Texas women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer didn’t want to look too far into the future on Sunday.
Moments after his Longhorns beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament Championship in Greenville, South Carolina, he just wanted to enjoy the win.
But the Longhorns’ victory over the Gamecocks propelled them into the third No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bracketology projection, which means they will likely have the opportunity to play in its home state in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds. The two regional sites this year are Sacramento and Fort Worth.
Typically, the No. 1 overall seed gets first preference on where it wants to go. Wherever the Huskies decide to go, the Bruins will certainly want to stay on the West Coast and play in Sacramento, leaving Texas the third choice and at least one Fort Worth slot available.
‘I’m always a one-game-at-a-time guy. So I’m going to worry like heck over that first round matchup, whoever they send to Austin,’ Schaefer said Sunday. ‘Hopefully, we’ll be fortunate enough after that. I’ll go wherever they send me. I’ll take this team to Timbuktu. I don’t care.
‘It would be cool to, obviously, be able to stay around because of our fans. I think they would really embrace the opportunity to follow us.’
Elsewhere in the latest bracket projection following Power 4 conference tournaments, West Virginia and North Carolina have moved into the top 16 and should have hosting rights in the first round.
UNC won its quarterfinal game in the ACC Tournament and wasn’t blown off the court by Louisville in the semifinals, which should be enough to give the Tar Heels the final No. 4 seed. By winning the Big 12 Tournament, the Mountaineers jumped over Michigan State and Minnesota. Should West Virginia host during the tournament’s opening weekend, it’ll be the first time they’ve had March Madness games in Morgantown since 2014.
Here’s the full 68-team projection as of Sunday, March 8:
Fort Worth 1
Storrs, Connecticut
- 1 UConn
- 16 Howard
- 8 Tennessee
- 9 Virginia Tech
Norman, Oklahoma
- 5 Minnesota
- 12 Nebraska / Arizona State
- 4 Oklahoma
- 13 McNeese
Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 6 Notre Dame
- 11 Rhode Island
- 3 Michigan
- 14 Vermont
Nashville, Tennessee
- 7 NC State
- 10 Richmond
- 2 Vanderbilt
- 15 FDU
Sacramento 2
Los Angeles, California
- 1 UCLA
- 16 Cal Baptist
- 8 Georgia
- 9 Iowa State
Morgantown, West Virginia
- 5 Ole Miss
- 12 Miami Ohio
- 4 West Virginia
- 13 Western Illinois
Louisville, Kentucky
- 6 Oregon
- 11 Rice
- 3 Louisville
- 14 Charleston
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- 7 Baylor
- 10 Clemson
- 2 LSU
- 15 LMU
Fort Worth 3
Austin, Texas
- 1 Texas
- 16 Alabama A&M / Samford
- 8 Oklahoma State
- 9 Syracuse
College Park, Maryland
- 5 Kentucky
- 12 Murray State
- 4 Maryland
- 13 UC Irvine
Fort Worth, Texas
- 6 Washington
- 11 Virginia / Colorado
- 3 TCU
- 14 Idaho
Iowa City, Iowa
- 7 Texas Tech
- 10 South Dakota State
- 2 Iowa
- 15 UNLV
Sacramento 4
Columbia, South Carolina
- 1 South Carolina
- 16 High Point / Jacksonville
- 8 USC
- 9 Villanova
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- 5 Michigan State
- 12 James Madison
- 4 North Carolina
- 13 Louisiana Tech
Columbus, Ohio
- 6 Alabama
- 11 Fairfield
- 3 Ohio State
- 14 Green Bay
Durham, North Carolina
- 7 Illinois
- 10 Princeton
- 2 Duke
- 15 Navy
Bubble Watch
- Last Four Byes: Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Clemson, Richmond
- Last Four In: Virginia, Colorado, Arizona State, Nebraska
- First Four Out: North Dakota State, Mississippi State, Florida, BYU
- Next Four Out: Kansas State, Columbia, Texas A&M, Stanford
Arizona State hit the magic number. By winning two games in the Big 12 Tournament, the Sun Devils have reached 24 wins. That’s significant because, in the modern era of the tournament, no team from a major conference with 24 wins has ever been left out of the field. Coach Molly Miller’s team also picked up its first Quad 1 win of the season by beating Iowa State, which is a major resume booster.
Nebraska is USA TODAY Sports’ last team in. The Cornhuskers will be rooting for Princeton to win Ivy Madness, because if the Tigers falter it will create a bid-stealing situation. Princeton has a resume good enough for an at-large bid, but no other team in the Ivy does.
Stanford will miss March Madness for the second consecutive year after getting bounced in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Kansas State and BYU really could’ve used another win at the Big 12 Tournament to crack the field of 68.