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NCAA releases 2nd top-16 ranking

With just 36 days left until Selection Monday, the NCAA has released its second of three official top 16 rankings. This list, however, is by no means static, as multiple key games are still to be played.

By Nicole Feyh
NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Bridgeport Regional-Connecticut vs Mississippi State David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee released the second of three regular-season top 16 rankings in seeded order on Monday.

If the season ended Monday, UConn, Baylor, South Carolina and Mississippi State would round out the top four seeds, followed by Florida State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Stanford, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Duke, Louisville, UCLA, North Carolina State and DePaul.

The first reveal was released on Jan. 23. Kentucky and Arizona State have since dropped from the seeding, making way for North Carolina State and DePaul. Stanford made the biggest jump in the second top 16 ranking, going from No. 12 to No. 8.

Committee chair Terry Gawlik said the stagnancy of the top 10-ranked teams are due to the fact that there were only three losses since the first reveal—two of those losses coming against fellow top 10 teams.

“It pointed out to the committee how thin the difference is between those top teams and how important every game will be for those teams down the stretch of this season,” said Gawlik, who is also the senior associate athletics director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The third and final ranking will be revealed on Feb. 20, but these announcements will not have any influence on the final bracket announcement on Selection Monday, which is set to be unveiled March 13 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The NCAA also announced the 2017 Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will have non-predetermined sites for the first and second rounds. The top 16 seeds will host games beginning March 17-20. Regional round play is set for March 24-27, and the Final Four is slated for March 31-April 2 in Dallas.

Here is the latest Top 16 ranking in numerical order:

UCLA continues their four-game trek on the road at Oregon Friday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. P.T., while Stanford takes the court Friday too, at home against Colorado at 8 p.m. P.T.

Here is the latest Top 16 ranking in numerical order:

  1. UConn
  2. Baylor
  3. South Carolina
  4. Mississippi State
  5. Florida State
  6. Notre Dame
  7. Oregon State
  8. Stanford
  9. Maryland
  10. Washington
  11. Texas
  12. Duke
  13. Louisville
  14. UCLA
  15. North Carolina State
  16. DePaul

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