NCAA Tournament Field: A Quick Breakdown

  0 Wendy Mayer | November 26th, 2017 | ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, College - Women's Indoor, Conference USA, Division I Mid-Major, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West, News, SEC, WCC

The bracket has been announced. The reaction videos and photos are there to see. Now let’s take a quick look at the 64-team field.

Conference breakdown

  • Pac-12: 9 – Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
  • Big Ten: 8 – Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
  • ACC: 6 – Florida State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), N.C. State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh
  • Big 12: 4 – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas
  • SEC: 4 – Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri
  • Big East: 2 – Creighton, Marquette
  • Big West: 2 – Cal Poly, Hawai’i
  • West Coast Conference: 2 – BYU, San Diego
  • Missouri Valley: 2 – Missouri State, Northern Iowa
  • Colonial: 2 – College of Charleston, James Madison

Twenty-two conference will be represented by just one team.

 

Series Regulars

Two schools have cemented themselves as mainstays in the NCAA Tournament: Penn State and Stanford. The two schools have made all 37 NCAA fields.

Penn State was selected as the No. 1 overall seed, while Stanford was picked as No. 3 overall.

Each is seeking its record eighth national title.

 

Looking to Add to the Trophy Case

Eight previous NCAA Champions are among the 2017 field.

  • Hawaii (1982, 1983, 1987)
  • Nebraska (1995, 2000, 2006, 2015)
  • Penn State (1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014)
  • Stanford (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2016)
  • Texas (1988, 2012)
  • UCLA (1984, 1990, 1991, 2011)
  • USC (1981, 2002, 2003)
  • Washington (2005)

 

They’re Back

VCU is making its first appearance since 2005 after winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title.

Newbies

Kennesaw State and Stony Brook are making their NCAA debuts.

KSU, which won the Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament titles, is heading to its first berth after an emotional journey.

Stony Brook earned its spot with a pair of upsets at the America East Tournament, becoming the first No. 4 seed to win the affair. Check back Tuesday to learn more about the Seawolves journey to NCAAs.

 

Host Teams/Sites

Five Pac 12 teams will act as host schools (Stanford, USC, UCLA, Utah, Washington), while three from the Big Ten (Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State) are among the 16 seeded teams.

The 16 sites for first and second round matches are:

  • Ames, Iowa – host No. 14 Iowa State
  • Austin, Texas – host No. 11 Texas
  • Gainesville, Florida – host No. 2 Florida
  • Lexington, Kentucky – host No. 4 Kentucky
  • Lincoln, Nebraska – host No. 5 Nebraska
  • Los Angeles, California – host No. 10 USC
  • Los Angeles, California – host No. 15 UCLA
  • Minneapolis, Minnesota – host No. 7 Minnesota
  • Omaha, Nebraska – host No. 9 Creighton
  • Palo Alto, California – host No. 3 Stanford
  • Provo, Utah – host No. 13 BYU
  • Salt Lake City, Utah – host No. 11 Utah
  • Seattle, Washington – host No. 8 Washington
  • University Park, Pennsylvania – host No. 1 Penn State
  • Waco, Texas – host No. 12 Baylor
  • Wichita, Kansas – host No. 16 Wichita State

Now try your hand at predicting the outcomes in VolleyMob’s Bracket Challenge.

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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