WBIT

[psyclone]

Assuming that we don't get an NCAA bid, it looks like we're expecting one from the WBIT. Here's some background:

2026 WBIT: Schedule, game times, TV channels​

• Selection Sunday
  • 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15 on ESPN+
• First Round
  • Thursday, March 19, at campus sites
• Second Round
  • Sunday, March 22, at campus sites
• Quarterfinals
  • Thursday, March 26, at campus sites
• Semifinals
  • 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30, on ESPNU at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
• Championship
  • 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, on ESPN2 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.

Note: The semis and championship games are on the same court where Tony hit a late 3 to give us a big Bracketbuster win over Wichita State that was a springboard to getting an NCAA at-large bid in 2006!

2026 WBIT: Schedule, game times, TV channels for the women's basketball tournament

Follow along for complete coverage of the 2026 WBIT event for DI women's college basketball.

www.ncaa.com

 

[Portlandian]

Would love to see Mason get at least 2 home games.

 

[psyclone]

Would love to see Mason get at least 2 home games.

Likewise.
Nothing scheduled at EBA either Thurs or Sunday. There is a a Mercy Me concert on Friday that they'd need to set up a stage for (looking at Ticketmasters seating chart) but I wouldn't think that would be an issue.

 

[Portlandian]

Will have to research other teams likely to make the WBIT and see who Mason might get.

 

[GMUgemini]

Will have to research other teams likely to make the WBIT and see who Mason might get.

There aren’t a lot of predictions out there but I saw one that had Mason as a 3 seed hosting JMU (but this was on 3/3 before we made the A10 finals. Maybe we get bumped up to a 2 seed?

 

[psyclone]

I did find this site , but don't know anything about it.

https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT%20Bracket.htm

Unfortunately, has Mason @ Chattanooga for the first game.

 

[psyclone]

I did find this site , but don't know anything about it.

https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT%20Bracket.htm

Unfortunately, has Mason @ Chattanooga for the first game.

Makes no sense as on this page
https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT Probabilities.htm they have Mason with an 88+% of winning the first game, and Chattanooga only an 11% chance.

Maybe because Chattanooga was regular season champs in their conference and thus gets a better seed?

https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT%20Selection.htm

 

[GMUgemini]

Makes no sense as on this page
https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT Probabilities.htm they have Mason with an 88+% of winning the first game, and Chattanooga only an 11% chance.

Maybe because Chattanooga was regular season champs in their conference and thus gets a better seed?

https://omnirankings.com/wcb/Macro/WBIT%20Selection.htm

Mason is an AQ too.

Also,

GMU NET 60
Chattanooga NET 208

Edit: I looked and my scenario doesn’t work either as Madison won the Sun Belt and is headed to the NCAA.

 

[psyclone]

Mason is an AQ too.

Also,

GMU NET 60
Chattanooga NET 208

Edit: I looked and my scenario doesn’t work either as Madison won the Sun Belt and is headed to the NCAA.

I'm not so sure that we're an AQ.

How the WBIT field is selected​

The regular-season champion of any NCAA Division I conference (as determined by the conference’s tie-break protocol) not otherwise selected to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will secure an automatic qualification to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. Co-champions who do not receive the declaration of WBIT representative through the conference’s tie-break protocol will not receive automatic qualification. Institutions ineligible for postseason play will not receive automatic qualification as a regular-season champion.

Clearly, we were a #2 seed given the tie-break criterion of head-to-head outcome.

Edit: Getting in the weeds of the selection & seeding criteria, it appears that only the First 4 out of the NCAA get priority seeding in the WBIT (become #1 seeds). Conference champions, while they are automatic qualifiers for the WBIT, are NOT automatically considered better seeds than at-large selections. And clearly, Mason is the better team than Chattanooga on virtually all other metrics.

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/files/2026-02/WBIT%20Principles%20and%20Procedures.pdf