By Jarrett Hoffman
(Source: HBCU Sports)
The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament field has officially been announced and the MEAC champion has a real upset chance.
Southern was the first HBCU team to be seeded — selected as the 16-seed in the Spokane region.
Southern’s journey will begin in the First Four on March 19 when they face the Big West Conference champion UC San Diego.
The winner of that matchup will advance to the Round of 64 against the number one overall seed, UCLA.
Making their second NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons, the Jaguars claimed their first SWAC regular season championship since 2019 after finishing with a 15-3 conference record.
They breezed past Alcorn State in the SWAC championship game to punch their ticket to the national tournament.
Norfolk State’s historic season continues into the national tournament. The Spartans will be the 13-seed in the Birmingham region.
In addition to being the highest seed Norfolk State has received in the Division I tournament, it is the highest seed given to an HBCU program (men or women) since Hampton was the No. 12 seed in 2014.
The Spartans begin their run on the road in College Park, facing No. 4 seed Maryland on March 22.
Norfolk State comes into the NCAAs with a Division I program record 30 wins. They clinched this achievement with a 68-56 win over Howard in the MEAC title game, marking their third straight conference tournament championship.
