ESPNU mistakenly showed Women’s bracket hours early and leaked UM seed and opponent
The University of Miami women’s basketball team didn’t have to wait until Monday night’s Selection Show to find out its NCAA Tournament fate.
ESPNU accidentally aired the 2019 Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket on Monday afternoon three hours before the scheduled show.
ESPN apologized: “In working with the NCAA to prepare for tonight’s Women’s Selection Special we received the bracket, similar to years past. In the midst of our preparation, the bracket was mistakenly posted on ESPNU. We deeply regret the error and extend our apology to the NCAA and the women’s basketball community. We will conduct a thorough review of our process to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future. We will now broadcast the full bracket at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and the regularly-scheduled show on ESPN at 7 p.m.”
The Hurricanes will be a No. 4 seed and will host 13 seed Florida Gulf Coast on Friday in Coral Gables. Other teams also in the Coral Gables part of the bracket include No. 5 seed Arizona State and No. 12 Central Florida.
The Canes (24-8, 12-4 ACC) are ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The team is hosting a Selection Monday Watch Party at 6 p.m. at the Rathskeller on campus. The ESPN broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Miami is seeking its tenth consecutive postseason appearance and seventh NCAA bid in the past eight years.
This story was originally published March 18, 2019 at 4:31 PM.