The Lady Knights celebrate the unveiling of their Road to the Final Four....

The Women's NCAA tournament bracket was announced last night, and Rutgers must be overjoyed with their draw.  After getting hosed by the selection committee over the last few years (questionable seeds/locations), Rutgers (19-12) owes them a big thank you.  

Rutgers was given the #7 seed in the Oklahoma City bracket (the women's bracket goes by regional sites and not the traditional east/west/south/midwest standard)and will play #10 seed Virginia Commonweatlh University in the first round Saturday at 2:00.  The best news is that Rutgers will play rounds 1 & 2 at home, in the comforts of the Louis Brown Athletic Center, a huge advantage for a team that relies on defensive intensity drawn from the crowd.

Rutgers opponent, VCU, is making their first trip to the dance out of the CAA and finished the season at 26-6 overall.  They were picked as an at-large. 

The winner of the 7-10 game will play the winner of #2 Auburn (SEC Champs) and #15 Lehigh in the second round.  Along with Auburn, the Knights will also have to deal with #1 Oklahoma and #3 UNC down the line in the OK City bracket.

But the good news is that Rutgers two biggest rivals and hurdles over the last few years are on the other side of the bracket.  #1 UConn (the heavy favorite) is in the Trenton region, and will have limited travel, while #5 Tennessee plays in the Berkeley bracket.  Staying away from Connecticut was the main goal for the other 63 tournament teams, and having them on the other side is a huge plus for the Knights,  since they won't meet the Huskies until the Finals.

It's time for CVS and the Lady Knights to get back to business.  Ranked as high as #3 during the early part of the season, Rutgers struggled offensively, and at one point put themselves squarely on the bubble.  But a late season surge, coupled with the rejuvenation of Kia Vaughn, has the Lady Knights playing their best basketball of the season.  Beat VCU in the 1st round and it most likely sets up a home game against Auburn.  Getting to the Sweet 16 would be a great achievement for such a young team, and basically anything can happen once you get there (except for UConn losing).

I'll have a preview of RU-VCU on Friday.

How do you feel about RU's draw?  Should they have been seeded higher/lower?  How far do you think they can go?  Leave your comments and let us know....