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T.J. Ford, Acie Law and Bob Knight added rocket fuel to the growth of men's college basketball here in Texas during this decade. Over the next three weeks, it's time for women's teams around the state to show they can hoop, too.

The NCAA Women's Tournament field had a remarkable Texas flavor when the 64-team field was unveiled Monday night on ESPN.

Six Texas teams representing all levels of Division I made the cut. If a few teams had caught a couple of breaks, there would have been even more.

Considering these teams are chock full of Texans, it shows that high school girls basketball is thriving and there are plenty of coaches looking for talent.

Oh, some will get away now and then. You think Texas A&M or Texas would like a recruiting mulligan for Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley from Lincoln? But when so many Texas women's teams are angling for the postseason, it should get every recruit's attention.

"It registers big time," A&M coach Gary Blair said. "I wish the recruits in the state of Texas would look at it and realize there's a school for you here within the state.

"You don't necessarily have to leave the state to find what you're looking for in education and quality basketball."

Texas A&M earned its highest national ranking ever (No. 8) and highest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 2) on Monday. This came after the Aggies won their first Big 12 tournament championship.

Tyler's Aqua Franklin is a big reason why the Aggies have won 13 of their last 14 games. Even ESPN's commentators noted how A&M is one of the nation's hottest teams.

After a two-year absence, Texas is back in the NCAAs with a No. 8 seed. North Crowley's Brittainey Raven, Austin's Ashley Lindsey and the rest of the Longhorns could wreck the entire Greensboro Region by next Tuesday. UT's potential second-round opponent: No. 1 seed Connecticut.

Even with a seven-player rotation, Baylor was in contention for the Big 12 regular-season title up until the last game. With Angela Tisdale of Del Valle running the show, the Lady Bears are still a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs.

Natasha Lacy, who grew up in El Paso, helped UTEP improve by leaps and bounds this season. The Miners even broke into the Top 25. UTEP should get past Western Kentucky in the first round for a date with No. 2 seed Stanford.

SMU coach Rhonda Rompola guided a team full of veterans back to the NCAAs. The Mustangs probably had to win the Conference USA tournament to get in, but that's exactly what they did.

Rompola's got a ton of local players, including Jillian Samuels and Delisha Wills from Mesquite.

UT-San Antonio has eight Texas players on its roster. The 15th-seeded Roadrunners are headed to the NCAAs for the first time in school history after winning the Southland Conference tournament.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

A'Quonesia Franklin (10), Takia Starks and head coach Gary Blair have helped Texas A&M earn a No. 2 seed in the Oklahoma City Region.

Other teams didn't get their NCAA tickets punched Monday, but they're still in the postseason via the Women's NIT.

Prairie View A&M came up one victory shy of getting into the NCAAs. But sophomore Gaati Werema (13.1 points per game) suffered a knee injury in the semifinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, and the Lady Panthers lost the title game by two.

TCU is normally a NCAA regular, but was left out after going 21-11 this season. Here's betting that coach Jeff Mittie won't let that happen again next season.

Texas Tech is still trying to put the pieces together with coach Kristy Curry. Finding a big-time point guard has been the Lady Raiders' biggest problem. Anyone who thinks they can fill the bill should dial up Curry's office inside the United Spirit Arena.

Texas State also made the WNIT field after posting a 20-win season in San Marcos.

Rice had a bunch of injuries this season, and the Owls really couldn't get it going. This is the first time in four years the Owls haven't been in the postseason.

Houston coach Joe Curl suffered a heart attack in October. Maybe that led to some of the Cougars' internal problems, maybe it didn't. But there's plenty of talent in Houston alone to get that program energized again.

There's plenty of women's basketball talent all over Texas, really. That's the scary part. There's plenty to go around.

A Big 12-record eight teams received bids to the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

Texas A&M earned the league's automatic berth after winning the Big 12 Tournament. Teams receiving at-large bids were regular-season champion Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas and Iowa State. All eight teams were seeded No. 8 or better.

The Big 12 and the Big East tied for the most bids among the 31 conferences. The previous Big 12 high was seven in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Since the inception of the league in 1996-97, the Big 12 has received 71 berths in the NCAA field.

How the 64-team tournament field breaks down by conference: