It wasn't just Big Monday. It was Really Big Monday.
The NCAA selection committee revealed its top 16 teams at halftime of the opening game of Monday's doubleheader. Over the next three hours, two of the three games involving five of the top-16 teams ended with the higher-rated team losing on its home floor.
Such is life in the fluid nature of bracketology.
So what did we learn from the NCAA's reveal? And how will Texas' upset of No. 2 Baylor and UCLA's upset of No. 8 Stanford immediately change the committee's work?
Takeaways from the reveal
Schedule and quality wins are getting long looks: Despite an RPI of 36 and a nonconference schedule rating of 237, NC State checked in at No. 15 on the committee's list. Maryland's weak strength of schedule continues to hold back the Terps, who were once again No. 9 in the committee's second reveal. But the Wolfpack's nonconference strength of schedule ranks behind the Terps', and NC State lost to mediocre North Carolina on Jan. 29.
Terry Gawlik, chair of the NCAA Division I women's basketball committee, said quality wins were the difference.
"What stood out was the recent win over Louisville after wins over Notre Dame, the No. 2 RPI team; Florida State, No. 7; and Duke, No. 11," she said. "Those were significant."
Maryland stood pat: Many observers feel the "eye test" suggests Maryland is better than the No. 9 spot. Gawlik admitted that there was more discussion on the Terps this time than even two weeks ago, but it still came down to schedule.
"They were the only team in the top 10 to only have three games against the top 25 and five against the top 50," Gawlik said. "The others in the conversation had just done more."
Maryland has lost just once (to undefeated UConn by six points), is unbeaten in the Big Ten and is the top scoring team in the country. The Terps have also played 11 teams outside the RPI top 150.
No. 1 seeds were set: Gawlik said that the committee didn't have any significant conversation around changing the four No. 1 seeds: UConn, Baylor, South Carolina and Mississippi State. The committee discussed possibly switching the placement of the Gamecocks and Bulldogs after South Carolina's loss to Tennessee, but South Carolina remained at No. 3 overall because of its head-to-head win over Mississippi State.
Attendance a nonfactor: When asked whether a school's ability to draw fans played any kind of role in being selected in the top 16, since those teams will host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games, Gawlik's answer was succinct and emphatic: "No."
"That never comes up. I couldn't even tell you the attendance figures on any of these teams even if it did," said Gawlik, who debunked a long-held myth.
The bracket
So what did Monday's games -- which also included a solid Notre Dame win in South Bend over a slightly depleted Louisville team -- do to the newly revealed top 16 and the bracket as a whole? There was quite a bit of movement in the bottom half of the committee's list.
Stanford: The Cardinal had elevated to No. 8 in the committee's eyes, largely off a huge road win over Washington just over a week ago. However, after losing at home to UCLA just three hours after the reveal, Stanford slid back to No. 10.
Texas: Teams don't move independently of one another, so part of Stanford's fall was also attributed to the Longhorns' rise. Texas snapped a 14-game losing streak to Baylor, taking over the lead in the Big 12 and moving to No. 9 overall.
Maryland: The Texas win and Stanford loss should afford the Terrapins to move up one spot to No. 8 overall and a No. 2 seed in the bracket. The committee might still see it differently, but it's a stretch to put a four-loss team ahead of one with just one loss, even as well as the Longhorns are playing.
Baylor: The Lady Bears' hold on the No. 2 overall position was so strong that the loss to Texas in Waco doesn't change their status. Behind wins over UCLA and DePaul, two other teams in the top 16, plus victories against Ohio State and Tennessee, Baylor was safe. South Carolina had recently lost to Tennessee and doesn't have the résumé to supplant two-loss Baylor.
UCLA: The Bruins' upset was enough to leapfrog Louisville, but no one else. Just three days before it beat Stanford, UCLA lost at Cal and still has the Washington State loss as a black eye.