2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament

The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 40th edition of the tournament began on March 16, 2022, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at Target Center in Minneapolis, 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.

Big South champion Longwood, Horizon champion IUPUI and Southland champion Incarnate Word made their tournament debuts. Tennessee 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; 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.

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, 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 (Host: University of South Carolina)
** James Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University)
** Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)
** KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
** Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)
** Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
** XFINITY Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland)
** Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas)
*March 19 and 21 (Sat/Mon)
** McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)
** Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
** Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Host: University of Michigan)
** Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
** Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
** Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
** Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University)
** Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, 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 (host: Atlantic Coast Conference)
** Wichita regional, Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas (host: Wichita State University)
** Spokane regional, Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington (host: University of Idaho)

National semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
* April 1 and April 3
** Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (host: University of Minnesota)

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 ( 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 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 73–70 in double overtime.
* No. 10 South Dakota defeated No. 2 Baylor 61–47.

Spokane

* No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast defeated No. 5 Virginia Tech 84–81.

Bridgeport

* No. 11 Princeton defeated No. 6 Kentucky 69–62.

Media coverage

Television

ESPN served as the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament, with all games airing on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, 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 graphics using player and ball tracking, and "Beyond the Rim" and "On the Rail" camera options on ESPN+.

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
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament