UConn Among Projected 1 Seeds in 2021 NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket Preview

Connecticut was the No. 1 overall seed as the selection committee unveiled its first projection for the top 16 teams in the 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament field.

South Carolina, Stanford and Louisville rounded out the rest of the No. 1 seeds.

"This first reveal brought to the forefront the unusual scheduling circumstances of the current season that we as committee members must take into account during the selection and seeding process," selection committee chair Nina King said. "We know that what was announced today is just a snapshot in time with a month to play before selections. We along with all fans will be watching closely over the coming weeks."

The Huskies' position didn't come as a surprise as they moved up to the top spot in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll after knocking off South Carolina 63-59 in overtime. UConn sits at 16-1 with additional victories over DePaul (twice) and Tennessee.

No team is creating much distance on the rest of the pack, and this certainly isn't the most dominant squad of Geno Auriemma's tenure in Storrs, Connecticut.

But UConn would have as good a case as anybody else to be the No. 1 team in the Big Dance.

Likewise, the selection committee won't catch too much grief about South Carolina and Louisville leading a tournament regional.

Bumping NC State to No. 6 in favor of Stanford might raise some eyebrows, though.

While the Wolfpack have a pair of rough losses to Virginia Tech and North Carolina, they've upset a pair of No. 1 teams (South Carolina on Dec. 3 and Louisville on Feb. 1). That aforementioned defeat to the Hokies also came when leading scorer Elissa Cunane was out of the lineup.

Of course, the upper quarter of the 64-team field isn't finalized. NC State might need some help nonetheless considering it doesn't face a ranked opponent for the remainder of the regular season.

Stanford solidified its resume with a 63-61 win over No. 13 Oregon on Monday as well.

The selection committee's second reveal will come March 1 before the full bracket is announced March 15.