Notre Dame women are a No. 3 seed and Illinois gets a No. 8 in the NCAA Tournament
The Notre Dame women's basketball team will open the NCAA Tournament with home-court advantage after earning a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday.
The Irish (26-5) spent most of the season in contention for a No. 1 seed but dropped after losing three of their last five games, including a semifinal exit from the ACC Tournament.
The Irish will host No. 15 seed Stephen F. Austin (29-5) on Friday in South Bend, Ind. They were seeded into the Birimingham-3 Region, in which Texas is the No. 1 seed.
If Notre Dame gets past the Lumberjacks, it would play Michigan, Iowa State or Princeton on Sunday in South Bend for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Illinois (21-9) earned a No. 8 seed, also in the Birmingham-3 Region, and will travel to Austin, Texas, to face No. 9 seed Creighton (26-6) on Saturday. A Monday date with the top-seeded Longhorns awaits if the Illini advance.
Big Ten powerhouses USC and UCLA both earned No. 1 seeds along with South Carolina and Texas from the SEC.
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