1993 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

1993 NCAA Women's Division I
Basketball Tournament
Teams 48
Finals site Omni Coliseum
Atlanta, Georgia
Champions Texas Tech (1st title)
Runner-up Ohio St. (1st title game)
Semifinalists
MOP Sheryl Swoopes Texas Tech
NCAA Women's Division I Tournaments
«1992 1994»

The 1993 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17 and ended on April 4. The tournament featured 48 teams. The Final Four consisted of Ohio State, Iowa, Vanderbilt, and Texas Tech, with Texas Tech defeating Ohio State 84-82 to win its first NCAA title.[1] Texas Tech's Sheryl Swoopes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.[2]

Notable events

Ohio State failed to earn in invitation to the NCAA tournament in the prior two years, but in 1993, they added Katie Smith, the Gatorade National player of the year,[3] to the roster, who helped lead the team to a 24–3 regular season record and an NCAA invitation as a 1 seed. The Buckeyes won their first two games easily, but faced a challenge in the East Regional final game against Virginia. The Cavaliers had been in the three previous Final Fours, including a national runner up finish in 1991. Despite 30 points from Virginia's Heather Burge, the Ohio State team won a close match, 75–73, to move on to their first ever NCAA Final Four. With time winding down, and trailing by two points, Virginia raced down the court and Jenny Evans would hit a three point shot, but it was disallowed, because the coach had called a timeout with 0.6 seconds left in the game. The inbounds pass was never touched, and went out of bounds, turning the ball over to Ohio State. Although they only had to inbound the ball, the inbounder stepped on the line, giving the ball back to Virginia. However, the inbounds pass by the Cavaliers was blocked, and Ohio State held on to win.[4]

In the Mideast Regional, the Tennessee team was the top seed. Tennessee had won the National Championship three of the prior six years an advanced to the regional final with wins of 20 points or more in their first two games. Iowa, who had shared the championship of the Big Ten with Ohio State, was the second seed in the region, and faced Tennessee in the regional Final. Iowa was coached by Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer who had lost her husband to a heart attack during the season. The Tennessee team was trying to win the 500th victory for their coach Pat Summitt. The Iowa team would prevail, sending Iowa to their first ever Final Four (although the coach had been in the first NCAA Final four as coach of Cheyney State).[5]

Texas Tech was the second seeded team in the West regional, where long time power Stanford was the top seed. However, Colorado upset Stanford in the regional semi-finals, while Texas Tech beat Washington, then USC to face Colorado in the Regional Finals. That game wasn't close, as Texas Tech, with Sheryl Swoopes, the "Michael Jordan of women's basketball" beat Colorado by 25 points to make it to their first ever Final Four. This set up a match up with Vanderbilt, the number one seeded winner of the Midwest Regional, who were also appearing in their first ever Final Four.

The Final Four included four teams who had never been in a Final Four before,[6] the first time that had happened since the very first NCAA Final Four in 1982. In one semifinal, second seeded Texas Tech faced a number one seed in Vanderbilt, but Texas Tech would win easily, 60–46, while Vanderbilt set a tournament record for fewest points in a half, of a semi-final game, with only 20 points in the second half.[7]

In the other semifinal, two Big Ten teams faced each other. Ohio State and Iowa had squared off twice in the regular season, with each winning their game at home. This time, they faced each other for the chance to play in the national championship game. At the end of regulation though, the game was tied, and they had to go to an overtime period. A timeout had been crucial in the Ohio State win over Virginia, and would become crucial in this game as well. Near of the game, the Iowa coach tried to signal a timeout, but the refs did not see the signal, and Iowa player Laurie Aaron tripped over a player on the floor with six seconds to go, losing the ball and turning it over. Ohio State recovered the ball and held on for a one point victory 73–72.[8]

In the championship game, Swoopes scored 23 points in the first half to help Texas Tech take a nine point lead at half-time. The Buckeyes didn't fold, and fought back to take 55–54 lead midway through the second half. However, Swoopes continued her record-breaking night, and scored 24 points in the second half. She completed a three point play on a layup and foul shot to give her team a seven point lead with under a minute to go. Ohio State hit two three pointers in the final seconds, but it wasn't enough, and the Red Raiders won their first national championship with a score of 84–82.[9]

Tournament records

Qualifying teams - automatic

Forty-eight teams were selected to participate in the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Twenty-three conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1993 NCAA tournament.[10]

Automatic Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season		 Conference Seed
Bowling Green State University MAC 25–4 17–1 10
Brigham Young University WAC 24–4 13–1 12
Georgia Southern University Southern Conference 21–8 9–3 12
University of Kansas Big Eight 21–8 9–5 8
University of Louisville Metro 18–11 7–5 11
University of Miami Big East 23–6 15–3 5
Missouri State University Missouri Valley Conference 21–8 14–2 10
Montana State University Big Sky Conference 22–6 13–1 7
Northern Illinois University Mid-Continent 24–5 15–1 11
Ohio State University Big Ten 24–3 16–2 1
Old Dominion University Colonial 21–7 14–0 10
Rutgers University Atlantic 10 21–8 12–2 9
University of San Diego West Coast Conference 16–11 8–6 11
Saint Peter's College MAAC 18–10 9–5 12
Stanford University Pac-12 25–5 15–3 1
Stephen F. Austin State University Southland 27–4 17–1 4
Tennessee Technological University Ohio Valley Conference 22–6 14–2 7
Texas Tech University Southwest 26–3 13–1 2
University of California, Santa Barbara Big West Conference 18–11 13–5 5
Vanderbilt University SEC 27–2 9–2 1
University of Virginia ACC 24–5 13–3 2
Western Kentucky University Sun Belt Conference 23–6 13–1 4
Xavier University Midwestern Collegiate 21–8 11–5 12

Qualifying teams - at-large

Twenty-five additional teams were selected to complete the forty-eight invitations.[10]

At-large Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season		 Conference Seed
University of Alabama Southeastern 21–8 8–6 5
Auburn University Southeastern 24–3 9–2 3
University of California, Berkeley Pacific-10 18–9 10–8 9
Clemson University Atlantic Coast 18–10 8–8 5
University of Colorado at Boulder Big Eight 25–3 12–2 4
University of Connecticut Big East 18–10 12–6 6
DePaul University Great Midwest 20–8 8–2 11
University of Florida Southeastern 18–9 6–5 7
Georgetown University Big East 21–6 15–3 6
University of Georgia Southeastern 20–12 4–7 8
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlantic Coast 16–10 8–8 9
University of Iowa Big Ten 24–3 16–2 2
Louisiana Tech University Sun Belt 23–5 13–1 6
University of Maryland, College Park Atlantic Coast 22–7 11–5 2
University of Nebraska at Omaha Big Eight 22–7 10–4 6
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Atlantic Coast 22–6 11–5 4
Northwestern University Big Ten 18–9 13–5 8
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Big Eight 23–8 9–5 7
Pennsylvania State University Big Ten 22–5 14–4 3
San Diego State University Western Athletic 19–8 9–5 9
University of Southern California Pacific-10 21–6 14–4 3
University of Tennessee Southeastern 27–2 11–0 1
University of Texas at Austin Southwest 22–7 13–1 3
University of Vermont North Atlantic 28–0 14–0 8
University of Washington Pacific-10 16–11 11–7 10

Bids by conference

Twenty-three conferences earned an automatic bid. In fourteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Two conferences, Great Midwest and North Atlantic sent a single representative as an at-large team. Twenty-three additional at-large teams were selected from nine of the conferences.[10]

Bids Conference Teams
6 Southeastern Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee
5 Atlantic Coast Virginia, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina
4 Big Eight Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma St.
4 Big Ten Ohio St., Iowa, Northwestern, Penn St.
4 Pacific-10 Stanford, California, Southern California, Washington
3 Big East Miami Fla, Connecticut, Georgetown
2 Southwest Texas Tech, Texas
2 Sun Belt Western Ky., Louisiana Tech
2 Western Athletic BYU, San Diego St.
1 Atlantic 10 Rutgers
1 Big Sky Montana St.
1 Big West UC Santa Barb.
1 Colonial Old Dominion
1 Great Midwest DePaul
1 Metro Louisville
1 Metro Atlantic St. Peter’s
1 Mid-American Bowling Green
1 Mid-Continent Northern Ill.
1 Midwestern Xavier
1 Missouri Valley Missouri St.
1 North Atlantic Vermont
1 Ohio Valley Tennessee Tech
1 Southern Ga. Southern
1 Southland Stephen F. Austin
1 West Coast San Diego

First and second rounds

Coral Gables
Bowling Green
Washington
Burlington
Evanston
Norfolk
Tuscaloosa
Storrs
Lawrence
Clemson
Springfield
Ruston
Santa Barbara
Athens
Seattle
Lincoln
1993 NCAA first round
Bowling Green
University Park
Columbus
Charlottesville
Norfolk
Chapel Hill
Knoxville
Auburn
Nashville
Nacogdoches
College Park
Austin
Stanford
Lubbock
Los Angeles
Boulder
1993 NCAA second round

In 1993, the field remained at 48 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-12 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, seeds 7 and 10 played for the opportunity to face the 2 seed, seeds 5 and 12 played for the opportunity to face the 4 seed, and seeds 6 and 11 played for the opportunity to face the 3 seed. In the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:[12]

Old Dominion served as a host for the first round as well as the second round, so it is listed twice.

The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the thirty-two first and second round locations:

Region Rnd Host Venue City State
East 1 University of Miami Knight Sports Complex Coral Gables Florida
East 1 Bowling Green State University Anderson Arena Bowling Green Ohio
East 1 Georgetown University McDonough Gymnasium Washington District of Columbia
East 1 University of Vermont Patrick Gym Burlington Vermont
East 2 Western Kentucky University E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green Kentucky
East 2 Pennsylvania State University Recreation Building (Rec Hall) University Park Pennsylvania
East 2 Ohio State University St. John Arena Columbus Ohio
East 2 University of Virginia University Hall (University of Virginia) Charlottesville Virginia
Mideast 1 Northwestern University Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston Illinois
Mideast 1 Old Dominion University Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Norfolk Virginia
Mideast 1 University of Alabama Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa Alabama
Mideast 1 University of Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs Connecticut
Mideast 2 Old Dominion University Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Norfolk Virginia
Mideast 2 University of North Carolina Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill North Carolina
Mideast 2 University of Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville Tennessee
Mideast 2 Auburn University Memorial Coliseum (Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum) Auburn Alabama
Midwest 1 University of Kansas Allen Field House Lawrence Kansas
Midwest 1 Clemson University Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson South Carolina
Midwest 1 Missouri State University Hammons Student Center Springfield Missouri
Midwest 1 Louisiana Tech University Thomas Assembly Center Ruston Louisiana
Midwest 2 Vanderbilt University Striplin Gymnasium Nashville Tennessee
Midwest 2 Stephen F. Austin University William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches Texas
Midwest 2 University of Maryland Cole Field House College Park Maryland
Midwest 2 University of Texas Frank Erwin Center Austin Texas
West 1 University of California, Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Events Center Santa Barbara California
West 1 University of Georgia Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum) Athens Georgia
West 1 University of Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle Washington
West 1 University of Nebraska Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln Nebraska
West 2 Stanford University Maples Pavilion Stanford California
West 2 Texas Tech University Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock Texas
West 2 University of Southern California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles California
West 2 University of Colorado CU Events Center (Coors Events Center) Boulder Colorado

Regionals and Final Four

Richmond
Iowa City
Nacogdoches
Missoula
Atlanta
1993 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 25 to March 27 at these sites:

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held April 3 and April 4 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Omni Coliseum, (Host: Georgia Tech)

Bids by state

The forty-eight teams came from twenty-seven states, plus Washington, D.C. California had the most teams with six bids. Twenty-three states did not have any teams receiving bids.[10]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 1993
Bids State Teams
6 California San Diego, Stanford, UC Santa Barb., California, San Diego St., Southern California
3 Georgia Ga. Southern, Georgia, Georgia Tech
3 Illinois Northern Ill., DePaul, Northwestern
3 Ohio Bowling Green, Ohio St., Xavier
3 Tennessee Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, Tennessee
3 Texas Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech, Texas
2 Alabama Alabama, Auburn
2 Florida Miami Fla, Florida
2 Kentucky Louisville, Western Ky.
2 New Jersey Rutgers, St. Peter’s
2 Virginia Old Dominion, Virginia
1 Colorado Colorado
1 Connecticut Connecticut
1 District of Columbia Georgetown
1 Iowa Iowa
1 Kansas Kansas
1 Louisiana Louisiana Tech
1 Maryland Maryland
1 Missouri Missouri St.
1 Montana Montana St.
1 Nebraska Nebraska
1 North Carolina North Carolina
1 Oklahoma Oklahoma St.
1 Pennsylvania Penn St.
1 South Carolina Clemson
1 Utah BYU
1 Vermont Vermont
1 Washington Washington

Brackets

First and second round games played at higher seed except where noted.

East Regional - Richmond, VA

  First round
March 17		 Second round
March 20–21		 Regional semifinals
March 25		 Regional finals
March 27
                                     
        
  1  Ohio St. 91  
    9  Rutgers 60  
8  Vermont 74
9  Rutgers 80  
  1  Ohio St. 86  
  4  Western Kentucky 73  
        
        
  4  Western Kentucky 78
    5  Miami (FL) 63  
5  Miami (FL) 61
12  St. Peter's 44  
  1  Ohio St. 75
  2  Virginia 73
        
        
  2  Virginia 69
    10  Florida 55  
7  Bowling Green 67
10  Florida 69  
  2  Virginia 77
  6  Georgetown 57  
        
        
  3  Penn St. 67
    6  Georgetown 68  
6  Georgetown 76
11  Northern Illinois 74  

Mideast Regional - Iowa City, IA

  First round
March 17		 Second round
March 20–21		 Regional semifinals
March 25		 Regional finals
March 27
                                     
        
  1  Tennessee 89  
    8  Northwestern 66  
8  Northwestern 90
9  Georgia Tech 62  
  1  Tennessee 74  
  4  North Carolina 54  
        
        
  4  North Carolina 74
    5  Alabama 73 (OT)  
5  Alabama 102
12  Georgia Southern 70  
  1  Tennessee 56
  2  Iowa 72
        
        
  2  Iowa 82
    7  at Old Dominion 56  
7  Old Dominion 77
10  Tennessee Tech 60  
  2  Iowa 63
  3  Auburn 50  
        
        
  3  Auburn 66
    11  Louisville 61  
6  Connecticut 71
11  Louisville 74  

Midwest Regional - Nacogdoches, TX

  First round
March 17		 Second round
March 20–21		 Regional semifinals
March 25		 Regional finals
March 27
                                     
        
  1  Vanderbilt 82  
    9  California 63  
8  Kansas 47
9  California 62  
  1  Vanderbilt 59  
  4  Stephen F. Austin 56  
        
        
  4  Stephen F. Austin 89
    5  Clemson 78  
5  Clemson 70
12  Xavier 64  
  1  Vanderbilt 58
  6  Louisiana Tech 53
        
        
  2  Maryland 82
    7  SW Missouri St. 86  
7  SW Missouri St. 86
10  Oklahoma St. 71  
  7  SW Missouri St. 43
  6  Louisiana Tech 59  
        
        
  3  Texas 78
    6  Louisiana Tech 82  
6  Louisiana Tech 70
11  DePaul 59  

West Regional - Missoula, MT

  First round
March 17		 Second round
March 20–21		 Regional semifinals
March 25		 Regional finals
March 27
                                     
        
  1  Stanford 93  
    8  Georgia 60  
8  Georgia 85
9  San Diego St. 68  
  1  Stanford 67  
  4  Colorado 80  
        
        
  4  Colorado 81
    5  UC Santa Barbara 54  
5  UC Santa Barbara 88
12  BYU 79  
  4  Colorado 54
  2  Texas Tech 79
        
        
  2  Texas Tech 70
    7  Washington 64  
7  Washington 80
10  Montana St. 51  
  2  Texas Tech 87
  3  Southern California 67  
        
        
  3  Southern California 78
    6  Nebraska 60  
6  Nebraska 81
11  San Diego 58  

Final Four - Atlanta, GA

National Semifinals
April 3 		National Championship
April 4
      
1E Ohio St. 73
2ME Iowa 72 (OT)
1E Ohio St. 82
2W Texas Tech 84
1MW Vanderbilt 46
2W Texas Tech 60

Record by conference

Fifteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:[10]

Conference # of Bids Record Win % Round
of 32		 Sweet
Sixteen		 Elite
Eight		 Final
Four		 Championship
Game
Southeastern 6 9–6 .600 6 3 2 1 –
Atlantic Coast 5 4–5 .444 4 2 1 – –
Big Ten 4 8–4 .667 4 2 2 2 1
Pacific-10 4 4–4 .500 4 2 – – –
Big Eight 4 3–4 .429 2 1 1 – –
Big East 3 3–3 .500 2 1 – – –
Southwest 2 5–1 .833 2 1 1 1 1
Sun Belt 2 4–2 .667 2 2 1 – –
Western Athletic 2 0–2 – – – – – –
Missouri Valley 1 2–1 .667 1 1 – – –
Atlantic 10 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
Big West 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
Colonial 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
Metro 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
Southland 1 1–1 .500 1 1 – – –

Ten conferences went 0-1: Big Sky Conference, Great Midwest Conference, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, Midwestern Collegiate, North Atlantic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southern Conference,and West Coast Conference [10]

All-Tournament Team

Game Officials

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gregory Cooper. "1993 NCAA National Championship Tournament". Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  2. ↑ "CHN Basketball History: Most Outstanding Player". Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  3. ↑ "Winners". Gatorade.com. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
  4. ↑ Greenberg, Mel (March 28, 1993). "Ohio State Holds Off Virginia In East Final The Buckeyes Won, 75-73. It Was A Thriller And Yet Another Heartbreaker For The Cavaliers.". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
  5. ↑ Deardorff, Julie (March 29, 1993). "Season Of Tears Can't Stop Iowa Women". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
  6. ↑ Finnegan, Tara (March 31, 1993). "Women's Final Four gets a new cast All semifinalists making first trip". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 1 Nov 2012.
  7. ↑ Deardorff, Julie (April 4, 1993). "Swoopes Leads Texas Tech Past Top-ranked Vanderbilt". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
  8. ↑ Kent, Milton (April 4, 1993). "Texas Tech swoops into final against Ohio State Buckeyes need overtime to edge Iowa, 73-72". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
  9. ↑ Greenberg, Mel (April 5, 1993). "Swoopes' 47 Carry Texas Tech To Title Ohio State Fell, 84-82, As The Raiders' Unstoppable Forward Snapped A Slew Of Tournament Records.". Philly.com. Retrieved 1 Nov 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Nixon, Rick. "Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Championship records remembered". NCAA. Retrieved 22 Sep 2012.
  12. ↑ "Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 19 March 2012.