Michigan State, Michigan women earn No. 9 seeds in NCAA Tournament

The wait was not a long one for the Michigan State women’s basketball team as the NCAA women’s basketball Tournament was unveiled Sunday night, while Michigan had to sit on pins and needles a bit longer.

The bottom line — both teams have made the tournament as No. 9 seeds.

Michigan State, under first-year coach Robyn Fralick, was among the first teams announced and is the No. 9 seed in Regional 1 and will face No. 8 North Carolina at Colonel Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, the home court of the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, South Carolina.  Michigan, making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Kim Barnes Arico, will face No. 8 Kansas in a first-round game in Los Angeles.

The Spartans are 22-8 (12-6 Big Ten) and have reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. North Carolina is 19-12 (11-7 ACC). Michigan State, which ranks second in the Big Ten in offense, averaging 83.7 points a game, has four players averaging in double-figure scoring led by Julia Ayrault, who is averaging 15.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. Moira Joiner averages 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds, DeeDee Hagemann is averaging 12.4 points and Theryn Hallock 11.1

.If Michigan State advances, its second-round matchup would likely be against South Carolina (32-0)

Michigan has been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, a year after the Wolverines were snubbed and went on to win the WNIT championship. They reached the Sweet 16 in 2021 and the Elite 8 in 2022 and reached the second round last year. Laila Phelia leads the team, averaging 16.8 points and 3.6 and Lauren Hansen is averaging 11.9 points. The Wolverines are the No. 1 defensive team in the Big Ten, holding teams to an average 63.8 points a game.

The Wolverines’ opponent, Kansas, is the defending WNIT champion and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 19-12 record. The Jayhawks are led by Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist Taiyanna Jackson, who averages 12.6 points and 9.8 rebounds and has three blocks. Freshman S’Mya Nichols averages 15.2 points per game, while Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter also average double figures.

The Michigan-Kansas winner will likely face No. 1 seed USC, which opens against No. 16 seed Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.