What to expect on Selection Sunday for women's NCAA Tournament

At 8 p.m. ET on Sunday (ESPN), the women's NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed.

Obviously, it's impossible to project every team in the bracket accurately, much less the seeds and regions. But, a day from the unveiling, here are a few things to expect from the field of 68. 

South Carolina will be the No. 1 overall seed

And there's no doubt about it. The Gamecocks saw three-time All-American big Aliyah Boston depart for the WNBA after last season, but have shown no signs of slowing down in going 32-0 to this point — a mark that, of course, came with the SEC regular-season and tournament titles. 

Led by center Kamilla Cardoso and guards MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina deserves to be the favorite heading into this tournament. If it lives up to that billing, head coach Dawn Staley will join Geno Auriemma (11), Pat Summitt (eight), Kim Mulkey (four) and Tara VanDerveer (three) as the only women's basketball coaches to win three or more NCAA titles.

Iowa will grab the last No. 1 seed

USC and Stanford should give the Pac-12 two No. 1 seeds, but the last slot is up for debate. Texas won the Big 12 Tournament after finishing the regular season second in the conference; the same goes for the Hawkeyes. 

The Longhorns (third) are ahead of Iowa (fifth) in the NET Rankings, but the Hawkeyes played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country — Texas' slate, while extremely difficult, was the 18th-hardest, per WarrenNolan.com. 

Ultimately, we're going to go with the Hawkeyes, which means that the program will be a No. 1 seed for the first time in the Caitlin Clark era.

ACC will have the most teams

We have eight locks out of the ACC: Virginia Tech, the regular-season champion, Notre Dame, the ACC Tournament winner, N.C. State, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke, North Carolina and Florida State. 

Miami, currently in ESPN's "Last Four Byes", should be safe — the Hurricanes sport wins over fellow bubble team Mississippi State, N.C. State, Duke, North Carolina (in the second round of the ACC Tournament). 

Add it all up, and that's a hefty nine teams from the ACC.

The SEC will have multiple close calls

The SEC has five locks: South Carolina, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama. 

Then, we have Auburn, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, all just inside the bubble according to ESPN. However, the Tigers, Aggies and Commodores are 45th, 40th and 57th in the NET; that makes for a healthy debate on whether each should be in the field of 68. 

Add in Mississippi State's spot as the last team out (per ESPN), and it will be a stressful evening for four teams from the SEC. 

Duke-UConn second-round matchup is possible

We once again have to reiterate that predicting matchups is a highly unscientific business. That doesn't stop us from considering the possibilities, though.

According to ESPN, the Blue Devils are slotted in as a No. 6 seed in the Storrs, Connecticut, region, with UConn (a No. 3 seed) serving as the host. If that's the case — and both teams get to the second round — a juicy second-round battle could be in store. 

Tense day ahead for Arizona

Per ESPN, the Wildcats are the proverbial last team into the fold. How strong is their case? Well, at 34th in the NET and having played the 12th-hardest schedule in the country fairly solidly. 

Arizona may have finished the season at 17-15 (8-10 in the Pac-12) but there is still a sizable number of quality wins on its résumé. Victories over Utah, California (in ESPN's "Next Four Out"), Washington State (in the "First Four Out"), two over Washington (in the "Next Four Out") and a road win against likely No. 1 seed Stanford make for a credible argument. 

Now, though, Arizona's fate is in the hands of the selection committee. That is never a fun ordeal.