Texas Longhorns women earn No. 1 seed in March Madness, will host 1st and 2nd round
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns have rolled through their schedule this season, and they're officially a No. 1 seed in the women's NCAA Tournament.
Texas is the top seed in the Birmingham 3 Region and will take on either High Point or William and Mary in the first round March 22 at Moody Center in Austin. The tip-off time is yet to be determined.
High Point and William and Mary, both automatic qualifiers by winning their respective conferences, are part of the women's First Four and will play at 8 p.m., March 20 at Moody Center.
No. 8 seed Illinois and No. 9 seed Creighton will also play a first-round game in Austin.
For senior point guard Rori Harmon, she's back in March Madness after missing last season with a knee injury.
"I didn't get that feeling last year, and I'm just happy to be here to help the team win as many games as possible," she said. "We have to take it game by game and focus on what's ahead of us."
The Longhorns fell to South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference championship game after sharing the regular season title with the Gamecocks. The teams played twice during conference play and the home team won both games.
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Texas (31-3) racked up 14 Quad 1 wins, the second-most in the country, to finish with the NET ranking of No. 3. The Longhorns were the No. 1 overall seed last year, falling in the Elite Eight to North Carolina State. TCU is the No. 2 seed in the Longhorns' region.
Senior guard Shay Holle said this is the best group she's been part of from a preparation standpoint.
"We lock in on the scout and film," she said. "Everyone on the team is like that, and I'm very confident because of that."
South Carolina was named a No. 1 seed in the Birmingham 2 region. Southern California is the No. 1 seed in the Spokane 4 region.
UCLA is the tournament's No. 1 overall seed and will play in the Spokane 1 region. The women's Final Four will be April 4 and 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.