noted this is Colorado's first victory over the Cardinal since the 2002 NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Haley Jones gave Stanford a 67-65 lead with 45 seconds left in regulation. As the Cardinal were inbounding the ball with 26 seconds on the clock, Jaylyn Sherrod picked off the pass for a breakaway layup to tie the score.

Jones had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer but had her shot blocked by Frida Formann.

Formann also delivered the decisive blow in overtime. She connected on a three-pointer from the top of the arc to put Colorado ahead 72-70 with 1:36 remaining in overtime. The Buffaloes didn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the extra frame.

Formann had 15 points and six rebounds, but Mya Hollingshed played the starring role for the victors. The senior forward had a game-high 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

Three-point shooting has generally been a strength for Stanford this season. The Cardinal were making an average of 8.5 threes per game and connecting on 35 percent of their opportunities. On Sunday, they were 8-of-22 from long range.

Stanford dominated inside, owning a 46-30 edge in points in the paint. Colorado's eight threes and 15 made free throws helped to negate that advantage, though.

The Cardinal can't dwell on the upset for too long since they host No. 8 UCLA on Friday.

As Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey explained Saturday, the only reason the 2020-21 season is taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic is because of money. 

"The answer is this: The season will continue on. It's called the almighty dollar," Mulkey said, per Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.com. "The NCAA has to have the almighty dollar from the men's tournament. The almighty dollar is more important than the health and welfare of me, the players or anybody else."

Mulkey announced in early January she tested positive for COVID-19, and she was away from her team for several weeks before returning for Saturday's loss to Iowa State. Her Bears fell to 8-2 on the season but are currently ranked No. 6 in the country.

Even with the latest loss, which ended an NCAA-best streak of 61 straight home wins for Baylor, the squad is still one of the nation's best and has a chance to help Mulkey earn her fourth national championship.

"I'm uncomfortable coaching," she said Saturday. "I understand, COVID is real. I've had it—come talk to me sometime. But I don't know ... all the calls and procedures, that's gonna go on and make it unusual, uncomfortable for every program. We're no different at Baylor."

Mulkey is not the first coach to raise concerns about the 2020-21 season taking place amid the pandemic.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma discussed in December the mental challenges for the players and staff.

"The ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand has been very, very, very difficult," he said, per Voepel.

The Huskies are 7-0 on the season but have had four games canceled or postponed due to safety protocols.

Duke coach Kara Lawson was even more clear, saying, "I don’t think we should be playing right now. That’s my opinion on it."

The Blue Devils later opted out of the season.

While the NCAA remains on track to finish the year as scheduled, the governing body continues to face a lot of criticism from the biggest coaches in the sport.

UConn and Baylor announced Tuesday the women's basketball game between the schools scheduled for Thursday has been canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Baylor program.

Baylor announced the cancellation and that the team is restricting activities after head coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19.

Mulkey released the following statement regarding her positive test:

"On Dec. 25, I was exposed to COVID-19 by a family member who tested positive. I immediately self-quarantined and did not re-join the team when our staff and players came back from our holiday break on Dec. 28. I produced three negative tests leading up to our game at TCU, Jan. 2. However, I decided that it was important to continue quarantining in case the virus took time to come to fruition. I tested positive yesterday [Jan. 4] and will now isolate. If I have no symptoms, I will re-join the program on Jan. 15. While I am disappointed and hate to be away from the program, Baylor women's basketball is in good hands with our coaches and support staff. The safety of our student-athletes is paramount and will take precedent over any basketball activity during this pandemic."

UConn vs. Baylor had the potential to be one of the top games of the 2020-21 women's college basketball season, as the No. 3 Huskies are a perfect 6-0 and the No. 6 Bears are 8-1.

Baylor noted it is unclear when it will take the floor next since it will depend on how long the program has to restrict activity.

The Bears were without Mulkey for their most recent game Jan. 2, which was a 74-50 win over TCU. Their next scheduled game is Sunday against Kansas State at home followed by a road tilt with Kansas on Jan. 13.

Baylor has been an elite program under Mulkey, winning national titles in 2005, 2012 and 2019, and reaching the Final Four on four occasions. The Bears have missed the NCAA tournament only once since Mulkey became the head coach in 2000.

Baylor has lost two or fewer games in four of the past five seasons, and its only loss so far this season was a road upset against No. 13 Arkansas.

UConn is perhaps the greatest women's basketball program of all time with 11 national titles since 1995, all of which came under head coach Geno Auriemma.

While the Huskies haven't won a championship since 2016, Auriemma has taken them to at least the Final Four in each of the past 12 NCAA tournaments.

UConn looks like its dominant self this season, winning each of its first six games by at least 23 points, which suggests the Final Four streak could continue.

With the Baylor game now off the table, UConn is next scheduled to play Saturday when it hosts the Providence Friars.

The Duke women's basketball team will opt out of the remainder of the 2020-21 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations and chief communications officer, addressed the decision in a statement on Friday:

"The student-athletes on the Duke women's basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns. We support their decision, as we have supported the choices made by all student-athletes at Duke during this unprecedented time. Duke will maintain our current schedule of competition in other sports and will continue to observe our rigorous health and safety protocols, which include daily testing for all student-athletes and are based on guidance from leading medical experts."

The Blue Devils began the season with a 3-1 record but were forced to pause activities Dec. 16 as a result of two positive tests for COVID-19 and contract tracing.

They were scheduled to return to the court Dec. 31 against Louisville.

According to Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press, Duke is the first Power Five school to opt out after starting the season.

Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson had previously criticized the season even taking place, telling reporters earlier this month, "I don't think we should be playing right now. That's my opinion on it."

Lawson is in her first season with the team after working as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. She also had a 13-year playing career in the WNBA.

Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has also questioned the ongoing season.

"I don't think it feels right to anybody," he said in early December. "I mean everyone is concerned."

The men's team canceled several nonconference games but returned to the court for the start of the ACC season against Notre Dame.

Schoenfeld noted Friday's decision does not affect the men's basketball squad, or any of the school's other teams.

South Carolina suffered its first defeat in more than a year, losing 54-46 to No. 8 North Carolina State on Thursday night.

The top-ranked Gamecocks hadn't lost since Nov. 28, 2019, a stretch of 29 games. ESPN Women's Hoops noted this was also the first time since February 2013 they scored fewer 50 points.

Through South Carolina's first three games, the trio of Destanni Henderson, Zia Cooke and Aliyah Boston were averaging 46.4 points. They shot a combined 9-of-45 from the field Thursday.

Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley didn't hold anything back in her postgame press conference, per ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel:

"We just had no flow. In 21 years, I never felt what I felt during the game. Uncoachable, untameable, just not listening, just selfish play. It will open our eyes to see how we need to be and how we need to play every time we step on the floor. We need some leadership. We need somebody who is going to step up and say, 'We need to get organized, we need to take better shots.'"

To drive Staley's point home, only three South Carolina players were credited with an assist, and Henderson accounted for six of the team's nine dimes.

The Gamecocks have one senior, and none of Cooke, Boston and Laeticia Amihere had the benefit of an NCAA tournament run as freshmen to gain what would've been valuable experience. A flat performance against a tough opponent was probably inevitable.

A matchup against No. 23 Iowa State on Sunday provides Staley's squad with an opportunity to rebound.

The result is an early statement from the Wolfpack, who didn't have the services of Jada Boyd. Kayla Jones (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Jakia Brown-Turner (11 points, 12 rebounds) stepped up in her absence.

NC State didn't provide a timetable for Boyd's return from a meniscal injury, so that will continue to loom large. The team's next Top 25 game isn't until Jan. 17 against No. 5 Louisville, though.