NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show Airs Monday
3/10/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 10, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For the first time ever, the NCAA has dedicated a full day to the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I tournament and will announce the 64 teams, as well as the seedings, pairings and sites on Monday, March 13 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The third-ranked Terps are looking to make their third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Brenda Frese and 15th overall.
For the first-ever Selection Monday, ESPN will present the exclusive, live announcement of the women's 64-team field. Stacey Dales-Schuman returns to the selection show and will provide analysis, alongside newcomers Kara Lawson and host Trey Wingo. The one-hour show marks ESPN's 14th-consecutive year of announcing the pairings days before it begins complete coverage of the NCAA Division I Tournament March 18 - April 4 on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN FULL COURT. In addition to the Selection Special, women's NCAA Tournament content will be featured across other ESPN entities, including SportsCenter, Around The Horn, Pardon The Interruption, College GameNight, ESPNEWS and ESPN.com.
Right before the women's bracket is announced, a special College GameNight at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2 will provide an overview of the Women's NCAA Division I Championship from ESPN college basketball analysts and a recap of the men's bracket determined the previous day. ESPN's Around The Horn (5 p.m.) and Pardon The Interruption (5:30 p.m.) will also include special segments, with SportsCenter and ESPNEWS providing coverage throughout the day.
On ESPN.com, complete coverage of Selection Monday will be provided online, bringing fans in-depth information, analysis and interaction, as well as the popular ESPN.com Tournament Challenge bracket games for the Men's and Women's NCAA Tournaments.
The coverage will begin long before the actual selections are made. ESPN.com women's bracketologist Charlie Creme will post his final bracket prediction on the site. After the Selection Special airs, fans can chat with Creme, NCAA selection chair Joni Comstock and ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman. In addition, ESPN.com's "Bubble Watch" will be updated right up until the tournament selections are announced. The brackets will then be available within minutes of the selection announcement, along with profiles of all 64 teams, including in-depth breakdowns of each region by ESPN.com columnist Mechelle Voepel and analysts Beth Mowins and Lieberman.
Maryland is 28-4 on the season, with the four losses coming to teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 at the time of the meeting. The Terps reached the championship game of the ACC Tournament, upsetting then-No. 2 Duke in the semifinals to make their first conference finals appearance in 13 years.
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