Home cooking: Where NC State, Duke, UNC landed in the NCAA women’s tournament bracket

All three Triangle’s women’s basketball teams are staying home for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State were named top 16 seeds in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracket released Sunday, giving them the right to host first- and second-round games. This is the first time in NCAA Tournament history that all three Triangle teams earned Top 3 seeds, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

The tournament begins this week with First Four games taking place Wednesday and Thursday. The first-round games are set for Friday and Saturday.

“It’s just remarkable. I know that was something that we all collectively — my first year here we had like a meet and greet or something and Joanne P. (McCallie) was still the coach at Duke and Wes (Moore) — and we were all were together. We were like, ‘Imagine if we all could host,’ and here it is,” North Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart said last week. “I’ve said this all the time, it’s great. You can share the expenses of ESPN, you can just come on down and move along.”

Duke lands higher than expected

Duke (26-7) earned the No. 8 overall seed and No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 regional after winning the ACC Championship, earning the conference’s automatic bid.

Vanderbilt, Oregon and Lehigh will play in Durham, with Lehigh facing Duke in the first round on Friday.

“The players are amped up and ready to go,” Duke head coach Kara Lawson said during a press conference. “Even though you know you’re in the tournament, it’s still really cool to see your name up there and to see the bracket and all of that.”

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme said Wednesday he did not think Duke could move past the three line, despite winning the ACC Tournament, due to TCU’s success.

“It was really more what TCU did than what Duke didn’t do,” Creme said. “TCU is a double dip regular season champ, tournament champ, higher in the NET, fewer losses than Duke, about comparable on Quad 1 wins. You’re talking about the eighth team and the ninth team; it’s just a simple victim of math.”

The committee, however, threw a curve ball, and moved the Blue Devils onto the No. 2 seed line, alongside TCU. The victim? LSU, which dropped to a No. 3 seed in Spokane.

Wolfpack, Tar Heels confirmed NCAA Tournament hosts

N.C. State and North Carolina earned at-large bids after their strong seasons and runs in the ACC Tournament.

The Wolfpack (26-6) received the No. 6 overall seed and No. 2 seed in the Spokane 1 regional. The team’s resume includes an ACC title game appearance and ACC co-regular season title.

The Pack will face Vermont in the first round on Saturday. If it advances to the second round, N.C. State would face the winner of Michigan State-Harvard.

“We talk about the ACC, the Triangle area and the Tobacco Road, all that. I think it’s pretty cool,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “All three teams have had great years and some big wins. To be able to host is special. Only 16 teams in the country (host), and to have three of them within 30 minutes of each other is going to be special, no doubt.”

Creme said the Wolfpack solidly earned its spot on the two line after getting to the ACC title game. Creme said, however, there is likely disappointment after the outcome but he did not think the team — even if it won the championship — would have jumped to a No. 1 seed.

“Categorizing teams in, ‘What’s their level of chance of winning at all or or even just getting to Tampa?’ I would put N.C. State in that second tier of teams,” Creme said. “I think there’s probably a pretty distinct five teams that are maybe above the rest of the field, and then N.C. State falls into that next group. … I think they did everything they could to get as high on the overall seed list as they could. What their ceiling is in the tournament, I think will depend a lot on those matchups.”

North Carolina (27-7) earned the No. 9 overall seed and No. 3 seed in the Birmingham 2 regional, the same bracket as Duke. Entering the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels sat on the bubble of a No. 3 and No. 4 seed in the expected regional placement. Its performance in Greensboro, which included a four-point win over Florida State, secured their spot on the three line.

The Heels will host West Virginia, Oregon State and the winner of Columbia-Washington in Carmichael Arena. They are set to face Oregon State in the first round on Saturday.

“I think a 3-seed is amazing,” UNC guard Grace Townsend said in a social media video. “I like our side of the bracket. I think it’s time to cook.”

If UNC and Duke both advance out of their first weekend games, they could play in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham. When asked about the placement, Division I Selection Committee Chair Derita Dawkins said Duke and UNC are in the same bracket pod based on seeding decisions. There were not other considerations.

“The way the committee does its work, we select the teams. That’s one process,” Dawkins said. “Independent of that, we seed the teams. Then we put them in the bracket, staying as close to S curve as possible.”

First for the Triangle

This is the first time that all three programs have hosted in the same season since 1998, when the Wolfpack made its first Final Four appearance under Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels advanced to the regional rounds that season, as well.

Last season, N.C. State was the only team to host the first weekend. Duke played at Ohio State, while UNC was placed in South Carolina’s regional. N.C. State defeated Chattanooga and Tennessee in the opening weekend to earn a spot in its regional bracket. Duke upset host Ohio State last season for a spot in the regionals. The Wolfpack and Blue Devils both played in Portland.

Duke hosted the first weekend two years ago, but it did not advance. Colorado beat the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 61-53, in overtime. The Buffs lost to eventual runner up Iowa in the Sweet 16.

“Our group has done a good job of being singularly focused, not looking ahead,” Duke head coach Kara Lawson said. “You have to be that in March. You have to be locked in, because anybody can beat you. We could win our first-round game; we could lose our first-round game if we don’t come out prepared. So we’ll have to keep our sharpness and our competitive edge. I don’t think with this group that winning an ACC Tournament championship has dulled their competitive edge. I think it’s made it sharper.”

UNC has not hosted an NCAA Tournament weekend since 2015, when Sylvia Hatchell was the Tar Heels’ head coach. The Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16 that season.

Tar Heels captain Alyssa Ustby said after beating FSU that being an NCAA Tournament host has been a driving force in her college career, citing the Chapel Hill community and local fans.

“There are so many families with kids and all these supporters that we have,” Ustby said. “As somebody that is trying her best to lead this group, I just want to give it back to the people that continue to fill Carmichael and make playing basketball at this school such a special experience. I’ve always felt a sense of pride, and I’ve been trying to take responsibility of getting that opportunity to bring it back home to Chapel Hill.”

ACC teams Georgia Tech, Florida State, Notre Dame, Louisville, California also earned spots in the NCAA Tournament bracket. Florida State and Georgia Tech are in on N.C. State’s side of the bracket.

Regional games are scheduled for March 28-31 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is set for April 4 and 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Top 16 seeds

This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Home cooking: Where NC State, Duke, UNC landed in the NCAA women’s tournament bracket."

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer