[ColoradoTree]

Does this mean we play Illinois first, then we play the winner of ASU-Texas?

Not necessarily, no. I used the term regional to give a better sense of what the local 4-team tournaments are, but it's not a true bracket. As I understand it, the top 8 teams advancing will be in one pot, with the other 8 teams in a second pot, and they'll do a draw for matchups. I can't recall when exactly they do the draw, but if memory serves, it's something like a day or two before play starts. So, if the same process holds for this year, we're looking at:

Seeded teams: #1 Stanford, #2 UNC, #3 Georgia, #4 UCLA, #5 Duke, #6 Pepperdine, #7 Texas, and #8 N.C. State
Unseeded teams: #14 Florida State, #15 Michigan, #20 Virginia, #25 Ohio State, #31 Illinois, #33 Princeton, #34 Arizona State, and #35 Georgia Tech

(Past #25, I used last year's final rankings, since the preseason team rankings only go to #25)

So, we could get anyone from that second pot in the first round, then we'd be scheduled for likely N.C. State in the quarterfinals, then UCLA/Duke in the semifinals, and UNC/Georgia/Pepperdine/Texas in the final--if we get that far, of course.

It's striking that the top 8 teams in this year's rankings all made if through, while there was a dropoff after that. As hosts, #9 Vanderbilt, #10 Oklahoma State, #13 South Carolina, #17 Washington, and #19 Kansas all failed to advance.

[ColoradoTree]

Does this mean we play Illinois first, then we play the winner of ASU-Texas?

Not necessarily, no. I used the term regional to give a better sense of what the local 4-team tournaments are, but it's not a true bracket. As I understand it, the top 8 teams advancing will be in one pot, with the other 8 teams in a second pot, and they'll do a draw for matchups. I can't recall when exactly they do the draw, but if memory serves, it's something like a day or two before play starts. So, if the same process holds for this year, we're looking at:

Seeded teams: #1 Stanford, #2 UNC, #3 Georgia, #4 UCLA, #5 Duke, #6 Pepperdine, #7 Texas, and #8 N.C. State
Unseeded teams: #14 Florida State, #15 Michigan, #20 Virginia, #25 Ohio State, #31 Illinois, #33 Princeton, #34 Arizona State, and #35 Georgia Tech

(Past #25, I used last year's final rankings, since the preseason team rankings only go to #25)

So, we could get anyone from that second pot in the first round, then we'd be scheduled for likely N.C. State in the quarterfinals, then UCLA/Duke in the semifinals, and UNC/Georgia/Pepperdine/Texas in the final--if we get that far, of course.

It's striking that the top 8 teams in this year's rankings all made if through, while there was a dropoff after that. As hosts, #9 Vanderbilt, #10 Oklahoma State, #13 South Carolina, #17 Washington, and #19 Kansas all failed to advance.