Liberty, Hampton draw No 16 seeds in women's tournament

By: VIC DORR JR. | Richmond Times-Dispatch Published: March 13, 2012 Updated: March 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Who is out was a hotter topic than who is in when the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament announced selections and first-round matchups Monday night.

In: Big South champion Liberty and MEAC champion Hampton. No surprise there. Both earned automatic invitations by winning conference tournaments. Out: the Virginia Cavaliers, whose 22-10 record included a 69-64 victory over Tennessee, the most aristocratic program in the women's game. Big surprise there.

Committee chairman Greg Christopher, the athletic director at Bowling Green, said the Cavaliers were among the last four teams excluded from the field of 64. Also included in that unhappy group were Oklahoma State, Southern Cal and Temple. The last four in: Florida, Kansas State, Michigan and Texas.

Christopher said deliberations concerning the final teams in the field "were really difficult. Ultimately, we probably spent four hours close to four hours, certainly talking just about those eight teams." The tipping point, Christopher said, was big-game success. The last four in "elevated their play. They stood up and got some significant wins that we didn't see from the others."

Then, perhaps recalling Virginia's overtime upset of Tennessee, he specifically addressed the Cavaliers' ACC rsum. Virginia finished 10-8 against ACC opponents. Said Christopher: "Their (conference) wins came against teams below them in the standings. None, really, came against teams that finished above them."

The Cavaliers finished 0-1 against Duke, 0-2 against North Carolina and 0-3 against Maryland.

While Virginia found itself on the outside looking in, Liberty and Hampton find themselves on the bottom looking up. Each was tagged with a No. 16 seed, which means each will face a No. 1 when subregional play begins this weekend. Hampton (26-4) was placed in the Fresno regional and was permitted to stay close to home. The Pirates, winners of three consecutive MEAC titles, will make the short drive to nearby Old Dominion University to face top-seeded Stanford (31-1) on Saturday at approximately 1:40 p.m.

A much longer journey awaits Liberty. The Flames (24-8) were placed in the Raleigh regional. They will travel to South Bend, Ind., for Sunday's 2:40 p.m. appointment with No. 1-seeded Notre Dame (30-3).

Flames coach Carey Green said his players are more eager than apprehensive about their first-round assignment.

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Liberty, Hampton draw No 16 seeds in women's tournament