Utah Elite Basketball Streak Seeks Sweet 16 Victory!
Utes and Cougars both earn No. 1 seeds in the national postseason tournament.
Utah guard Lani White (0) shoots over BYU's Delaney Gibb during a second-round game at the Big 12 women's basketball tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Thursday, March 5, 2026. | Denny Medley\Big 12 Conference BYU and Utah were squarely on the bubble for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament heading into Selection Sunday. The bubble burst for the Cougars and Utes, though, as they failed to make the 68-team field.
Instead, BYU and Utah will be headed to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament as two of the top seeds in that tourney. Both schools earned No. 1 seeds in the WBIT, which is in its third year of existence.
BYU and Utah were among the last four teams just outside the NCAA Tournament, along with fellow WBIT No. 1 seeds Texas A&M and North Dakota State. The Cougars (22-11) will host Alabama A&M (22-10) in the first round of the WBIT on Thursday, with game details to be announced later.
The Utes (19-12), despite being a No. 1 seed, will travel for their first-round game against Eastern Kentucky (24-8) on Thursday due to a facility conflict at the U. , per the WBIT.