Gopher women’s basketball earns top-16 seed, will host NCAA regional
Did the Gophers do enough to host an NCAA Tournament regional?
This week on the Gopher Coaches Show, we're talking with the University of Minnesota women's basketball team ahead of the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers are 22-8 on the season and are a lock for the Big Dance. The question remaining is if they'll earn a top-16 seed on Selection Sunday, which means they would host a first and second round regional at Williams Arena. FOX 9's Ahmad Hicks and KFAN's Justin Gaard catch up with coach Dawn Plitzuweit. Guard Brylee Glynn and post Finau Tonga also join the show.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team will host a first and second round regional at Williams Arena for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.
The Gophers got the news Saturday, as the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee announced the 16 schools that will host regionals.
Selection Sunday for Gophers
What we know:
The Gophers will hold a watch party Sunday night at Williams Arena, where they will learn their seed and four-team pod for the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is 22-8 on the season, and lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers are 13-3 at Williams Arena this season.
What we don't know:
The other three teams in Minnesota’s first and second round regional will be announced Sunday night on ESPN.
Gophers in the NCAA Tournament
Why you should care:
The Gophers are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. It’s the first time since 2005 that Minnesota will host an NCAA Tournament game. The Gophers got to the Sweet 16 that season.
NCAA Tournament seed list
Dig deeper:
Here is an alphabetical order of the host seed list for the NCAA Tournament:
- Duke
- Iowa
- Louisville
- LSU
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- TCU
- Texas
- UCLA
- UConn
- Vanderbilt
- West Virginia
What's next:
The Gophers will learn their overall seed and first round opponent Sunday night. This will mark their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Dawn Plitzuweit.