ASU women’s basketball gets at-large bid into NCAA Tournament after Big 12 tourney run
Arizona State women's basketball earned an at-large bid into the 2026 NCAA Tournament in head coach Molly Miller's first season.
Watch: State of the Sun Devils: Who will start for ASU football this season? | 30 mins
Arizona State women’s basketball earned an at-large bid into the 2026 NCAA Tournament in head coach Molly Miller’s first season thanks to a pair of wins in the Big 12 Tournament bolstering their resume.
The No. 10 Sun Devils will face No. 10 Virginia in a First Four game on Thursday in Iowa City. If they advance into the Round of 64, they will face No. 7 seed Georgia in the Sacramento Regional on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
They punched their ticket into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season, where the Sun Devils were a No. 5 seed. It also comes as Miller’s second appearance after she led the Grand Canyon Antelopes to a first-round loss against Baylor in 2024-25.
The Sun Devils defeated in-state rival Arizona and Iowa State in Kansas City before falling to No. 2-seed West Virginia in the conference tournament quarterfinals last Friday.
With Miller at the helm, ASU posted a 22-9 record in the regular season and was 9-9 in Big 12 play. ASU went 7-2 at home in its second go at Big 12 play since entering the conference.
Miller’s 24 wins were the most in program history by a first-year head coach and the tally is the most since ASU women’s basketball amounted 26 in the 2015-16 season. The Sun Devils will have the opportunity to add onto a 14-win improvement from last year (10-22).
ASU started the season a program-best 15-0, with the 15 consecutive wins also matching the longest win streak (2008-09 and 2015-16 teams).
While it was 23-4 against Quad 2, 3 and 4 teams, ASU was 1-6 against top-tier Quad 1 teams, its lone victory coming against Iowa State in the conference tournament.
The Sun Devils had two players earn conference recognition, as graduate student Gabby Elliott and junior McKinna Brackens were selected to the All-Big 12 Third Team. Elliott is averaging a team-high 16 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 34 games, while Brackens averages 14.6 points, a team-leading 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 33 games.
ASU entering the NCAA Tournament had the fifth-best total defense in the Big 12 (60.6 points allowed per game), 14th-best total offense (66.5 points per game) and 11th-best rebounding margin (+1.8).
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Comments
1 Comments
Great Job Molly Miller... Especially doing this In her FIRST YEAR, where the program was recovering from the train wreck that was Natasha Adair. ASU's style of play: Smart Basketball. Their style should be well suited in the Dance, where a more physical game is typically called. ASU's strengths are that they play great defense, both individually and as a team, and that they emphasize staying in front of opponents. They're very good at sharing the basketball. Wish they weren't in a play-in game, but it is, what it is. While Gabby Elliott has an excellent when healthy, she's been battling thru a painful injured knee most of the season. Ehloisa Carrera is a big girl who can hit the mid-range jumper, but is better known for her post up game. IMHO at this stage of the season, it's been McKinna Brackens who has been the straw that stirs the drink, a great scorer who takes and makes high percentage shots. But I don't discount Gabby Elliott stepping up big, playing thru the pain in her last rodeo. Miller's team is the kind that should be able to build a following in the Valley, and hopefully fill the stands like other Big 12 School. Pressure is on the ASU AD and Administration to support her. She totally deserves it. My fear is that ASU AD and Administration won't step up and that she'll be hired away like Trisha Ford was. She was an excellent hire.