Pac-12 in Women's NCAA Tournament: Six Conference Teams Get Berths

Stanford is the defending national champ and gets a No. 1 seed in the Spokane Region

Six Pac-12 teams were selected to play in the women's NCAA tournament, and it's the fifth straight time that at least six teams from the conference received bids.

Regular-season and conference tournament champion Stanford (28-3) leads the way, earning its 34th consecutive NCAA tournament berth and getting a No. 1 seed for the 12th time overall. The Cardinal is the defending national champion and is riding a 20-game winning streak, which, surprisingly is not the longest streak in the country (Jackson State has won 21 in a row).

The five other Pac-12 representatives are Arizona (last year's national runnerup), Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Washington State. All six are seeded eighth or higher.

South Carolina is the betting favorite to win the event at 7-to-4 odds, according to BetOnline.ag, and Connecticut is the second favorite at 7-to-2. Stanford is third at 19-to-4.

Here's how the six Pac-12 teams break down:

Stanford

The Cardinal is the top seed in the Spokane Region and will host the first two rounds.  It will 16th-seeded and Big Sky tournament champion Montana State (22-12) on Friday, and, if Stanford wins, it would face the winner of No. 8 seed Kansas (20-9) and No. 9 Georgia Tech (21-10) on Sunday.

Texas (26-6) is the No. 2 seed in the Spokane Region. The Longhorns finished third in the Big 12 but won the Big 12 tournament with an upset of Baylor in the finals.

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Arizona

The only other Pac-12 team that will host the first two round, Arizona received a No. 4 seed in the Greensboro (N.C.) Regional. The Wildcats open against 13th-seeded Mountain West champ UNLV (26-6) on Saturday, and a win probably would man a seond-round game against North Carolina, which finished 23-6 and tied for third place in the ACC. If Arizona gets by that one it would probably face No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in the Sweet 16.

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Oregon

The Ducks (20-11) are the No. 5 seed in the Wichita (Kansas) Region, and have make the long trip to Knoxville, Tenn., to open against No. 12 seed and Ohio Valley Conference champ Belmont (22-7) on Saturday. A win in that game would probably pit Oregon against Tennessee, which is 23-8 and finished third in the SEC. Winning that second-round game next Monday would probably mean a Sweet 16 game against top-seeded Louisville.

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Colorado

The Buffaloes are in the NCAA tournament for the first time in nine years an are the No. 7 seed in the Greensboro (N.C.) Region. They open postseason play on Friday in Iowa City against No. 10 seed Creighton, a 20-9, third-place Big East team.  If Colorado survives that game, its second-round opponent Sunday probably would be second-seeded and host Iowa, which tied for the regular-season Big Ten championship, won the conference tournament and features national player of the year candidate Caitlin Clark.

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Utah

The Utes (20-11) are the No. 7 seed in the Spokane Region and will play their first NCAA tournament game in 11 years on Friday in Austin, Texas, when they face No. 10 seed Arkansas, which finished eighth in the SEC and is 18-13. A win there would put Utah against No. 2 seed and host Texas (26-6) on Sunday.

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Washington State

The No. 8 seed in the Bridgeport (Conn.) Region, WSU (19-10) will open up in Releigh, N.C., on Saturday against No. 9 seed and sixth-place Big 12 team Kansas State (19-12) on Saturday. If the Cougars win that one, they would have to face No. 1 seed North Carolina State on the Wolfpack's home court. North Caolina State is the ACC champ and has won 10 straight games.

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Cover shot of Stanford by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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