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Big West regular-season co-champion UC Irvine and third-place team UC Davis both heard their names called on Selection Sunday to keep dancing in March.
The Anteaters (26-6) earned The Big West’s automatic entry into the NCAA’s WBIT bracket as the league’s No. 1 seed and non-advancing team to the NCAA Tournament. UC Irvine fell to eventual runners-up Hawai’i 67-63 in overtime in Friday’s semifinal round at the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship. It was UCI’s lone game of the championship after earning a double-bye as the No. 1 seed in the bracket.
UCI will head south to take on No. 4 seed San Diego State in the first round of the WBIT, meeting up on Thursday, March 19. The Aztecs home court at Viejas Arena is unavailable due to hosting the first two rounds of the men’s NCAA Tournament, so the contest will be played at Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of the University of San Diego. Thursday’s tip is set for 6 o’clock.
The Anteaters feature The Big West’s most potent scoring offense at 71.4 points per game with a +13.4 scoring margin, tops in the league. Big West Player of the Year Hunter Hernandez puts up 19.9 points per game with Newcomer of the Year Jada Wynn adding 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as the uppperclassmen duo guides the team. UCI’s 26 wins is a program record.
SDSU (25-5) earned their place in the WBIT bracket as the Mountain West regular-season champion. The Aztecs were stunned by No. 9 seed Air Force in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in their last game out.
The Aztecs are 21-9 all-time versus UC Irvine and last met in the 2023 WNIT, which the Anteaters won. The winner of the Anteaters/Aztecs matchup will advance to take on the victor of the contest between No. 1 seed Texas A&M and McNeese on Sunday, March 22.
Also making the postseason is UC Davis (23-10), who finished the regular season two games behind UCI and UC San Diego in the league standings. The Aggies fell by five to eventual Big West champion UCSD in the championship semifinal round in their last time out.
UC Davis selected to compete in the 48-team WNIT bracket as an at-large team with the full bracket including matchups, locations and times for the opening round announced Monday.
UC Davis will be making a sixth appearance in the WNIT field, and a first since 2018. The Aggies sport a 5-5 overall record in the event and picked up three wins while advancing to the quarterfinals in that 2018 bracket.
The Aggies rely on a balanced offense with four double-digit scorers with redshirt senior and All-Big West First Team selection Megan Norris anchoring the center. Norris averages a double-double of 12.3 points on .475 shooting and 12.7 rebounds a night with 2.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.