While most may be focused on the Men's Selection Show tonight at 6pm on CBS, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team will find out their seeding tonight at 8pm on ESPN after one of the best seasons in program history.
The Hokies finished 5th in the ACC before going on a strong run to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament while finishing in the top 20 of the rankings. Of course, those rankings don't guarantee anything in regards to seeding but it's clear that the Hokies have a chance to be a top 4 seed for only the second time in program history and will at worst receive their second best seeding in program history.
Why does a top 4 seed matter? Because the top 4 seeds in each region get to host their first and second round games at their home arenas. Tech has only earned it once and if they were to do so again, it would be the second time they've truly earned it and third time Cassell Coliseum has hosted NCAA Women's Tournament games.
So here's a look at the Hokies' current seed projections.
- ESPN: 5 seed against Massachusetts
- NCAA.com: 4 seed against Drexel
- College Sports Madness: 6 seed against South Dakota
- Real Time RPI: 6 seed against Utah
Virginia Tech may not have been able to pick up a potentially game-changing, top of the resume win against N.C. State or Louisville during the regular season, but the Hokies have loads of quality wins against North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and others. Additionally, the Hokies have an impressive NET ranking at #10 as the predictive metrics like the women's team just like they like the men's team.
Tech's lack of an elite win could prove costly in the end to their hopes of earning a top 4 seed though the story could easily be different if ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley and Cayla King didn't get hurt against UNC in the ACC Tournament. Also, the struggles of Duke which was one of Tech's best wins also has hurt Tech's resume slightly.
Regardless of where Tech is seeded, the Hokies definitely have a team that is more than capable of making a deep run led by a star trio in Kitley, Aisha Sheppard, and Georgia Amoore plus a well-built out supporting cast of talent that has stepped up throughout the season.
