The women are better dancers than the men this year.
Two local teams — St. John’s and Fordham — received NCAA Tournament bids, compared with only Manhattan on the men’s side.
The St. John’s women are headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and second in a row under coach Joe Tartamella. The Red Storm (22-10) received an at-large berth after falling to DePaul in the Big East Tournament championship game. They are an eight-seed in the Louisville region and will face No. 9 USC in the first round in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. A second-round matchup with SEC powerhouse Tennessee, the one-seed, looms in the second round.
Fordham (25-7), the Atlantic 10 conference champion, is headed to the Big Dance for the second time in school history and first time since 1994. The Rams, who are just six years removed from a winless season, are the 10-seed in the Notre Dame region and face No. 7 California in Waco, Texas, Saturday at 4 p.m.
Undefeated powerhouse UConn, the defending national champion, landed the No. 1 overall seed in the Lincoln region. Along with Tennesee, the other No. 1’s were South Carolina in the Stanford region and Notre Dame in the Notre Dame region.