COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina would be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament if the season were to end today, the tournament committee announced Thursday on ESPN.
The first top-16 seed selection reveal of the 2022 season was made during halftime of No. 1 South Carolina's eventual 69-40 win against No. 24 Ole Miss.
South Carolina, Stanford, NC State and Tennessee make up the four No. 1 seeds in the committee's first reveal.
The Gamecocks are seeded in the Greensboro, N.C., regional along with No. 2 seed Arizona, No. 3 seed Michigan and No. 4 Kansas State.
Two other top-16 reveals will take place throughout the regular season. The next reveal is scheduled for halftime of the South Carolina-Kentucky game, which starts Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.; and the third top-16 reveal before the tournament's official announcement will be at halftime of the Baylor-Iowa State game starting Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
The announcement of the official 68-team 2022 NCAA women's tournament bracket will be revealed Sunday, March 13 at 8 p.m. The Selection Show will be televised by ESPN.
This year's championship will be the first to have 68 teams. The "first four" games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 16 and Thursday, March 17 and will be held at four of the top-16 host sites.
First- and second-round games will be hosted by the top-16 seeds from March 18-March 21. Regional games run from March 25-28. The regional semifinal and final games will be held on March 25 and 27 in Greensboro and Spokane, Wash., and on March 26 and 28 in Bridgeport, Conn., and Wichita, Kan.
The 2022 Final Four will be played April 1 and 3 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina has made it to three of the last six NCAA Final Fours (2015, 2017 and 2021) and won the 2017 NCAA National Championship.
Top 16 projected NCAA women's tournament seeds
— 1. South Carolina
— 2. Stanford
— 3. NC State
— 4. Tennessee
— 5. Louisville
— 6. Indiana
— 7. Texas
— 8. Arizona
— 9. Michigan
— 10. Iowa State
— 11. UConn
— 12. LSU
— 13. Baylor
— 14. Oregon
— 15. Georgia
— 16. Kansas State
PROJECTED NCAA REGIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
Bridgeport Region
— 1. NC State
— 2. Indiana
— 3. LSU
— 4. Baylor
Greensboro Region
— 1. South Carolina
— 2. Arizona
— 3. Michigan
— 4. Kansas State
Spokane Region
— 1. Stanford
— 2. Texas
— 3. UConn
— 4. Georgia
Wichita Region
— 1. Tennessee
— 2. Louisville
— 3. Iowa State
— 4. Oregon
