All 3 Triangle teams among top 16 seeds in NCAA women's tournament

RALEIGH, N.C. -- All three Triangle teams were named top 16 seeds in the women's basketball tournament, NCAA revealed Sunday.

This means all of them are staying home the first weekend of the tournament. It's also the first time all three teams earned Top 3 seeds in NCAA Tournament history.

Duke

Having won the ACC Championship, the Blue Devils (26-7) earned the No. 8 overall seed and No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 regional.

Duke will face Lehigh in the first round on Friday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

NC State

The Wolfpack (26-6) received the No. 6 overall seed and No. 2 seed in the Spokane 1 regional. This comes after a ACC title game appearance and ACC co-regular season title.

NC State will face Vermont in the first round Saturday inside Reynolds Coliseum. If the team advances, the Pack will face the winner of Michigan State-Harvard matchup.

UNC

Tar Heels (27-7) earned the No. 9 overall seed and No. 3 seed in the Birmingham 2 regional.

North Carolina entered the ACC Tournament sitting on the bubble of a No. 3 and 4 seed. A four-point win over Florida State in Greensboro secured a spot in the No. 3 seed.

The team will face Oregon State in the first round on Saturday in Carmichael Arena.

SEE ALSO | UCLA, South Carolina, USC, Texas top seeded for Women's March Madness

South Carolina

The Gamecocks were among the No. 1 seeds, alongside Southern California and Texas.

UCLA was awarded the top overall seed after having one of the best seasons in school history. They had two losses on the season, both of which came to the USC Trojans.

One of UCLA's wins this season came over South Carolina. The Gamecocks' coach, Dawn Staley, felt her team should have gotten the top seed and with it the extra day of rest if they advance to the Final Four.

"I mean I'm a little bit surprised because we manufactured our schedule and put ourselves in position to be the No. 1 overall seed," she said. "Do the blind test and put our resume against any other team in the field, you'd pick us. It's plain and simple."

Unlike last year, when the Gamecocks finished off an undefeated season with a national title, this team has three losses heading into March Madness.

"Two key factors between UCLA and South Carolina. One was the head-to-head matchup," NCAA selection committee chair Derita Dawkins said. "The other was one of our criteria is competitive in losses and South Carolina suffered a 29-point loss to UConn. Those were the two key differences in those resumes."

Staley's team is looking to be the first team to repeat as champion since UConn won four straight from 2013-16.

Tournament sites

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the third straight year. Spokane, Washington, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Birmingham, Alabama, will host the other eight teams.

The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Florida, on April 4, and the championship game on April 6.

Associated Press' Doug Feinberg contributed to this report.