BYU earns NCAA Tournament bid as No. 11 seed, will face Rutgers in first round

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball earned an at-large bid to the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament as a No. 11 seed and will face No. 6 seed Rutgers in the first round in San Marcos, Texas on Monday, March 22, at 10 a.m. MDT on ESPNU.  

NCAA Tournament Digital Program

This is the Cougars’ 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth time earning a No. 11 seed.

“We’re really excited,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “I think we deserve this. We played a good schedule and beat people in front of us. Rutgers is a really good team and is really well coached. They have one of the most respected and legendary coaches (in C. Vivian Stringer). So, it’ll be a great opportunity for us.”

BYU has a 6-13 overall record in the tournament, dating back to the Cougars’ first appearance in 1984. This is the team’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance under Judkins, who has led BYU to a 6-9 record in the tournament, including a pair of Sweet 16 runs. During Judkins’ first year at the helm of the Cougar program in 2001-02, BYU advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed.

The Cougars’ most recent trip to the tournament was in 2019, when No. 7 seed BYU defeated No. 10 Auburn in the first round before falling to No. 2 Stanford in the Round of 32.

The Cougars and Rutgers have never faced each other in women’s basketball. The Scarlet Knights have now earned 26 NCAA Tournament bids throughout their history, dating back to 1986. Rutgers has reached the Final Four twice and was the national runner-up in 2007.

The Scarlet Knights have compiled a 14-4 overall record on the season, going 10-3 in Big Ten play. They finished third in the regular season conference standings and were eliminated in the Big Ten quarterfinals by Iowa.