Round 2

[MSSportsGuy]

I was able to watch both Ole Miss and UT lose their games yesterday due to having the day off to handle some medical issues for my mother. In both instances the home team came out of the gate on fire. The OM style of agressive play wasn't working and there were several charges that might have been blocks in the SEC. ND may have only had seven players but I'd say all of them are better than the best player on OM.

Rickea literally did everything she could yesterday and left it all out on the floor. The LVs didn't play badly other than the second quarter and then the deficit was too much to overcome. Harper continues to draw ire from the fans and I've reached the point where I recognize this is who she is and this is what UT will be as long as she's there. I doubt there will be a change made though and unless the portal comes through again next year will be another disappointing year for UT fans and probably worse than this season.

I hate Rickea never tasted the team and individual success she probably hoped for when she came to Starkville in 2019 but I'm glad she became the player she did at UT, appreciate what she gave us in 2.5 years, and wish her nothing but the best as a pro.

 

[Vowelguy]

I think it’s a bit of both. But I’ll say that I like the top 4 seeds hosting, it rewards your regular season. The tournament is obviously the big prize, but at least this way the teams who preformed the best throughout the entire season are given an advantage in a single game elimination setting. I personally don’t mind that. I’ve read or heard on podcasts about the women’s tournament needing to adopt the men’s format where all games are neutral, I dont really agree.

In baseball we have regional hosts and super regional hosts, in my mind that’s ok. You earned those advantages throughout the course of the year.

In fact EVERY NCAA sport other than D1 men's basketball and D1 men's hockey have first round home sites. Even FBS football is going to first round home sites with the expanded playoff.

The environments this year were awesome. Why would anyone want to move away from that?

 

[Rb335]

I think it’s a bit of both. But I’ll say that I like the top 4 seeds hosting, it rewards your regular season. The tournament is obviously the big prize, but at least this way the teams who preformed the best throughout the entire season are given an advantage in a single game elimination setting. I personally don’t mind that. I’ve read or heard on podcasts about the women’s tournament needing to adopt the men’s format where all games are neutral, I dont really agree.

In baseball we have regional hosts and super regional hosts, in my mind that’s ok. You earned those advantages throughout the course of the year.

Not to mention attendance. Many of the first round games where the host wasn’t playing were empty. A neutral site with 4 less popular schools would be less than ideal, and likely unavoidable in some situations.

A big crowd plays a huge part in creating that March madness atmosphere.

 

[BigTenGuy]

I don't like the overly physical, hands all over you constantly defensive style of WVU. Glad they lost. They made it tough, but I just don't respect that brand of basketball. Never have and never will.

Clark with yet another record, single season scoring.

Agree. WBB also needs to decide if non-foul fouling is the way to go. WVU mimicked Kim Mulkey’s recent comment: “The way we play we’re gonna foul your ass.”

 

[nwhoopfan]

B12 2 (2)

Big 12 is adding Colorado so that's 1 more for the next year tally

 

[nwhoopfan]

Fair competed for 5 full seasons....not four like the others

Yes. I almost added a comment about she should have an asterisk next to her name in the record book, but decided not to. But now I guess I did.

 

[cancontent]

Yes. I almost added a comment about she should have an asterisk next to her name in the record book, but decided not to. But now I guess I did.

So now you're jinxing your own comments in a single post? That's skill.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So now you're jinxing your own comments in a single post? That's skill.

I don't think I can jinx her since her career has concluded and the record will stand as is.

 

[Vowelguy]

Big 12 is adding Colorado so that's 1 more for the next year tally

but they lose Texas

 

[ISUnorth]

Here's what I saw: WVU had a hand on every ball handler and every cutter all game long. That's a foul. Got away with it most of the time.


This FT discrepancy wasn't any worse than LSU yesterday (37-9) or 1st Round (31-8). Were you equally concerned about either of those games?


Regardless, nothing I've ever seen compares to Kings-Lakers Game 6. That absolutely was a fixed game, and I'm sure it came directly from David Stern.

WVU fouls a lot, it's their jam. Sometimes it gets called on them. When they played Iowa State in Ames Cyclones shot 21 free throws and WVU shot 6. Both ISU and Iowa have a similar don't foul on defense and try to make more free throws than the other attempts. Clash of styles last night. WVU wants to turn you over a million times but got only 15 from Iowa.

 

[ISUnorth]

but they lose Texas

Texas gone is a pretty big deal for the Big 12 in WBB especially with Baylor no longer a perennial power. And Sooners to a lesser extent. Not sure Utah and Colorado are sustained Top 25 in the long run. Adding the Arizona teams is just sort of meh to me (at least as it sets right now). Big void at the Big 12 top for someone to take and run with.

 

[nwhoopfan]

but they lose Texas

Oh man, it's so hard to keep track of all the comings and goings. Yep, I missed that one in my calculations.

 

[FridaFriend]

From looking at the last 10 years of womens' basketball NCAA tournaments, this year had the fewest low-seeded teams in the sweet sixteen:

2013: 12 seeded Kansas
2014: 12 seeded BYU, that gave UCONN a hard time at the regionals
2015: 11 seeded Gonzaga
2016: no double-digit seeds, but two #7
2017: 10 seeded Oregon with Sabrina Ionesco and 12 seeded Quinnipiac
2018: 11 seeded Central Michigan and 11 seeded Buffalo
2019: 11 seeded Missouri State
2020: No tournament
2021: 3 6-seeded teams
2022: 10 seeded South Dakota and 10 seeded Creighton
2023: Two #1 seeds didn't make the Sweet Sixteen, Indiana and Stanford

A couple of other thoughts, UCONN has been in every Sweet Sixteen since 1994.

UCONN has won at least 30 games in years since 1994 except the 2004-2005 (first year post-Taurasi) when they were 25-8; 2019-20, when they were 29-3, but the tournament was cancelled, and 2020-21, they were 28-2, but 6 games were cancelled because of COVID.

Finally, beware of Duke, remember the 2006 regional final, Duke 63-61 in overtime

 

[FridaFriend]

Four teams left in both women and men's tournament:

UCONN
NC State
Gonzaga
Duke

 

[FanInNC]

Four teams left in both women and men's tournament:

UCONN
NC State
Gonzaga
Duke

2 schools have both men’s and women’s in the sweet 16 and made a bowl game in football.

State and Duke.

 

[Crazyhorse]

Is Duke still hosting strippers at private events?

 

[Vowelguy]

2 schools have both men’s and women’s in the sweet 16 and made a bowl game in football.

State and Duke.

Like Duke, UConn and Gonzaga did not lose a bowl game.

 

[FanInNC]

Like Duke, UConn and Gonzaga did not lose a bowl game.

Unlike Duke and Gonzaga - UConn did lose to State in football …

Gonzaga being the only one who can boast not losing to State in women’s basketball.