| | |||||
| Teams | 64 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||
| Champions | Texas A&M Aggies (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Gary Blair (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Danielle Adams (Texas A&M) | ||||
| |||||
The 2011 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 19, 2011, and concluded on April 5, 2011. The Texas A&M Aggies won the championship, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76–70 in the final held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. [1] [2] [3]
The tournament was also notable for a historic run by Gonzaga that ultimately ended in the final of the Spokane Region. With the help of two games on their home court and a regional held less than two miles away, the #11-seeded Bulldogs became the lowest seed ever to make a regional final in the history of the women's tournament. [4]
Coincidentally, #11 seed VCU reached the men's Final Four, the third #11 to advance that far since the men's tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
LSU, which reached five consecutive Final Fours from 2004 to 2008, did not qualify for the first time since 1998.
Sixty-four teams entered the 2011 tournament. Thirty automatic bids were extended to the champions of conference tournaments, with a 31st going to the regular season champion of the Ivy League. The remaining 33 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The tournament was split into four regional tournaments, and each region had teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible.[ citation needed ] The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).
The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 64.
There were 64 teams in the tournament, placed in a seeded bracket with four regions. Thirty-two teams received automatic bids – thirty-one of which were their conference tournament champions; the other was for the Ivy League regular-season champion. An additional 32 teams were given at-large bids by the selection committee on the basis of their body of work during the regular season. Unlike the Men's Tournament, there was no "First Four" round.
First and Second rounds (Subregionals)
Subregionals were played from March 19 through March 22.
The following 16 sites were used for first and second-round games: [5]
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
The Regionals, named for the city rather than the region of geographic importance since 2005, which were held from March 26 to 29, were at these sites: [5]
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and national championship)
This was the second time that Indianapolis hosted a Women's Final Four Basketball tournament; the prior times were in 2005 as per the NCAA's policy of hosting one of each of the men's and women's Final Four every five years in the home city of the NCAA offices.
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA tournament. [7] Tennessee continues its record of being present at every NCAA Tournament since the NCAA began sanctioning women's sports in the 1981–82 school year.
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations. [7]
| At-large Bids | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | ||||
| Qualifying School | Conference | Regular Season | Conference | Seed |
| Arizona State | Pac-10 | 20–10 | 11–7 | 7 |
| Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 21–11 | 9–5 | 11 |
| DePaul | Big East | 27–6 | 13–3 | 3 |
| Florida State | ACC | 23–7 | 11–3 | 3 |
| Georgetown | Big East | 23–8 | 9–7 | 5 |
| Georgia | SEC | 21–10 | 10–6 | 6 |
| Georgia Tech | ACC | 23–10 | 9–5 | 5 |
| Houston | C-USA | 26–5 | 16–0 | 8 |
| Iowa | Big Ten | 22–8 | 10–6 | 6 |
| Iowa State | Big 12 | 22–10 | 9–7 | 7 |
| Kansas State | Big 12 | 21–10 | 10–6 | 8 |
| Kentucky | SEC | 24–8 | 11–5 | 4 |
| Louisiana Tech | WAC | 24–7 | 15–1 | 10 |
| Louisville | Big East | 20–12 | 10–6 | 7 |
| Marquette | Big East | 23–8 | 10–6 | 8 |
| Maryland | ACC | 23–7 | 9–5 | 4 |
| Miami | ACC | 27–4 | 12–2 | 3 |
| Michigan State | Big Ten | 26–5 | 13–3 | 4 |
| Middle Tennessee | Sun Belt | 23–7 | 14–2 | 11 |
| North Carolina | ACC | 25–8 | 8–6 | 5 |
| Notre Dame | Big East | 26–7 | 13–3 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | 21–11 | 10–6 | 6 |
| Penn State | Big Ten | 24–9 | 11–5 | 6 |
| Purdue | Big Ten | 20–11 | 9–7 | 9 |
| Rutgers | Big East | 19–12 | 11–5 | 7 |
| St. John's | Big East | 21–10 | 9–7 | 9 |
| Temple | Atlantic 10 | 23–8 | 13–1 | 10 |
| Texas | Big 12 | 19–13 | 7–9 | 9 |
| Texas A&M | Big 12 | 27–5 | 13–3 | 2 |
| Texas Tech | Big 12 | 22–10 | 8–8 | 8 |
| UCLA | Pac-10 | 27–4 | 16–2 | 3 |
| Vanderbilt | SEC | 20–11 | 10–6 | 10 |
| West Virginia | Big East | 23–9 | 8–8 | 9 |
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Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences. [7]
| Bids | Conference | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Big East | Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, West Virginia |
| 7 | Big 12 | Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech |
| 6 | ACC | Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina |
| 5 | Big Ten | Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue |
| 4 | SEC | Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Vanderbilt |
| 3 | Atlantic 10 | Xavier, Dayton, Temple |
| 3 | Pac-10 | Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA |
| 2 | C-USA | UCF, Houston |
| 2 | Sun Belt | Arkansas–Little Rock, Middle Tennessee |
| 2 | WAC | Fresno State, Louisiana Tech |
| 1 | America East | Hartford |
| 1 | Atlantic Sun | Stetson |
| 1 | Big Sky | Montana |
| 1 | Big South | Gardner-Webb |
| 1 | Big West | UC Davis |
| 1 | Colonial | James Madison |
| 1 | Horizon | Green Bay |
| 1 | Ivy | Princeton |
| 1 | MAAC | Marist |
| 1 | MAC | Bowling Green |
| 1 | MEAC | Hampton |
| 1 | Missouri Valley | Northern Iowa |
| 1 | Mountain West | Utah |
| 1 | Northeast | Saint Francis (PA) |
| 1 | Ohio Valley | Tennessee–Martin |
| 1 | Patriot | Navy |
| 1 | Southern | Samford |
| 1 | Southland | McNeese State |
| 1 | Summit | South Dakota State |
| 1 | SWAC | Prairie View |
| 1 | West Coast | Gonzaga |
The sixty-four teams came from thirty states, plus Washington, D.C. Texas had the most teams with six bids. Twenty states did not have any teams receiving bids. [7]
| Bids | State | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Texas | Baylor, Prairie View, Houston, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech |
| 4 | California | Fresno State, Stanford, UC Davis, UCLA |
| 4 | Florida | Stetson, UCF, Florida State, Miami |
| 4 | Ohio | Bowling Green, Ohio State, Xavier, Dayton |
| 4 | Tennessee | Tennessee, Tennessee–Martin, Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
| 3 | Iowa | Northern Iowa, Iowa, Iowa State |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | Penn State, Saint Francis (PA), Temple |
| 3 | North Carolina | Duke, Gardner-Webb, North Carolina |
| 2 | Connecticut | Connecticut, Hartford |
| 2 | Georgia | Georgia, Georgia Tech |
| 2 | Indiana | Notre Dame, Purdue |
| 2 | Kentucky | Kentucky, Louisville |
| 2 | Louisiana | McNeese State, Louisiana Tech |
| 2 | Maryland | Navy, Maryland |
| 2 | New Jersey | Princeton, Rutgers |
| 2 | New York | Marist, St. John's |
| 2 | Virginia | Hampton, James Madison |
| 2 | Wisconsin | Green Bay, Marquette |
| 1 | Alabama | Samford |
| 1 | Arizona | Arizona State |
| 1 | Arkansas | Arkansas–Little Rock |
| 1 | District of Columbia | Georgetown |
| 1 | Illinois | DePaul |
| 1 | Kansas | Kansas State |
| 1 | Michigan | Michigan State |
| 1 | Montana | Montana |
| 1 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
| 1 | South Dakota | South Dakota State |
| 1 | Utah | Utah |
| 1 | Washington | Gonzaga |
| 1 | West Virginia | West Virginia |
* – Denotes overtime period Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04) [8]
| First round March 19–20 | Second round March 21–22 | Regional semifinals March 27 | Regional Finals March 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Connecticut | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Hartford | 39 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Connecticut | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| Storrs, CT | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Purdue | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Kansas State | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Purdue | 53 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Connecticut | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Georgetown | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Georgetown | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Princeton | 49 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Georgetown | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| College Park, MD | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Maryland | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Maryland | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Saint Francis | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Connecticut | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Penn State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Dayton | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Penn State | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| University Park, PA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | DePaul | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | DePaul | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Navy | 43 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | DePaul | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa State | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Marist | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Marist | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| Durham, NC | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Tennessee–Martin | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| First round March 19–20 | Second round March 21–22 | Regional semifinals March 26 | Regional Finals March 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Tennessee | 99 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Stetson | 34 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Tennessee | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| Knoxville, TN | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Marquette | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Marquette | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Texas | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Tennessee | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ohio State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Georgia Tech | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Bowling Green | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Georgia Tech | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
| Columbus, OH | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ohio State | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ohio State | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | UCF | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Tennessee | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | James Madison | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Gardner–Webb | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | 53 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Arizona State | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Temple | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Temple | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| Salt Lake City, UT | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Utah | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
| First round March 19–20 | Second round March 21–22 | Regional semifinals March 26 | Regional Finals March 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Stanford | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | UC Davis | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Stanford | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stanford, CA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | St. John's | 49 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Texas Tech | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | St. John's | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Stanford | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Carolina | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Carolina | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Fresno State | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Carolina | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| Albuquerque, NM | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Kentucky | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Kentucky | 66* | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Hampton | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Stanford | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Gonzaga | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Iowa | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Gonzaga | 92 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Gonzaga | 89 | |||||||||||||||||
| Spokane, WA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Montana | 47 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Gonzaga | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Louisville | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Louisville | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Vanderbilt | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Louisville | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati, OH | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Xavier | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Xavier | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | South Dakota State | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| First round March 20 | Second round March 22 | Regional semifinals March 27 | Regional Finals March 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Baylor | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Prairie View A&M | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Baylor | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| Waco, TX | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | West Virginia | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Houston | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | West Virginia | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Baylor | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Green Bay | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Green Bay | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Green Bay | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| Wichita, KS | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan State | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan State | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Northern Iowa | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Baylor | 46 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas A&M | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Georgia | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Middle Tennessee | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Georgia | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
| Auburn, AL | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Florida State | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Florida State | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Samford | 46 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Georgia | 38 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas A&M | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Rutgers | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Louisiana Tech | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Rutgers | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
| Bossier City, LA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas A&M | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas A&M | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | McNeese State | 47 | |||||||||||||||||
| National semifinals April 3 | National Championship Game April 5 | ||||||||
| P1 | Connecticut | 63 | |||||||
| DT2 | Notre Dame | 72 | |||||||
| DT2 | Notre Dame | 70 | |||||||
| DL2 | Texas A&M | 76 | |||||||
| S1 | Stanford | 62 | |||||||
| DL2 | Texas A&M | 63 | |||||||
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Round of 32 | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big East | 9 | 19–9 | .679 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 11–6 | .647 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| ACC | 6 | 9–6 | .600 | 6 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| Big Ten | 5 | 5–5 | .500 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – |
| SEC | 4 | 6–4 | .600 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| Pac-10 | 3 | 5–3 | .625 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 2–3 | .400 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Conference USA | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | – | – | – | – | – |
| WAC | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Horizon | 1 | 2–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| West Coast | 1 | 3–1 | .750 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| MAAC | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Eighteen conferences went 0–1: the America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Ivy League, MEAC, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC and the Summit
ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the first and second round, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN or ESPNU. All other games were aired regionally on ESPN2 and streamed online via ESPN3. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the one that was the closest. The regional semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN aired the regional finals, national semifinals, and championship match. [9]
First & Second Rounds Saturday/Monday
Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight Saturday/Monday
Final Four
| First & Second Rounds Sunday/Tuesday
Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight Sunday/Tuesday
Championship
|