2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 16, 2018, and concluded with the national championship game on Sunday, April 1. The Final Four was played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This is the third time that the women's Final Four was played in Ohio after previously being held in Cincinnati in 1997 and Cleveland in 2007 and the first time that the women's Final Four was played in Columbus. For only the fourth time in the tournament’s 37-year history, all four of the number one seeds made it to the Final Four (1989, 2012, 2015).

Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA women's basketball tournament at 37 consecutive appearances. Connecticut also continued its record streak of 11 consecutive Final Four appearances.

Tournament procedure

Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2016 tournament. 32 automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).

The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.

The selection committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 64.

Schedule and venues The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done in 2016 and 2017. The following are the sites selected to host the last four rounds of the 2018 tournament.

First and Second rounds (Subregionals) March 16–18 KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee) Reed Arena, College Station, Texas (Host: Texas A&M University) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Edmund P. Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina) Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon) Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University) March 17–19 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia) St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University) Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, Florida (Host: Florida State University) Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University) Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University) Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles) Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

March 23–25 Kansas City regional, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Big 12) Lexington regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) March 24–26 Albany regional, Times Union Center, Albany, New York (Hosts: MAAC) Spokane regional, Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: University of Idaho) National semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship) March 30 and April 1 Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)

Subregionals tournament and automatic qualifiers

Selections for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship were announced at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, March 12 via ESPN.

The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.

A total of 64 teams entered the 2018 tournament. 32 automatic bids teams were given to teams that won their conference tournament. The remaining 32 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

The selection committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 64.

Automatic qualifiers The following teams automatically qualified for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.

ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bidACCLouisville32–221st2017America EastMaine23–98th2004AmericanConnecticut 32–030th2017Atlantic 10George Washington19–1318th2016Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast30–45th2017Big 12Baylor31–117th2017Big EastDePaul 26–723rd2017Big SkyNorthern Colorado26–61stNeverBig SouthLiberty24–917th2013Big TenOhio State27–625th2017Big WestCal State Northridge19–154th2015ColonialElon25–72nd2017C-USAWestern Kentucky 24–820th2017HorizonGreen Bay29–318th2017Ivy LeaguePrinceton24–57th2016MAACQuinnipiac 27–54th2017Mid-AmericanCentral Michigan28–44th2013MEACNorth Carolina A&T 23–84th2016Missouri ValleyDrake26–712th2017Mountain WestBoise State 23–95th2017NortheastSaint Francis (PA)24–912th2011Ohio ValleyBelmont 31–34th2017Pac-12Oregon 30–414th2017PatriotAmerican26–62nd2015SECSouth Carolina 26–615th2017SouthernMercer 30–21stNeverSouthlandNicholls State19–131stNeverSWACGrambling State19–136th1999SummitSouth Dakota State 26–68th2016Sun BeltLittle Rock23–95th2015West CoastGonzaga 27–510th2017WACSeattle18–141stNever

Tournament seeds +Albany regional – Times Union Center,Albany, New YorkSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1ConnecticutAmerican32–01Automatic2South CarolinaSEC26–611Automatic3Florida StateACC25–68At-large4GeorgiaSEC25–626At-Large5DukeACC22–819At-Large6South FloridaAmerican26–714At-Large7CaliforniaPac-1221–1043At-Large8Miami (FL)ACC21–1053At-Large9QuinnipiacMAAC27–537Automatic10VirginiaACC18–1333At-Large11BuffaloMid-American27–522At-Large12BelmontOhio Valley31–357Automatic13MercerSouthern30–248Automatic14Little RockSun Belt23–988Automatic15North Carolina A&TMEAC23–8154Automatic16Saint Francis (PA)Northeast24–999Automatic+Kansas City regional – Sprint Center,Kansas City, MissouriSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1Mississippi StateSEC32–15At-Large2TexasBig 1226–612At-Large3UCLAPac-1224–710At-Large4NC StateACC24–817At-Large5MarylandBig Ten25–718At-Large6IowaBig Ten24–721At-Large7Arizona StatePac-1221–1255At-Large8SyracuseACC22–838At-Large9Oklahoma StateBig 1220–1058At-Large10NebraskaBig Ten21–1060At-Large11CreightonBig East18–1249At-Large12PrincetonIvy League24–527Automatic13ElonColonial25–731Automatic14AmericanPatriot26–646Automatic15MaineAmerica East23–970Automatic16Nicholls StateSouthland19–13189Automatic+Lexington regional – Rupp Arena,Lexington, KentuckySeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1LouisvilleACC32–23Automatic2BaylorBig 1231–14Automatic3TennesseeSEC24–79At-Large4StanfordPac-1222–1013At-Large5MissouriSEC24–724At-Large6Oregon StatePac-1223–742At-Large7MichiganBig Ten22–939At-Large8MarquetteBig East23–925At-Large9DaytonAtlantic 1023–636At-Large10Northern ColoradoBig Sky26–632Automatic11Western KentuckyC-USA24–850Automatic12Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun30–447Automatic13GonzagaWest Coast27–534Automatic14LibertyBig South24–982Automatic15Grambling StateSWAC19–13210Automatic16Boise StateMountain West23–9111Automatic+Spokane regional – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena,Spokane, WashingtonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1Notre DameACC29–32At-Large2OregonPac-1230–47Automatic3Ohio StateBig Ten27–66Automatic4Texas A&MSEC24–916At-Large5DePaulBig East26–720Automatic6LSUSEC19–929At-Large7Green BayHorizon29–323Automatic8South Dakota StateSummit26–628Automatic9VillanovaBig East22–830At-Large10MinnesotaBig Ten23–841At-Large11Central MichiganMid-American28–415Automatic12OklahomaBig 1216–1435At-Large13DrakeMissouri Valley26–763Automatic14George WashingtonAtlantic 1019–1377Automatic15SeattleWAC18–14196Automatic16Cal State NorthridgeBig West19–15178Automatic

Tournament records

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan recorded 109 rebounds, setting the record for the most rebounds in a tournament. Texas hit 103 of 178 field-goal attempts, hitting 57.9% of the attempts, setting a record for the highest field-goal percentage in a tournament.

Bracket All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) * – Denotes overtime period

Albany Regional – Albany, New York

Albany Regional Final

Albany Regional all tournament team Gabby Williams, UConn (MOP) Cierra Dillard, Buffalo A'ja Wilson, South Carolina Crystal Dangerfield, UConn Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn

Kansas City Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Regional final

Kansas City Regional all tournament team Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State (Co-MOP) Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (Co-MOP) Kiara Leslie, NC State Jordin Canada, UCLA Monique Billings, UCLA

Lexington Regional – Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington Regional Final

Lexington Regional all tournament team Asia Durr, Louisville (MOP) Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville Arica Carter, Louisville Sam Fuehring, Louisville Marie Gülich, Oregon State

Spokane Regional – Spokane, Washington

Spokane Regional Final

Spokane Regional all tournament team Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (MOP) Marina Mabrey, Notre Dame Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon Ruthy Hebard, Oregon

Final Four During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Connecticut's Albany Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Notre Dame's Spokane Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Mississippi State's Kansas City Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Louisville's Lexington Region).

Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio

* – Denotes overtime period

Final Four

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (MOP) Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State Napheesa Collier, Connecticut

Record by conference ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNCACC816–78642211SEC712–7753211–American24–221111––Pac-12612–66543–––Big 1245–4432––––Mid-American24–2222––––Big Ten64–664–––––Big East44–444–––––MAAC11–111–––––Atlantic Sun11–111–––––Atlantic 1020–22––––––

The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively. The America East, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy League, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC and West Coast conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

Television ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. During the first and second rounds, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN3 and were streamed online via WatchESPN. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the game that had the closest score.

Studio host and analysts Maria Taylor (Host) Andy Landers (Analyst) Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (First, Second rounds, Final Four and National championship game) Nell Fortner (Analyst) (Regionals, Final Four and National championship game)

Broadcast assignments

First & second rounds Friday/Sunday Beth Mowins and Nell Fortner – Louisville, Kentucky Brenda VanLengen and Carol Ross – Knoxville, Tennessee