Maryland women’s basketball is No. 9 in the selection committee’s first rankings

Maryland women’s basketball would be the No. 9 overall seed if the season ended today, according to the selection committee’s first reveal of the top 16 seeds on Monday.

The Terps are currently 19-1 and 7-0 in the Big Ten, but are just a 3-seed right now in the eyes of the committee. This may come as a surprise to some, as the Terps are currently ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme hasn’t had them lower than a 2-seed.

The Terps had non-conference wins against fellow top-16 teams Louisville (No. 13) and Arizona State (No. 16), but that didn’t appear to be enough to overcome an otherwise weak non-conference schedule and a down year in the Big Ten.

Maryland has the 85th-best strength of schedule, while the weakest SOS in the top eight is No. 2 Baylor at 47th.

The Terps are currently 19th in RPI, which is the best in the Big Ten, but every other Power 5 conference has at least four teams ranked higher than Maryland.

These rankings are subject to change, but it shows that a 2-seed is definitely a possibility, and a 1-seed is a long shot.

No other Big Ten team was in the top 16, and UConn, Baylor, South Carolina, and Mississippi State were the No. 1 seeds in the committee’s first rankings. The top 16 seeds will be updated again on Feb. 6.