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Barrett very carefully walking on the ice.
Logan is not sure he wants to walk on the ice
So he is taking the tree route
Granddaughter Noa's team had zero deductions
in winning their cheer competition Sunday!!!
sister Mya after the win!
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Well, it could have been one hell of an Upset Sunday. We did have two upsets with No. 23 Syracuse losing to Clemson and No. 25 Tennessee defeating No. 12 Kentucky.
But what came so close to happening was upset games what would blow your mind!!
No. 1 Louisville was fortunate to get by unranked Wake Forest. The now 7-6 Wake Forest.
No. 2 North Carolina State got lucky and beat the now 7-7 Virginia Tech.
No. 4 South Carolina sneaked past now 6-7 LSU.
That's three of the top 4 teams on the verge of losing on the same day. Ahh.....
However, if I was a poll voter and I saw how close the Top 2 teams came to losing to unranked and mediocre teams I would jump UConn right over their asses.
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I tried to find a jpeg with a "worst of the best", but no luck!!
So, this week, several of the bottom Top 25 teams lost. I'll be damned if I can figure out who should be ranked where. I'm glad I'm not a voter this week.
No. 21 Northwestern lost to No. 16 Indiana.
No. 22 Georgia lost to No. 4 South Carolina.
No. 23 Syracuse lost to No. 1 Louisville and Clemson.
No. 24 Iowa State lost to Texas.
No. 25 Tennessee lost to No. 3 UConn.
So, who goes where?
And just outside the rankings, there are a few teams that might move back up in the rankings.
South Dakota State won both their games.
Texas won both their games including the one against No. 24 Iowa State
Missouri State won both their games.
So, 8 teams for 5 spots. All had a claim for Top 25 status.
My guess is that Iowa State and Syracuse drop out of the rankings. Northwestern drops two spots. Georgia drops one spot. And believe it or not, Tennessee will rise a couple because they beat No. 12 Kentucky and only lost to a GREAT UConn team in a close game. Here are my 21-25 rankings for this week.
21 Tennessee
22 Northwestern
23 Georgia
24 Texas
25 South Dakota State
And there ya go.
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No. 6 UCLA at California - Postponed
No 10 Arizona vs Colorado - Postponed
No. 11 Michigan vs Purdue - Postponed
Michigan athletic department officials felt they had no choice but to shut down athletics for up to 14 days after receiving what they considered a mandate from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS). A spokesperson from the MDHSS said, however, it merely offered recommendations. Michigan athletics are paused “until further notice and up to 14 days” because of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.7, which spreads more easily. UM announced the decision Saturday night.
The University of Vermont women's basketball team won't play another game this winter, the school announced Sunday afternoon. Two days after UVM placed all sports on hold through Feb. 4 due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the athletic department, players in the women's basketball program made the call that they wouldn't finish the remainder of their 2020-21 season. The players' decision has the full support of the team's coaches and department leaders.
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By David in Naples
It is entirely possible for a group of people to watch the same UConn basketball game and have very different views of how the team played. Everyone can have an opinion, even a wrong one. Two opinions that struck me as wrong, summarized the game by saying, "very lousy game today" and "2nd half was horrendous." Candidly, while it wasn't a masterpiece, I think UConn played fairly well this game and the 2nd half wasn't "horrendous." Let me explain...
There was a time out with 6:53 left in the 4th period. That means 33 minutes and 7 seconds had been played in the game to that point. The score was 69-28. That means UConn was winning by 41 points with less than 7 minutes left in the contest. Please tell me how a 41 point lead, holding the opponent to 28 points and playing without two top players equals "horrendous." It doesn't..! Considering the Huskies were down 2 good players and playing on short rest after an emotional road trip game, a 41 point lead was downright decent. What happened in the next 6:53, however, was pretty bad. UConn was outscored 13-3 and the final margin of victory ended up at 31 points. The last 7 minutes doesn't eliminate a very good effort in those first 33 minutes.
So what happened in the last 7 minutes? Simply put, Geno went with a 2 guard line up using Christyn and Nika with "assorted bigs", Ono, Aubrey, Mir, Aaliyah and Piath. Nika, who had played 65 minutes all season, was in for 35 minutes against Georgetown. Christyn played all 40 minutes and never left the court. Not an excuse, but actual stats. The whole game UConn used 3 guards to fire the ball around the perimeter against the Georgetown zone defense. The 3 guards (Evina, Nika and Christyn) took a combined 25 three-point shots. Because if the zone is packed in the lane, three point shots are what is mostly open. Evina, Nika and Christyn made 7 threes. Guess who was not able to play this game? Yes, Paige and Anna, who are good ball handlers and good 3 point shooters.
Aaliyah & Piath have not tried a 3, Mir has tried 1, Aubrey is 1-8 and Liv is 3-8. That is a combined 4-17 or 23%. The last 7 minutes were played with 2 tired guards and no 3 point threat at the other 3 positions. Being outscored 13-3 to cut your lead to 31 points is not the end of the world. But there are some fans who think it was and that is just "horrendous."
Go Huskies..!!
There was a time out with 6:53 left in the 4th period. That means 33 minutes and 7 seconds had been played in the game to that point. The score was 69-28. That means UConn was winning by 41 points with less than 7 minutes left in the contest. Please tell me how a 41 point lead, holding the opponent to 28 points and playing without two top players equals "horrendous." It doesn't..! Considering the Huskies were down 2 good players and playing on short rest after an emotional road trip game, a 41 point lead was downright decent. What happened in the next 6:53, however, was pretty bad. UConn was outscored 13-3 and the final margin of victory ended up at 31 points. The last 7 minutes doesn't eliminate a very good effort in those first 33 minutes.
So what happened in the last 7 minutes? Simply put, Geno went with a 2 guard line up using Christyn and Nika with "assorted bigs", Ono, Aubrey, Mir, Aaliyah and Piath. Nika, who had played 65 minutes all season, was in for 35 minutes against Georgetown. Christyn played all 40 minutes and never left the court. Not an excuse, but actual stats. The whole game UConn used 3 guards to fire the ball around the perimeter against the Georgetown zone defense. The 3 guards (Evina, Nika and Christyn) took a combined 25 three-point shots. Because if the zone is packed in the lane, three point shots are what is mostly open. Evina, Nika and Christyn made 7 threes. Guess who was not able to play this game? Yes, Paige and Anna, who are good ball handlers and good 3 point shooters.
Aaliyah & Piath have not tried a 3, Mir has tried 1, Aubrey is 1-8 and Liv is 3-8. That is a combined 4-17 or 23%. The last 7 minutes were played with 2 tired guards and no 3 point threat at the other 3 positions. Being outscored 13-3 to cut your lead to 31 points is not the end of the world. But there are some fans who think it was and that is just "horrendous."
Go Huskies..!!
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No. 1 Louisville 65 Wake Forest 63 - Dana Evans hit a layup and got fouled for the go-ahead bucket with 8.0 seconds left to help Louisville barely avoid a huge upset by holding off Wake Forest. Louisville had to survive a final shot from the Demon Deacons, with Ivana Raca missing a 3-pointer from the right at the horn that would’ve given Wake Forest the win. Evans scored 25 points for Louisville who trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push back in front and set up a crazy ending. Conti scored 13 points while Raca had 12 to lead the Demon Deacons. Louisville was lucky to escape with the win in this game.
No. 2 North Carolina State 89 Virginia Tech 87 - Kai Crutchfield scored 10 of her 20 points in the last 4½ minutes, Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 23 points to lead North Carolina State to the win. They rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated, beating Virginia Tech 89-87 on Sunday. Kayla Jones, who made two free throws at the 15-second mark, tallied 22 points for N.C. State which was coming off a three-week layoff. The Wolfpack hadn’t played since Jan. 3. They were still missing their star center Elissa Cunane. Georgia Amoore’s 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds to play for Virginia Tech cut the gap to 88-87 before Raina Perez hit a free throw for the Wolfpack for the final margin. Sophomore center Elizabeth Kitley matched a career high with 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Aisha Sheppard added 24 points for Virginia Tech.
No. 4 South Carolina 69 LSU 65 - It was a defensive battle but the LSU women’s basketball team came up short against the No. 4 South Carolina Gamecock. Early on in the game, both teams struggled offensively. The score at the end of the first half was 25-23 in LSU’s favor after senior Karli Seay collected a steal and an easy layup on the other end as the clock hit zero. The tandem of senior Khayla Pointer and sophomore Tiara Young had a strong outing in the backcourt. Pointer finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Young had 16 points and six rebounds. As usual Aiyala Boston was a powerful presence under both baskets, and a big reason the Gamecocks' won this game. Boston scored 11 of her 20 points in the final 14 1/2 minutes and grabbed 14 rebounds. Destanni Henderson added 16 points and eight assists while Zia Cooke had 11 points for South Carolina. LSU took a 45-43 lead into the fourth quarter after Faustine Aifuwa's jumper beat the clock at the end of the third period. Awa Trasi's layup briefly widened the lead to 47-43 before South Carolina suddenly took over with a 9-0 run. That run began with Boston's bucket and featured five points by Henderson on a 3-pointer and free throws. LeLe Grissett's fast-break layup capped the run and made it 52-47 with 7:37 left. LSU pulled back to 56-55 after Young's jumper with 3:41 left, but consecutive fast-break layups by Cooke and Grissett ignited a decisive 10-2 Gamecocks run that included more fast-break points for Cooke and Grissett.
No. 5 Stanford 86 USC 59 - No. 5 Stanford shot 50 percent, nail 10 threes and dominated the boards as the Cardinal had an eventual easy win over USC in Santa Cruz today. Stanford nailed six first-half 3-pointers to turn a tight first frame into a 15-point Cardinal lead by halftime. Four more threes would fall for the Cardinal in thee second half while it also continued ownership of the boards, finishing out the game with a 53-22 rebounding advantage. Stanford got 18 points from Haley Jones, with Kiana Williams adding 16 and 12 each from Lexie Hull and Fran Belibi. The Trojans were led by Endyia Rogers' game-high 19 points and 12 apiece from Jordan Sanders and Angel Jackson.
No. 8 Texas A&M 70 Missouri 66 - It was a close match up until the very end, however, Mizzou could not pull out an upset over the seventh-ranked Texas A&M Aggies. Missouri led throughout the majority of the first quarter, but the Aggies did take over with a 38-30 lead at the break. In the second half, Mizzou and Texas A&M went shot-for-shot, with the Tigers hitting 60 percent from the field. The game dwindled down to the last few seconds, with just two points separating the teams, however, the Aggies managed to pull through in a 70-66 win. Ladazhia Williams had a big day for Mizzou, with the team-high 20 points. Aijha Blackwell added 11 points and 16 rebounds. N'dea Jones had 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Aggies.
No. 12 Kentucky 53 No. 23 Tennessee 70 - Tennessee put together a great defensive performance holding Kentucky to 28.6% shooting, the worst by any SEC opponent in 2021. Kentucky's 53 points are also tied for the third fewest the Lady Vols have allowed through 13 games. Reigning SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard of Kentucky was held in check throughout the game, hitting on just 3-of-16 for 14 points. Tennessee senior Rennia Davis netted a double-double with 15 points and 20 rebounds, which is four short of the school record for a single game. The Lady Vols took control in the third quarter when Key scored the first six points of the second half to start an 11-1 run for a 38-23 lead. Tennessee scored the last eight points for a 49-31 lead entering the fourth quarter and the game was over. Rae Burrell scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Vols and played sterling defense on Rhyne Howard. Tennessee's dominating size was the difference. The Lady Vols hounded the Wildcats dominated the boards 56-25. That dominance included 21 offensive rebounds, 19 second-chance points and a 44-18 difference in points in the paint.
No. 13 Oregon 69 Washington 52 - Oregon was down three players and two of them were starters. It didn't matter as the Ducks were able easily handle the Washington Huskies. Starting forward and leading scorer and rebounder Nyara Sabally was unable to play on Sunday. Similarly to UConn's Paige Bueckers, she suffered an ankle injury during Friday's win over Washington State. She went into the game but was wearing a walking boot for this game. Erin Boley was also out, as was reserve forward Kylee Watson, who suffered a concussion earlier in the week in practice. It didn't matter. Oregon led by 20 or more points at times in the second half and carried a comfortable cushion after the first quarter to beat Washington. The other Huskies had their own issues from a personnel perspective.They only had nine players available due to COVID-19 issues. The team's game with Oregon State on Friday had been postponed due to those same issues. Sedona Prince had another nice game since coming back from her injuries with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.
No. 16 Indiana 74 No. 21 Northwestern 61 - Indiana used a dominating fourth quarter performance to handle Northwestern. The Hoosiers outscored the Wildcats 26-9 in the quarter to turn a 6 point deficit into a 13 point win. Mackenzie Holmes posted a double-double, recording team highs with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Grace Berger added 14 points. With four minutes remaining in the third quarter Northwestern was up 13 points. From that point to the final buzzer Indiana outscored the Wildcats 35-12. Yes, they turned that 13 point lead into a 14 point deficit. Just a poor performance by Northwestern. I would move them out of the Top 25.
No. 20 Gonzaga 79 Portland 61 - Kayleigh Truong scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting and Jenn Wirth scored 14 as No. 20-ranked Gonzaga beat Portland 79-61 for its 12th-straight win. I'm prettuy sure they won't lose a game until the NCAA tournment. Gonzaga's Jill Townsend scored 11 and 10 different Bulldogs players entered the scoring column. Gonzaga shot 58% (29 for 50) and broke the game open with a 24-8 second quarter charge. The Bulldogs made 8 of 10 in the decisive quarter. Haylee Andrews scored 25 points for Portland, Alex Fowler 13 and McKelle Meek 10.
No. 23 Syracuse 77 Clemson 86 OT - In an absolute crazy game, Clemson beat No. 23 Syracuse in overtime. What made it cray cray? Well, Clemson just destroy the Orange in the first half winning the first quarter 29-10 and the second quarter 23-17 for a 25 point halftime lead. The Tigers let Syracuse back in the game in the third quarter. The Orange outscored Clemson 23-9 to cut the lead to 11 and then 20-9 to tied it at the end of regulation. Clemson was still up by 7 with 3:40 left in the game but then Syracuse took the lead with 1 minute remaining. Clemson his a big 3 with 40 seconds left before the Orange tied it at 70 apiece with 27 seconds left. Neither team could get off a shot in the final seconds. In overtime, it was all Tigers as they outscored SU 16-7 for the upset win. Kiara Lewis had 25 points for Syracuse. Amari Robinson and Kendall Spray had 24 and 23 each to lead the Tigers to the victory.
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