As 68 teams celebrate a bid to the Big Dance and prepare for a potential March Madness run, others are on the outside looking in.
The top of the women's NCAA tournament is loaded with one-seeds UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and USC. We have a potential JuJu Watkins-Paige Bueckers showdown if USC and No. 2 UConn make it to the Elite Eight.
Outside of the top seeds, though, plenty of schools had amazing seasons which they hoped resulted in a bid to the NCAA tournament. Obviously, not every team can make it. And it's an even tougher, uphill battle for mid-major teams who don't receive an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament.
With the stage now set, here are the four biggest snubs from this year's women's NCAA tournament field:
Virginia Tech
This season marked a year of change for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Previous coach Kenny Brooks left for the Kentucky job and brought star guard Georgia Amoore with him. After Virginia Tech's Final Four run in 2023, new coach Megan Duffy had work cut out for her to keep the Hokies afloat.
Although it wasn't perfect, Duffy did a great job in year one and kept Virginia Tech in the tournament conversation. The Hokies finished 18–12 on the season and 9–9 in ACC play. Unfortunately, they lost seven of their final 11 games including a loss to Georgia Tech in their first ACC tournament game. Winning a game or two certainly would have helped the Hokies' at-large hopes. After just missing the field, they head to the WBIT as a one-seed.
UNLV
UNLV won the Mountain West regular season title with a 16–2 record in conference play, but lost to San Diego State in the conference tournament semifinal to miss an automatic bid. The Rebels went 25–7 overall on the season. They employed a balanced scoring attack with four starters averaging 10 points per game and Meadow Roland averaging 9.9 points off the bench.
The Lady Rebels had zero "bad losses," which are against teams ranked 150 or higher in the NET ratings during the 2024–25 season, according to the NCAA. They won nine of their last 11 games to end the season, putting it all together at the right time. The selection committee didn't see it that way, however, leaving UNLV out of the 68-team field.
James Madison
James Madison finished their season 28–5 and dominated Sun Belt play with a perfect 18–0 record. They lost a heartbreaker in the Sun Belt tournament championship game to Arkansas State for the conference's automatic bid.
Nevertheless, the Dukes had an outstanding season which likely deserved a bid to the Big Dance. Three of their five losses came to ranked teams: NC State, Notre Dame and Texas. The Longhorns are a one-seed in the NCAA tournament, while the Wolfpack are a two-seed and the Fighting Irish a three. JMU also had quality wins over VCU and Villanova on the road and Florida on a neutral court. A deserving résumé which fell just short in the committee's eyes.
It's tough to earn an at-large bid out of a mid-major conference like the Sun Belt. But the Dukes were certainly worthy.
Quinnipiac
Another school who dominated their season in a smaller conference, the Quinnipiac Bobcats missed out on the NCAA tournament but had a great case. They were 28–4 on the season and 18–2 in MAAC play, but lost to Fairfield in the conference tournament championship Saturday.
Two of Quinnipiac's four losses came in overtime, while two losses were to Fairfield who earned the MAAC's automatic bid. The Bobcats beat Princeton in non-conference play, who made the tournament as an 11-seed out of the Ivy League. They beat Harvard as well, the Ivy's automatic qualifier who enters the tournament field as a 10-seed.
“There’s a lot of talk around three teams from the Ivy League and things like that,” Fairfield head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said via Sam Federman of . “[Quinnipiac] beat two of those Ivy League teams. So in my opinion, they deserve to be in the tournament.”
The Bobcats were another team in need of an automatic bid, but one can argue their season was too good for the committee to pass on.
