Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 3/13/18

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I'm going to keep this here to remind you all to vote for UConn players!!!!!

Gabby - CLASS Award (voting ends March 19)
Gabby Williams | Women’s Basketball 2017-18 | Senior CLASS Award

Kia, Lou, Gabby, Napheesa - Hoophall Award (voting ends March 23)
Hoophall Awards

Lou, Gabby - Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy (vote March 19-30)
http://naismithtrophy.com/vote/

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Albany Region

1 UConn vs 16 St. Francis
8 Miami vs 9 Quinnipiac
5 Duke vs 12 Belmont
4 Georgia vs 13 Mercer

6 USF vs 11 Buffalo
3 FL State vs 14 Little Rock
7 Cal vs 10 Virginia
2 South Carolina vs 15 North Carolina A&T

Spokane

1 ND vs 16 CSU Northridge
8 South Dakota State vs 9 Villanova
5 DePaul vs 12 Oklahoma
4 Texas A&M vs13 Drake

6 LSU vs 11 Central Michigan
3 Ohio State vs 14 George Washington
7 Green Bay vs 10 Minnesota
2 Oregon vs 15 Seattle

Lexington

1 Louisville vs 15 Boise State
8 Marquette vs 9 Dayton
5 Missouri vs 12 Florida Gulf Coast
4 Stanford vs 13 Gonzaga

6 Oregon State vs 11 Western KY
3 Tennessee vs 14 Liberty
7 Michigan vs 10 Northern Colorado
2 Baylor vs 15 Grambling

Kansas City

1 Mississippi State vs 16 Nicholls
8 Syracuse vs 9 OK State
5 Maryland vs 12 Princeton
4 NC State vs 13 Elon

6 Iowa vs 11 Creighton
3 UCLA vs 14 American
7 AZ State vs 10 Nebraska
2 Texas vs 15 Maine

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Ok...now that the selections are done, it's time to check out my predictions.

1. UConn would be the overall No. 1 seed.

Duh......Ok.....this was an easy one!

2. Fans of every No. 1 seed will say their team is in the toughest bracket.

Well, I can tell you that I only checked out the Notre Dame and UConn message boards. And both of those had plenty of fans saying that their bracket is the toughest. I did see a South Carolina fan almost break into tears because the Gamecocks are in UConn's region. Can't blame him.

3. 100% of the fans will say the committee sucks.

I didn't check with every fan but I saw a ton of complaining about the committee. I thought they did a pretty good job.

4, Tennessee will NOT be in UConn's bracket.

This one was easy too. Of course, the Lady Vol fans were crying about having to play Baylor in the Elite Eight. Don't worry, your team won't get out of the Sweet Sixteen

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I'll try to do some Regional analysis later but here are some thoughts -

UConn fans should be very happy. They will have to face only one of Baylor, Texas, Mississippi State or Louisville.

Love the possible South Florida/Florida State matchup.

Count on a 5-12 upset, with the candidates being 5 Duke/12 Belmont. 5 DePaul/12 Oklahoma,
5 Maryland/12 Princeton

If UConn's bracket goes chalk, the Huskies will have to go through the SEC to get to the final four. St. Francis, Miami, Georgia, South Carolina.

Chalk would continue with Notre Dame in the Semi's and then Mississippi State in the Championship Game.

Thanks to my friend Samantha for this info - Bob Joyce says that WTIC will have a pregame show Saturday at 10:30 AM. Don't forget about SNY's conference preview show Thursday night.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Napheesa Collier is the only player on the UConn roster to play in every game the last three years. Kia started and played in all of this season's games, but missed 4 last year. Katie Lou has been injured this year, as has Gabby. Pheesa has played in all 107 UConn games in her career and started in 78 of them. She actually started 9 games as a freshman before Katie Lou took over the 5th spot. She started all 37 games last season and all 32 so far this year.

Collier is a prolific scorer and rebounder with career totals of 1,505 points and 772 rebounds. That gives her a career average of 14 points and 7 rebounds every time she played a game..!! While she could finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, she is more than just a scorer and rebounder. Napheesa has 219 career assists and 181 blocked shots. Her 167 steals ranks 2nd only to Gabby over the last 3 years.

Napheesa has made an amazing 619 baskets in the last 3 seasons. Her career shooting average is 61% from the field, including 3 point shots. Speaking of 3's, Collier has made 45 or 36.6% of her attempts. In summary, Pheesa is a scoring, rebounding and shot blocking machine, who can shoot close in or from farther out and pass the ball well. Sounds like a complete package..!!

Go Huskies..!!

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Here is a new addition for the NCAA Tournament and maybe going forward in my Blog! My friend Rocky is going to contribute his great insight into the UConn program and WCBB in general. You will enjoy his knowledge, intelligence and best of all, humor.

WITH

I was reading the Sports' Illustrated articleand something Vic Schaefer said about Teaira McCowan caught my eye:

"T is not scared," Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer says. "Nobody is going to intimidate her. I don't think any moment is too big for her. That is just how that kid is built."

To which I'm inclined to say: You are deluding yourself Vic. I think a Grey's Anatomy star said it best:

Geno is scared. He freely admits it; he shapes and uses it. Great athletes admit their fears too. You stare it in the face and you stare it down. Who use to puke into a towel before he took the court - Wilt I think. If you push it away it will tap you on the shoulder and say Ahem at the most inconvenient of times.

To quote one of my least favorite people: “Being FEARLESS isn't being 100% Not FEARFUL, it's being terrified but you jump anyway...” Taylor Swift

Remember Geno hunkered down talking to distraught, crying freshman Diana Taurasi? She wasn't scared, but til then she wasn't paying attention. I'll bet you at that moment she wanted to schrivel up and die, but the Magician of Storrs was working, and she didn't die and what didn't kill her made her stronger.

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