Discussing Arizona State WBB's Massive NCAA Tournament Selection

TEMPE -- In today's episode of the Arizona State Sun Devils Insider Podcast, we take a look at the women's basketball tournament being selected to the 2026 NCAA tournament field as a 10 seed - their first bid since the 2018-19 season.

To listen to today's podcast, view below.

Arizona State Earned Bid to Tournament

For anyone that doubted the case the Sun Devils had - the team simply made too strong of a case to be anything other than a representative in the field.

The predective metrics, volume of wins (24) in one of the best conferences in college basketball, and two-win run in the Big 12 tournament all but sealed them into the right side of the bubble.

efefwfe — ASU Sun Devils forward McKinna Brackens (21) looks to pass the ball while being defended by Kansas State Wildcats guards Brandie Harrod (3), Taryn Side (11) and forward Jenessa Cotton (24) at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Feb. 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Simply put, head coach Molly Miller, star players Gabby Elliott/McKinna Brackens, and the rest of the program deserved an opportunity

What Must ASU do to Advance in Tournament?

Arizona State is slated to take on the Virginia on Thursday in Iowa City, Iowa in the first four. The winner will take on seven-seed Georgia in the round of 64. The winner would presumably take on Iowa to cap off the sub-regional for a chance to play in Sacramento for what would be a fitting finish to the season in the final four - which is set to be held in Phoenix.

As mentioned above, the Sun Devils have two players that they have depended on to generate offense this season. Elliott and Brackens must be at the top of their games to manage to stay in the game with a semi-potent Virginia offense, then to take down a Georgia defense that is similarly stingy.

llm — ASU Sun Devils forward Heloisa Carrera (14) tries to spin past Kansas State Wildcats defender Gina Garcia (6) at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Feb. 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Beyond the two stars, the role players must show out against teams that are roughly on their level - or even better - according to the metrics.

Miller Knows Margin of Error is Slim

Now more than ever, Miller's statements made following a January 15 practice in regards to the margin of error (or lack thereof) in the Big 12 reign very true at the onset of the tournament.

"That's not our brand, and that's not our identity. So going back, you wish a few of those point blank layouts would have fallen and it looks like it's 10 point game there in the fourth quarter. So that's something that you can't always control, putting the ball in the basket, but it's something you can learn for and understand we can't have wasted possessions. This team cannot have wasted possessions against ranked opponents. And we had about 10 to 12 wasted possessions where it was just and we had more wasted possessions before you could just get a score up."

lml — Mar 12, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils woman's basketball head coach Molly Miller throws out the first pitch before a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Seattle Mariners at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images