IRVING, Texas – Coming off a historic double as both the regular season and tournament champion of the American Athletic Conference, USF was one of two American teams selected to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on Monday. The Bulls claimed the No. 8 seed in the Mercado Region and will face No. 9 seed Washington State on March 21 at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 in Austin. Conference runner-up UCF also heard its name called as the No. 10 seed in the Alamo Region and will open the championship against No. 7 seed Northwestern on March 22 at 4 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU in San Antonio.
Multiple teams from The American have entered every NCAA Tournament that has been contested since the conference was reconstituted in 2013-14.
USF (18-3) earned its first conference championships in program history by claiming the regular-season American crown with a 13-2 league mark and defeating UCF 64-54 in the conference championship game on March 11. The Bulls racked up seven wins over teams ranked in the top 100 of the March 14 edition of the NCAA NET, and lost to No. 2 seed Baylor by just five points (67-62) on Dec. 1. USF has boasted one of the best defense squads in the country throughout the season and ranked 13th in scoring defense (54.4 points allowed per game) and 17th in field-goal percentage defense (35.1 percent) in the most recent NCAA statistics report on March 14. USF will make its seventh all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth as a member of The American, and the Bulls have advanced to the NCAA Second Round three times under head coach Jose Fernandez.
UCF (16-4) finished a half game behind USF in the regular-season standings before reaching the American title game against the Bulls on March 11, as the Knights won eight of their final 10 games overall. UCF also owned seven wins against the top 100 in the March 14 NET, and its average victory of 116 was the best in The American. The Knights remained the top team nationally in scoring defense (49.9 points allowed per game) in the most recent NCAA statistics release on March 14. UCF is set for its sixth NCAA Tournament berth all-time and second under head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
Houston (16-7), who placed third in the conference during the regular season, was named as the first team in line to serve as an NCAA Tournament replacement in the event a selected squad from a multiple-bid conference is unable to compete. The Cougars owned a pair of wins over the top 25 in the March 14 NET, the most among all teams in The American.
American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball
2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship
NCAA First Round – Sunday, March 21/Monday, March 22
No. 8 USF vs. No. 9 Washington State – Mercado Region; Austin, Texas (Sunday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 10 UCF vs. No. 7 Northwestern – Alamo Region; San Antonio, Texas (Monday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPNU)