Irish women earn No. 1 seed, Purdue No. 4

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw wants the No. 1-seeded Fighting Irish focused on first-round opponent Robert Morris, yet couldn't resist taking a shot at No. 1 Connecticut moments after the NCAA brackets were announced.

McGraw said the Irish wanted to play UConn this season, but the Huskies wouldn't schedule them. She then added: "We've gotten pretty good at beating them the last couple of years."

The undefeated Irish have beaten the Huskies in seven of their last nine meetings, but one of those losses was in the NCAA semifinals last year. The Irish have made the Final Four the past three seasons, advancing to the championship game in 2011 and 2012. Notre Dame swept through the Atlantic Coast conference in its first year in the league, winning the regular season title and the conference tournament, but finished the season ranked No. 2 behind UConn.

The Irish have been repeatedly referred to as the other undefeated team, and McGraw hopes the Irish will use it as motivation.

"I like it because we can get a chip on our shoulder and head into the tournament with a bit of chip," she said.

Irish players cheered when McGraw spoke of how the Irish have gotten good at beating the Huskies.

"Coach is the most competitive of us all, so to have her say something like that isn't too surprising," Kayla McBride said.

Baylor is the No. 2 seed, Kentucky is the three seed and Purdue the four in the Notre Dame Regional.

Purdue will face No. 13 seed Akron (1:30 p.m. Saturday).

Monday was the final time the three Purdue seniors closely followed the NCAA selection process, filling out their own brackets.

Even the injured K.K. Houser was fully engaged in the process.

"I feel like these days are waiting for Christmas to find out who you're going to play. You never know how the selection show is going to go," senior Courtney Moses said.

Fifth-seeded and 21st-ranked Oklahoma State plays 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the first game. The winners meet in Monday's second round.

"It was different, but it was fun at the same time," senior Dee Dee Williams said. "I was glad just to make it into the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of teams that didn't get to make it. For us to have that opportunity to play again and play on our home floor is great."

It's the program's 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament and fourth straight. Coach Sharon Versyp's team has been idle since the March 7 loss to Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the Zips are making their first NCAA appearance after winning the Mid-American Conference tournament, beating Ball State on Saturday. Akron becomes the fourth team from the MAC that Purdue will play this season, along with the Cardinals, Bowling Green and Central Michigan.

Versyp didn't know much about the Zips, but spoke about common themes with MAC teams when it comes to style.

"You know they can usually shoot the ball exceptionally well," Versyp said. "Some have athletes that can get to the hole. More four guard, one-post oriented most of the time."

Akron ranks ninth nationally in scoring (82.8 points) and 17th in field goal percentage (45.3). However, the Zips allow nearly 73 points.

This is the last tournament for Moses, Williams and Houser and they've yet to advance past the second round. Two years ago, the Boilermakers were beaten by South Carolina, a loss that still lingers.

"That one stung a lot," Moses said. "It was like 112 degrees in the gym that day."

Purdue – one of five Big Ten teams selected – hasn't advanced to the Sweet Sixteen since 2009.

"We've had bumps in the road, and we're still trying to get it done," Versyp said. "Your goal is always to get to the Sweet Sixteen every year and see what happens after that."

The Women's NIT field was announced, and Ball State (at Northwestern on Thursday), Butler (at South Dakota State on Thursday), Indiana (vs. Belmont on Thursday), Indiana State (vs. Marquette on Thursday) and IUPUI (at Central Michigan on Thursday) made the 64-team field.