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Before the NCAA tournament truly gets underway, the final 64-team bracket must be set.
For the women, that will be settled in four First Four games at on-campus sites across the country, with a pair of games scheduled for Thursday. The winners of the four First Four games advance to the full 64-team field.
No. 16 Southern and No. 16 Samford will square off in the first game of the night before No. 10 Virginia and No. 10 Arizona State play in the nightcap.
Southern and Samford will tip off the second night of First Four play in Columbia, South Carolina. The winner will secure the No. 16 seed in the Sacramento 4 region and advance to face host and No. 1 seed South Carolina in the first round.
Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes
Samford has a losing record (16-18) and finished in sixth place out of eight teams in the Southern Conference at 6-8. It pulled off upsets in each of the three rounds of the conference tournament, including a win over No. 1 seed Chattanooga in the championship game to earn the SoCon’s automatic NCAA bid. Its losing record is reflected in its NET ranking (279th) and its WAB (wins above bubble) ranking (232nd).
Southern (17-13, 12-6), meanwhile, finished in fourth place in the SWAC during the regular season, then upset No. 1 seed Alabama A&M en route to winning the conference tournament. It’s ranked 215th in NET rankings, but considerably higher in WAB (126th).
Virginia and Arizona State will tip off in Thursday’s nightcap in Iowa City, Iowa. The winner will win the No. 10 seed in the Sacramento 4 region and advance to face No. 7 seed Georgia in the first round.
There’s not much difference in the two teams in terms of analytics, which appear to give a slight edge to Virginia. Virginia (19-11, 11-7) finished in eighth place in the ACC regular season and lost in its first game to No. 9 seed Clemson in the ACC tournament. It enters the First Four ranked 36th in NET ranking and 51st in WAB.
Arizona State (24-10, 9-9) finished in 10th place in the Big 12 regular season and won two early-round games in the conference tournament before losing to No. 2 seed West Virginia in the quarterfinals. It’s ranked 51st in NET rankings and 42nd in WAB.
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For the women, that will be settled in four First Four games at on-campus sites across the country, with a pair of games scheduled for Thursday. The winners of the four First Four games advance to the full 64-team field.
No. 16 Southern and No. 16 Samford will square off in the first game of the night before No. 10 Virginia and No. 10 Arizona State play in the nightcap.
Southern vs. Samford, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Southern and Samford will tip off the second night of First Four play in Columbia, South Carolina. The winner will secure the No. 16 seed in the Sacramento 4 region and advance to face host and No. 1 seed South Carolina in the first round.
Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes
Samford has a losing record (16-18) and finished in sixth place out of eight teams in the Southern Conference at 6-8. It pulled off upsets in each of the three rounds of the conference tournament, including a win over No. 1 seed Chattanooga in the championship game to earn the SoCon’s automatic NCAA bid. Its losing record is reflected in its NET ranking (279th) and its WAB (wins above bubble) ranking (232nd).
Southern (17-13, 12-6), meanwhile, finished in fourth place in the SWAC during the regular season, then upset No. 1 seed Alabama A&M en route to winning the conference tournament. It’s ranked 215th in NET rankings, but considerably higher in WAB (126th).
Virginia vs. Arizona State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Virginia and Arizona State will tip off in Thursday’s nightcap in Iowa City, Iowa. The winner will win the No. 10 seed in the Sacramento 4 region and advance to face No. 7 seed Georgia in the first round.
There’s not much difference in the two teams in terms of analytics, which appear to give a slight edge to Virginia. Virginia (19-11, 11-7) finished in eighth place in the ACC regular season and lost in its first game to No. 9 seed Clemson in the ACC tournament. It enters the First Four ranked 36th in NET ranking and 51st in WAB.
Arizona State (24-10, 9-9) finished in 10th place in the Big 12 regular season and won two early-round games in the conference tournament before losing to No. 2 seed West Virginia in the quarterfinals. It’s ranked 51st in NET rankings and 42nd in WAB.
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