2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season

The 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season will begin on November 2018 and end with the Final Four title game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on April 2019. Practices will officially begin in September 2018.

Season headlines

Conference membership changes

Six schools joined new conferences for the 2018–19 season. Four schools switched between Division I conferences for the 2018–19 season. In addition, two schools moved from Division II starting this season. The former Division II schools are ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until completing their D-I transitions in 2022.

School Former Conference New Conference
Cal Baptist PacWest (D-II) WAC[1]
Hampton MEAC Big South[2]
Liberty Big South ASUN[3]
North Alabama Gulf South (D-II) ASUN[4]
North Dakota Big Sky Summit League[5]
USC Upstate ASUN Big South[6]

In addition to the schools changing conferences, the 2018–19 season will be the last for Savannah State in D-I with its decision to reclassify all of its sports to D-II.[7]

Finally, one D-I member adopted a new institutional and athletic identity. The 2017–18 school year was the last for Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) as a single institution. Following the school's split into separate institutions governed by Indiana University and Purdue University, IPFW degree programs in health sciences are now overseen by Indiana University Fort Wayne, while all other degree programs are governed by Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). The IPFW athletic program, rebranded in 2016 as the Fort Wayne Mastodons, became the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, representing only PFW.[8][9]

Arenas

New arenas

Arenas reopening

Four teams are returning to newly renovated arenas, all of which were closed for the 2017–18 season.

Temporary arenas

With the reopening of Fertitta Center delayed, Houston will begin the 2018–19 season at Texas Southern's Health and Physical Education Arena, where the Cougars played most of their 2017–18 home games.

While Robert Morris awaits the opening of the UPMC Events Center, its women's team will continue to use the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, an on-campus facility that opened in September 2017 as part of the UPMC Events Center project.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.


Regular Season

Upsets

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball, this generally constitutes an unranked team defeating a team currently ranked in the Top 25. This list will highlight those upsets of ranked teams by unranked teams as well as upsets of #1 teams. Rankings are from the AP poll. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes, such as Intrust Bank Arena for Wichita State).

Conference winners and tournament winners

Each of the 32 Division I athletic conferences ends its regular season with a single-elimination tournament. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference is given the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.


Postseason

NCAA Tournament

Tournament upsets

For this list, an "upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 7 or more spots below its defeated opponent.

Date Winner Score Loser Region Round

Women's NIT

Conference standings

2018–19 American Athletic Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Cincinnati00   00  
Connecticut00   00  
East Carolina00   00  
Houston00   00  
Memphis00   00  
SMU00   00  
South Florida00   00  
Temple00   00  
Tulane00   00  
Tulsa00   00  
UCF00   00  
Wichita State00   00  
† 2019 AAC Tournament winner
As of April 9, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 America East Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Albany00   00  
Binghamton00   00  
Hartford00   00  
New Hampshire00   00  
UMass Lowell00   00  
Maine00   00  
Stony Brook00   00  
UMBC00   00  
Vermont00   00  
† 2019 America East Tournament winner
As of April 9, 2018; 
2018–19 Atlantic 10 women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Davidson00   00  
Dayton00   00  
Duquesne00   00  
Fordham00   00  
George Mason00   00  
George Washington00   00  
La Salle00   00  
Massachusetts00   00  
Rhode Island00   00  
Richmond00   00  
Saint Joseph's00   00  
Saint Louis00   00  
St. Bonaventure00   00  
VCU00   00  
† 2019 A10 Tournament winner
As of April 9, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Atlantic Sun women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Florida Gulf Coast00   00  
Jacksonville00   00  
Kennesaw State00   00  
Liberty00   00  
Lipscomb00   00  
NJIT00   00  
North Alabama*00   00  
North Florida00   00  
Stetson00   00  
† 2019 ASUN Tournament winner
As of April 9, 2018; Rankings from
*North Alabama ineligible for ASUN Tournament as part of reclassification from Division II
2018–19 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Boston College00   00  
Clemson00   00  
Duke00   00  
Florida State00   00  
Georgia Tech00   00  
Louisville00   00  
Miami (FL)00   00  
North Carolina00   00  
NC State00   00  
Notre Dame00   00  
Pittsburgh00   00  
Syracuse00   00  
Virginia00   00  
Virginia Tech00   00  
Wake Forest00   00  
† 2019 ACC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Butler00   00  
Creighton00   00  
DePaul00   00  
Georgetown00   00  
Providence00   00  
Marquette00   00  
Seton Hall00   00  
St. John's00   00  
Villanova00   00  
Xavier00   00  
† 2019 Big East Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big Sky women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Eastern Washington00   00  
Idaho00   00  
Idaho State00   00  
Montana00   00  
Montana State00   00  
Northern Arizona00   00  
Northern Colorado00   00  
Portland State00   00  
Sacramento State00   00  
Southern Utah00   00  
Weber State00   00  
† 2019 Big Sky Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big South women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Campbell00   00  
Charleston Southern00   00  
Gardner-Webb00   00  
Hampton00   00  
High Point00   00  
Longwood00   00  
Presbyterian00   00  
Radford00   00  
UNC Asheville00   00  
USC Upstate00   00  
Winthrop00   00  
† 2019 Big South Tournament winner
As of 5 May 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Illinois00   00  
Indiana00   00  
Iowa00   00  
Maryland00   00  
Michigan00   00  
Michigan State00   00  
Minnesota00   00  
Nebraska00   00  
Northwestern00   00  
Ohio State00   00  
Penn State00   00  
Purdue00   00  
Rutgers00   00  
Wisconsin00   00  
2019 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big West women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Cal Poly00   00  
Cal State Fullerton00   00  
Cal State Northridge00   00  
Hawaii00   00  
Long Beach State00   00  
UC Davis00   00  
UC Irvine00   00  
UC Riverside00   00  
UC Santa Barbara00   00  
† 2019 Big West Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Big 12 Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Baylor00   00  
Iowa State00   00  
Kansas00   00  
Kansas State00   00  
Oklahoma00   00  
Oklahoma State00   00  
TCU00   00  
Texas00   00  
Texas Tech00   00  
West Virginia00   00  
† 2019 Big 12 Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 CAA women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Charleston00   00  
Delaware00   00  
Drexel00   00  
Elon00   00  
Hofstra00   00  
James Madison00   00  
Northeastern00   00  
Towson00   00  
UNC Wilmington00   00  
William & Mary00   00  
† 2019 CAA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Conference USA women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Charlotte00   00  
Florida Atlantic00   00  
FIU00   00  
Louisiana Tech00   00  
Marshall00   00  
Middle Tennessee00   00  
North Texas00   00  
Old Dominion00   00  
Rice00   00  
Southern Miss00   00  
UAB00   00  
UTEP00   00  
UTSA00   00  
Western Kentucky00   00  
† 2019 C-USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Horizon League women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Cleveland State00   00  
Detroit Mercy00   00  
Green Bay00   00  
IUPUI00   00  
Milwaukee00   00  
Northern Kentucky00   00  
Oakland00   00  
UIC00   00  
Wright State00   00  
Youngstown State00   00  
† 2019 Horizon League Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Ivy League women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Brown00   00  
Columbia00   00  
Cornell00   00  
Dartmouth00   00  
Harvard00   00  
Penn00   00  
Princeton00   00  
Yale00   00  
† 2019 Ivy League Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
Akron00   00  
Bowling Green00   00  
Buffalo00   00  
Kent State00   00  
Miami (OH)00   00  
Ohio00   00  
West
Ball State00   00  
Central Michigan00   00  
Eastern Michigan00   00  
Northern Illinois00   00  
Toledo00   00  
Western Michigan00   00  
† 2019 MAC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; 
2018–19 MAAC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Canisius00   00  
Fairfield00   00  
Iona00   00  
Manhattan00   00  
Marist00   00  
Monmouth00   00  
Niagara00   00  
Quinnipiac00   00  
Rider00   00  
Saint Peter's00   00  
Siena00   00  
† 2019 MAAC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 MEAC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Bethune–Cookman00   00  
Coppin State00   00  
Delaware State00   00  
Florida A&M00   00  
Howard00   00  
Maryland-Eastern Shore00   00  
Morgan State00   00  
Norfolk State00   00  
North Carolina A&T00   00  
North Carolina Central00   00  
Savannah State00   00  
South Carolina State00   00  
† 2019 MEAC Tournament winner
As of 5 May 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Bradley00   00  
Drake00   00  
Evansville00   00  
Illinois State00   00  
Indiana State00   00  
Loyola–Chicago00   00  
Missouri State00   00  
Northern Iowa00   00  
Southern Illinois00   00  
Valparaiso00   00  
† 2019 MVC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; 
2018–19 Mountain West Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Air Force00   00  
Boise State00   00  
Colorado State00   00  
Fresno State00   00  
Nevada00   00  
New Mexico00   00  
San Diego State00   00  
San Jose State00   00  
UNLV00   00  
Utah State00   00  
Wyoming00   00  
† 2019 MW Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Northeast Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Bryant00   00  
Central Connecticut00   00  
Fairleigh Dickinson00   00  
LIU Brooklyn00   00  
Mount St. Mary's00   00  
Robert Morris00   00  
Sacred Heart00   00  
Saint Francis (PA)00   00  
St. Francis Brooklyn00   00  
Wagner00   00  
† 2019 NEC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Austin Peay00   00  
Belmont00   00  
Eastern Illinois00   00  
Eastern Kentucky00   00  
Jacksonville State00   00  
Morehead State00   00  
Murray State00   00  
SIU Edwardsville00   00  
Southeast Missouri State00   00  
Tennessee State00   00  
Tennessee Tech00   00  
UT Martin00   00  
† 2019 OVC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Arizona00   00  
Arizona State00   00  
California00   00  
Colorado00   00  
Oregon00   00  
Oregon State00   00  
Stanford00   00  
UCLA00   00  
USC00   00  
Utah00   00  
Washington00   00  
Washington State00   00  
2019 Pac-12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Patriot League women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
American00   00  
Army00   00  
Boston University00   00  
Bucknell00   00  
Colgate00   00  
Holy Cross00   00  
Lafayette00   00  
Lehigh00   00  
Loyola (MD)00   00  
Navy00   00  
† 2019 Patriot League Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Southern Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Chattanooga00   00  
East Tennessee State00   00  
Furman00   00  
Mercer00   00  
Samford00   00  
UNC Greensboro00   00  
Western Carolina00   00  
Wofford00   00  
† 2019 SoCon Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; 
2018–19 Southland Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Abilene Christian00   00  
Central Arkansas00   00  
Houston Baptist00   00  
Incarnate Word00   00  
Lamar00   00  
McNeese State00   00  
New Orleans00   00  
Nicholls State00   00  
Northwestern State00   00  
Sam Houston State00   00  
Southeastern Louisiana00   00  
Stephen F. Austin00   00  
Texas A&M-CC00   00  
† 2019 Southland Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 SEC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Alabama00   00  
Arkansas00   00  
Auburn00   00  
Florida00   00  
Georgia00   00  
Kentucky00   00  
LSU00   00  
Mississippi State00   00  
Missouri00   00  
Ole Miss00   00  
South Carolina00   00  
Tennessee00   00  
Texas A&M00   00  
Vanderbilt00   00  
2019 SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 SWAC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Alabama A&M00   00  
Alabama State00   00  
Alcorn State00   00  
Arkansas-Pine Bluff00   00  
Grambling State00   00  
Jackson State00   00  
Mississippi Valley State00   00  
Prairie View A&M00   00  
Southern00   00  
Texas Southern00   00  
† 2019 SWAC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Appalachian State00   00  
Arkansas State00   00  
Coastal Carolina00   00  
Georgia Southern00   00  
Georgia State00   00  
Little Rock00   00  
Louisiana–Monroe00   00  
Louisiana00   00  
South Alabama00   00  
Texas–Arlington00   00  
Texas State00   00  
Troy00   00  
† 2019 Sun Belt Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 Summit League women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Denver00   00  
North Dakota00   00  
North Dakota State00   00  
Omaha00   00  
Oral Roberts00   00  
Purdue Fort Wayne00   00  
South Dakota00   00  
South Dakota State00   00  
Western Illinois00   00  
† 2019 Summit League Tournament winner
As of May 5, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 West Coast Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
BYU00   00  
Gonzaga00   00  
Loyola Marymount00   00  
Pacific00   00  
Pepperdine00   00  
Portland00   00  
Saint Mary's00   00  
San Diego00   00  
San Francisco00   00  
Santa Clara00   00  
† 2019 WCC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2018–19 WAC women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
California Baptist*00   00  
Cal State Bakersfield00   00  
Chicago State00   00  
Grand Canyon00   00  
New Mexico State00   00  
Seattle00   00  
UT Rio Grande Valley00   00  
UMKC00   00  
Utah Valley00   00  
† 2019 WAC Tournament winner
As of May 26, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
*California Baptist ineligible for WAC Tournament as part of reclassification from Division II

Coaching changes

Several teams changed coaches during and after the season.

See also

Footnotes

    References

    1. "CBU announcers D-1, WAC move" (Press release). California Baptist Lancers. January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
    2. "Big South Adds Hampton University as Full Member" (Press release). Big South Conference. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
    3. "Liberty Moving to ASUN Conference for 2018-19 Season" (Press release). Liberty Athletics. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
    4. "ASUN Conference Introduces North Alabama as Newest League Member" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
    5. "The Summit League Adds The University of North Dakota" (Press release). The Summit League. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
    6. "Big South to add USC Upstate as Full Member" (Press release). Big South Conference. November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
    7. "Savannah State Plans Athletic Division Reclassification" (Press release). Savannah State Athletics. April 17, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
    8. Wright, Darrin (June 16, 2017). "Indiana, Purdue trustees officially finalize IPFW split". Fort Wayne, IN: WOWO. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
    9. "Purdue Fort Wayne Branding Released" (Press release). Purdue University Fort Wayne. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
    10. John Bridges (August 26, 2018). "New sports arena at McNeese set to open this fall". KPLC. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
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