2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 40th edition of the tournament began on March 16, 2022, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at Target Center in Minneapolis, where the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the UConn Huskies 64–49 to win their second NCAA title, and handing UConn its first loss in the championship game. This tournament marked the introduction of the "First Four" round and an expansion of the field of participants from 64 teams to 68, mirroring the men's tournament since 2011.

Big South champion Longwood, Horizon champion IUPUI and Southland champion Incarnate Word made their tournament debuts. Tennessee continued its record streak of making every edition of the tournament, while UConn extended its record streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances.

Tournament procedure

For the first time, the women's tournament was expanded from 64 to 68 teams, adopting the format that has been used by the men's tournament since 2011; these teams consisted of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids that were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and the teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.

The top four teams outside of the ranking (commonly known as the "first four out") were designated as standbys in the event a school was forced to withdraw before the start of the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. Once the tournament began, teams that withdrew would not be replaced, and the affected team's opponent would automatically advance to the next round by walkover.

+First four outNETSchoolConferenceRecord48Boston CollegeACC19–1150MissouriSEC18–1236South Dakota StateSummit22–941UCLAPac-1214–12

Schedule and venues

After the 2020 tournament was cancelled and the 2021 tournament was held in a single location due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was reverted to the standard format for the first time since 2019.

The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done from 2016 to 2019.

First Four March 16 and 17 Four of the campuses seeded in the Top 16.

Subregionals (first and second rounds) March 18 and 20 (Fri/Sun) Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina) James Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University) Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa) KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University) Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University) XFINITY Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland) Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas) March 19 and 21 (Sat/Mon) McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona) Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee) Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Host: University of Michigan) Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 25–28 Bridgeport regional, Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut (cohosts: University of Connecticut, Fairfield University) Greensboro regional, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, North Carolina (host: Atlantic Coast Conference) Wichita regional, Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas (host: Wichita State University) Spokane regional, Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington (host: University of Idaho)

National semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship) April 1 and April 3 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (host: University of Minnesota)

In the wake of criticism raised in 2021 over inequities between the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments, the NCAA announced that the 2022 women's tournament will be promoted with the "March Madness" branding for the first time.

Qualification and selection teams

Automatic qualifiers The following teams automatically qualified for the 2022 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bidAmerica EastAlbany23–97th2017AmericanUCF25–37th2021ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast29–28th2021Atlantic 10UMass26–63rd1998ACCNC State29–327th2021Big 12 Texas26–634th2021Big EastConnecticut25–533rd2021Big SkyMontana State22–123rd2017Big SouthLongwood21–111stNeverBig TenIowa23–728th2021Big WestHawaii20–97th2016Colonial Delaware24–75th2013C-USACharlotte22–93rd2009Horizon IUPUI24–41stNeverIvy LeaguePrinceton24–49th2019MAACFairfield25–65th2001MACBuffalo25–84th2019MEACHoward20–96th2001Missouri Valley Illinois State19–136th2008Mountain West UNLV26–69th2002Northeast Mount St. Mary's16–124th2021Ohio ValleyBelmont22–77th2021Pac-12 Stanford28–335th2021Patriot American23–83rd2018SECKentucky19–1117th2021SouthernMercer23–64th2021Southland Incarnate Word13–161stNeverSWACJackson State23–66th2021SummitSouth Dakota27–54th2021Sun BeltUT Arlington20–73rd2007West Coast Gonzaga26–613th2021WACStephen F. Austin28–420th2021

Bids by state

BidsState(s)Schools 1 Arizona Arizona 1 Arkansas Arkansas 1 California Stanford 1 Colorado Colorado 2 Connecticut Connecticut, Fairfield 1 Delaware Delaware 6 Florida Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Miami, UCF, USF 3 Georgia Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mercer 1 Hawaii Hawaii 2 Illinois DePaul, Illinois State 3 Indiana Indiana, IUPUI, Notre Dame 2 Iowa Iowa, Iowa State 2 Kansas Kansas, Kansas State 2 Kentucky Kentucky, Louisville 1 Louisiana LSU 1 Massachusetts UMass 2 Maryland Maryland, Mount St. Mary's 1 Michigan Michigan 2 Mississippi Jackson State, Ole Miss 1 Missouri Missouri State 1 Montana Montana State 2 Nebraska Creighton, Nebraska 1 Nevada UNLV1 New Jersey Princeton 2 New York Albany, Buffalo 3 North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina, NC State 2 Ohio Dayton, Ohio State 1 Oklahoma Oklahoma 1 Oregon Oregon 1 Pennsylvania Villanova 1 South Carolina South Carolina 1 South Dakota South Dakota 2 Tennessee Belmont, Tennessee 5 Texas Baylor, Incarnate Word, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, UT Arlington 2 Utah BYU, Utah 2 Virginia Longwood, Virginia Tech 2 Washington Gonzaga, Washington State2 Washington, D.C. American, Howard <noinclude>

Tournament seeds (list by region)

+Greensboro regional – Greensboro Coliseum,Greensboro, North CarolinaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1South CarolinaSEC29–2At-Large20212IowaBig Ten23–7Automatic20213Iowa StateBig 1226–6At-Large20214ArizonaPac–1220–7At-Large20215North CarolinaACC23–6At-Large20216GeorgiaSEC20–9At-Large20217ColoradoPac–1222–8At-Large20138Miami (FL)ACC20–12At-Large20199South FloridaAmerican24–8At-Large202110CreightonBig East20–9At-Large201811*DaytonA1025–5At-Large2018DePaulBig East22–10At-Large201912Stephen F. AustinWAC28–4Automatic202113UNLVMWC26–6Automatic200214UT ArlingtonSun Belt20–7Automatic200715Illinois StateMVC19–13Automatic200816*HowardMEAC20–9Automatic2001Incarnate WordSouthland13–16AutomaticNever+Wichita regional – Intrust Bank Arena,Wichita, KansasSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1LouisvilleACC25–4At-Large20212BaylorBig 1227–6At-Large20213MichiganBig Ten22–6At-Large20214TennesseeSEC23–8At-Large20215OregonPac–1220–11At-Large20216BYUWest Coast26–3At-Large20217Ole MissSEC23–8At-Large20078NebraskaBig Ten24–8At-Large20189GonzagaWest Coast26–6Automatic202110South DakotaSummit27–5Automatic202111VillanovaBig East23–8At-Large201812BelmontOhio Valley22–7Automatic202113BuffaloMAC25–8Automatic201914AmericanPatriot23–8Automatic201815HawaiʻiBig West20–9Automatic201616AlbanyAmerica East23–9Automatic2017+Spokane regional – Spokane Arena,Spokane, WashingtonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1StanfordPac–1228–3Automatic20212TexasBig 1226–6Automatic20213LSUSEC25–5At-Large20184MarylandBig Ten21–8At-Large20215Virginia TechACC23–9At-Large20216Ohio StateBig Ten23–6At-Large20187UtahPac–1220–11At-Large20118KansasBig 1220–9At-Large20139Georgia TechACC21–10At-Large202110ArkansasSEC18–13At-Large202111*Missouri StateMVC24–7At-Large2021Florida StateACC17–13At-Large202112Florida Gulf CoastASUN29–2Automatic202113DelawareCAA24–7Automatic201314Jackson StateSWAC23–6Automatic202115FairfieldMAAC25–6Automatic200116Montana StateBig Sky22–12Automatic2017+Bridgeport regional – Total Mortgage Arena,Bridgeport, ConnecticutSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1NC StateACC29–3Automatic20212UConnBig East25–5Automatic20213IndianaBig Ten22–8At-Large20214OklahomaBig 1224–8At-Large20185Notre DameACC22–8At-Large20196KentuckySEC19–11Automatic20217UCFAmerican25–3Automatic20218Washington StatePac–1219–10At-Large20219Kansas StateBig 1219–12At-Large201910FloridaSEC21–10At-Large201611PrincetonIvy24–4Automatic201912UMassAtlantic 1026–6Automatic199813IUPUIHorizon24–4AutomaticNever14CharlotteC-USA22–9Automatic200915MercerSouthern23–6Automatic202116*Mount St. Mary'sNortheast16–12Automatic2021LongwoodBig South21–11AutomaticNever *See First Four

Tournament records

Rebounds—South Carolina recorded 294 rebounds, the most ever recorded by a single team in an NCAA Tournament.

Tournament bracket All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) * – Denotes overtime period

First Four

Greensboro regional – Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro regional final

Greensboro regional All Tournament team Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (MOP) Destanni Henderson, South Carolina Lauren Jensen, Creighton Emily Ryan, Iowa State Deja Kelly, North Carolina

Wichita regional – Wichita, Kansas

Wichita regional final

Wichita regional All Tournament team Hailey Van Lith, Louisville (MOP) Emily Engstler, Louisville Naz Hillmon, Michigan Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota Rae Burrell, Tennessee

Spokane regional – Spokane, Washington

Spokane regional final

Spokane regional All Tournament team Haley Jones, Stanford (MOP) Lexie Hull, Stanford Rori Harmon, Texas Cameron Brink, Stanford Joanne Allen-Taylor, Texas

Bridgeport regional – Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport regional final

Bridgeport regional All Tournament team Paige Bueckers, Connecticut (MOP) Christyn Williams, Connecticut Azzi Fudd, Connecticut Elissa Cunane, NC State Olivia Miles, Notre Dame

Final Four – Minneapolis, Minnesota

National semifinals

National championship

Final Four all-tournament team Haley Jones, Stanford Paige Bueckers, Connecticut Zia Cooke, South Carolina Destanni Henderson, South Carolina Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (MOP)

Record by conference