The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
of 68 teams to determine the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA)
Division I college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
national champion for the
2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 40th edition of the
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
began on March 16, 2022, and concluded with the
championship game on April 3 at
Target Center in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, where the
South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the
UConn Huskies 64–49 to win their second NCAA title, and handing UConn its first loss in the championship game. This tournament marked the introduction of the "
First Four" round and an expansion of the field of participants from 64 teams to 68, mirroring the
men's tournament since
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
.
Big South champion
Longwood,
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
champion
IUPUI and
Southland champion
Incarnate Word made their tournament debuts.
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
continued its record streak of making
every edition of the tournament, while
UConn extended its record streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances.
Tournament procedure
For the first time, the women's tournament was expanded from 64 to 68 teams, adopting the format that has been used by the
men's tournament since
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
; these teams consisted of the 32
conference champions, and 36
"at-large" bids that were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and the teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in
First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.
The top four teams outside of the ranking (commonly known as the "first four out") were designated as standbys in the event a school was forced to withdraw before the start of the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. Once the tournament began, teams that withdrew would not be replaced, and the affected team's opponent would automatically advance to the next round by
walkover
John Baxter Taylor and William Robbins (athlete)">William Robbins to refuse to race in protest.
A walkover, also W.O. or w/o (originally two words: "walk over"), is awarded to the opposing team/player, etc., if there are no other players avail ...
.
2022 NCAA tournament schedule and venues
After the
2020 tournament was cancelled and the
2021 tournament was held in a single location due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, it was reverted to the standard format for the first time since
2019.
The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done from 2016 to 2019.
First Four
*March 16 and 17
**Four of the campuses seeded in the Top 16.
Subregionals (first and second rounds)
*March 18 and 20 (Fri/Sun)
**
Colonial Life Arena,
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
(Host:
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
)
**
James Hilton Coliseum,
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
(Host:
Iowa State University)
**
Carver-Hawkeye Arena,
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...
(Host:
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
)
**
KFC Yum! Center,
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
(Host:
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
)
**
Ferrell Center,
Waco, Texas (Host:
Baylor University)
**
Maples Pavilion,
Stanford, California (Host:
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
)
**
XFINITY Center,
College Park, Maryland (Host:
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
)
**
Frank Erwin Center,
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
(Host:
University of Texas)
*March 19 and 21 (Sat/Mon)
**
McKale Center,
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
(Host:
University of Arizona)
**
Thompson-Boling Arena,
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
(Host:
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
)
**
Crisler Center,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
(Host:
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
)
**
Pete Maravich Assembly Center,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
(Host:
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
)
**
Reynolds Coliseum,
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
(Host:
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...
)
**
Lloyd Noble Center,
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...
(Host:
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
)
**
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall,
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
(Host:
Indiana University)
**
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion,
Storrs, Connecticut
Storrs ( ) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, ...
(Host:
University of Connecticut)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
* March 25–28
**Bridgeport regional,
Total Mortgage Arena,
Bridgeport, Connecticut (cohosts:
University of Connecticut,
Fairfield University)
**Greensboro regional,
Greensboro Coliseum Complex,
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
(host:
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
)
** Wichita regional,
Intrust Bank Arena,
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
(host:
Wichita State University)
** Spokane regional,
Spokane Arena,
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
(host:
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963.
The un ...
)
National semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
* April 1 and April 3
**
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (host:
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
)
In the wake of criticism raised in 2021 over inequities between the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments, the NCAA announced that the 2022 women's tournament will be promoted with the "March Madness" branding for the first time.
Qualification and selection teams
Automatic qualifiers
The following teams automatically qualified for the 2022 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
Bids by state
Tournament seeds (list by region)
*See First Four
Tournament records
* Rebounds—South Carolina recorded 294 rebounds, the most ever recorded by a single team in an NCAA Tournament.
Tournament bracket
All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico.
* Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behin ...
( UTC−4)
* – Denotes overtime period
First Four
Greensboro regional – Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro regional final
Greensboro regional All Tournament team
* Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (MOP)
* Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
* Lauren Jensen, Creighton
* Emily Ryan, Iowa State
* Deja Kelly, North Carolina
Wichita regional – Wichita, Kansas
Wichita regional final
Wichita regional All Tournament team
* Hailey Van Lith, Louisville (MOP)
* Emily Engstler, Louisville
* Naz Hillmon, Michigan
* Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota
* Rae Burrell, Tennessee
Spokane regional – Spokane, Washington
Spokane regional final
Spokane regional All Tournament team
* Haley Jones, Stanford (MOP)
* Lexie Hull, Stanford
* Rori Harmon, Texas
* Cameron Brink, Stanford
* Joanne Allen-Taylor, Texas
Bridgeport regional – Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport regional final
Bridgeport regional All Tournament team
* Paige Bueckers, Connecticut (MOP)
* Christyn Williams, Connecticut
* Azzi Fudd, Connecticut
* Elissa Cunane, NC State
* Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Final Four – Minneapolis, Minnesota
National semifinals
National championship
Final Four all-tournament team
* Haley Jones, Stanford
* Paige Bueckers, Connecticut
* Zia Cooke, South Carolina
* Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
* Aliyah Boston, South Carolina ( MOP)
Record by conference
*The FF, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the first four, round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
Game summaries and tournament notes
Upsets
Greensboro
* No. 10 Creighton defeated No. 2 Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
64–62.
* No. 10 Creighton defeated No. 3 Iowa State 76–68.
Wichita
* No. 11 Villanova defeated No. 6 BYU 61–57.
* No. 12 Belmont defeated No. 5 Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
73–70 in double overtime.
* No. 10 South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
defeated No. 2 Baylor 61–47.
Spokane
* No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast defeated No. 5 Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
84–81.
Bridgeport
* No. 11 Princeton defeated No. 6 Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
69–62.
Media coverage
Television
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
served as the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament, with all games airing on either ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially ...
, ESPNU
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...
, ESPNews
ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News," stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hear ...
, or ABC. ESPN offered '' Megacast'' coverage for the Women's Final Four and championship game, including ''The Bird & Taurasi Show'' on ESPN2 (hosted by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, with similarities to ESPN's '' Monday Night Football with Payton and Eli''), along with a feed featuring enhanced statistics and augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...
graphics using player and ball tracking, and "Beyond the Rim" and "On the Rail" camera options on ESPN+
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...
.
Studio host and analysts
* Elle Duncan (Host) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
* Kelsey Riggs (Host) (First Four, First, and Second rounds)
* Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Final Four, and National championship game)
* Andraya Carter (Analyst) (First Four, First, and Second rounds)
* Nikki Fargas (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
* Monica McNutt (Analyst) (First Four, First, Second rounds, and Regionals)
* Carolyn Peck (Analyst) (Final Four and National championship game)
Broadcast assignments
''First Four''
* Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck – Columbia, South Carolina
* Jenn Hildreth and Mike Thibault – Ames, Iowa
* Sam Ravech and Kelly Gramlich – Raleigh, North Carolina
* Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
''First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals)''
* Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck – Columbia, South Carolina
* Elise Woodward and Andrea Lloyd – Waco, Texas
* Beth Mowins and Christy Thomaskutty – Iowa City, Iowa
* Dave O'Brien and Christy Winters-Scott – College Park, Maryland
* John Brickley and Meghan McKeown – Louisville, Kentucky
* Angel Gray and Chelsea Gray – Austin, Texas
* Jenn Hildreth and Mike Thibault – Ames, Iowa
* Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorensen – Stanford, California
''First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals)''
* Sam Ravech and Kelly Gramlich – Raleigh, North Carolina
* Pam Ward and Stephanie White – Storrs, Connecticut
* Sam Gore and Aja Ellison – Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
* Kevin Fitzgerald and Helen Williams – Bloomington, Indiana
* Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings – Knoxville, Tennessee
* Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod – Norman, Oklahoma
* Ann Schatz and Dan Hughes – Tucson, Arizona
''Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)''
* Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, and Andraya Carter – Bridgeport, Connecticut
* Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, and Angel Gray – Spokane, Washington
* Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck, and Steffi Sorensen – Greensboro, North Carolina
* Pam Ward, Stephanie White, and Christy Winters-Scott – Wichita, Kansas
''Final Four and National Championship''
* Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, and Andraya Carter – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Radio
Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.
''Regionals''
* Matt Chazanow and Krista Blunk – Spokane, Washington
* Sam Neidermann and Ali Jaques – Greensboro, North Carolina
* Lance Medow and Kim Adams – Bridgeport, Connecticut
* Phil Constantino and Kristen Kozlowski – Wichita, Kansas
''Final Four and Championship''
* Ryan Radtke, Debbie Antonelli, and Krista Blunk – Minneapolis, Minnesota
See also
* 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament
* 2022 Women's Basketball Invitational
* 2022 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
* 2022 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
* 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
References
External links
NCAA Women's Basketball Division I
{{2021–22 NCAA Division I championships navbox
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...