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At Brendy's in Boynton Beach.
Soft serve ice cream and a malted milk shake!
YUMMMMMY
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Yeah, this is not good. Not good at all.
Geno, as most of you probably know by now, has Covid. That is the bad news. But you know me, I always look at the bright side. Or at least the not so bad news.
Yes, he has Covid, but he is totally asymptomatic. He was just a few days short of full immunity from his two shots. I believe he wouldn't have even know he had Covid if he didn't get tested in order do go to San Antonio for the tournament. Once he has fulfilled the Covid Protocol, he will be good to go and ready to coach again.
I read that he will be OK to coach on 3/24. So he will miss the first game against High Point and either be back for the second game against Syracuse or South Dakota State for the Sweet Sixteen game. I was hoping maybe the NCAA would have made a last minute call to make sure UConn had the 3/22 and 3/24 games. But they didn't do UConn any favors.
The really good news is I believe that Chris Daily is undefeated when filling in for Geno. 10-0? I love seeing her coaching on the sidelines.
The other good news is he didn't have any contact with the team since this past Friday. That helps.
According to UConn - Contact tracing protocols showed Auriemma did not have close contact with any other team member since Friday, and other Tier I personnel have tested negative for COVID-19 since NCAA tournament testing began March 9.
Hopefully the only impact is that Geno will have 1 or 2 less wins on his Hall of Fame resume.
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Gotta have some FUN!!!!
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MERCADO REGION
1 NC State vs 16 North Carolina A&T Sunday 4:00 ET ESPN
8 South Florida vs 9 Washington State Sunday 9:30 ET ESPN2
5 Gonzaga vs 12 Belmont Monday 4:00 ET ESPN2
4 Indiana vs 13 VCU Monday 2:00 ET ESPNU
6 Rutgers vs 11 BYU Monday Noon ESPNU
3 Arizona vs 14 Stony Brook Monday 2:00 ESPN2
7 Iowa State vs 10 Michigan State Monday 6:00 ET ESPN
2 Texas A&M vs 15 Troy Monday 6:00 ET ESPN2
HEMISFAIR REGION
1 South Carolina vs 16 Mercer Sunday 6:00 ET ESPN
8 Oregon State vs 9 Florida State Sunday 7:30 ET ESPN2
5 Georgia Tech vs 12 Stephen F. Austin Sunday 4:30 ET ESPNU
4 West Virginia vs 13 Lehigh Sunday 8:00 ET ESPNU
2 Maryland vs 15 Mount St. Mary's Monday 4:00 ET ESPN
7 Alabama vs 10 North Carolina Monday Noon ET ESPN
6 Texas vs 11 Bradley Monday 8:00 ET ESPN
3 UCLA vs 14 Wyoming Monday 10:00 ET ESPN
ALAMO REGION
1 Stanford vs 16 Utah Valley Sunday 10:00 ET ESPN
8 Oklahoma State vs 9 Wake Forest Sunday 1:00 ET ESPN2
5 Missouri State vs 12 UC Davis Monday 7:30 ET ESPNU
4 Arkansas vs 13 Wright State Monday 2:00 ET ESPN
2 Louisville vs 15 Marist Monday 8:00 ET ESPN
7 Northwestern vs 10 UCF Monday 4:00 ET ESPNU
6 Oregon vs 11 South Dakota Monday 10:00 ET ESPN2
3 Georgia vs 14 Drexel Monday Noon ET ESPN2
RIVER WALK REGION
1 UConn vs 16 High Point Sunday ET 8:00 ESPN
8 Syracuse vs 9 South Dakota State Sunday 5:30 ESPN2
5 Iowa vs 12 Central Michigan Sunday Noon ET ESPN
4 Kentucky vs 13 Idaho State Sunday 2:00 ET ESPN
2 Baylor vs 15 Jackson State Sunday 4:00 ABC
7 Virginia Tech vs 10 Marquette Sunday Noon ESPNU
6 Michigan vs 11 Florida Gulf Coast Sunday 3:00 ESPN2
3 Tennessee vs 14 Middle Tennessee Sunday 2:00 ABC
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I'll be honest. I don't believe I've heard of High Point. They won the Big South Championship to gain a spot in the NCAA tournament. Here is who they play in their conference.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Point | 17-3 | - | 22-6 |
| Campbell | 11-4 | 3.5 | 16-7 |
| Longwood | 12-6 | 4 | 14-11 |
| Gardner-Webb | 10-7 | 5.5 | 11-13 |
| Presbyterian | 10-8 | 6 | 11-10 |
| Radford | 9-9 | 7 | 9-11 |
| UNC Asheville | 9-10 | 7.5 | 10-15 |
| South Carolina Upstate | 5-11 | 10 | 8-15 |
| Hampton | 4-9 | 9.5 | 4-11 |
| Winthrop | 5-15 | 12 | 6-18 |
| Charleston Southern | 4-14 | 12 | 6-17 |
Yeah, Not the toughest competition. And unfortunately for them, UConn has a history of having no mercy on their opponent in the first round.
2018-19 Towson 110-61
2017-18 St. Francis PA 140-52
2016-17 Albany 116-55 (Interestingly, they played Syracuse in the second round winning 94-64)
2015-16 Robert Morris 101-49
2014-15 St. Francis BK 89-33
You get the picture. Look for a 50+ point win. And one for Chris Dailey.
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There are always some interesting games in the first and second rounds. This year is no exception.
My favorite interesting game is 3 seed Tennessee vs 14 seed Middle Tennessee State. Not only is it an interstate rivalry game, but MTSU's star player is a transfer from Tennessee. This game might be close for a while and if there is an upset in the four 3-14 games, this is it. I'm still not sold on the Lady Vols. Just .2 points behind Caitlin Clarke for the NCAA scoring lead at 26.5 PPG, Anastasia Hayes is tough to guard. She makes a ton of her two point shots at a high clip, shooting a nice 53.2%. But her three point shooting is something she takes only to make the defender play honest on her. She only shoots 23% on those. A 5'6" speed demon, she is the kind of player that makes Tennessee crazy.
Another interesting game could be the UConn/Syracuse second round game if the Orange beat South Dakota State, not an easy task. UConn and Syracuse have a feisty rivalry, going back several years. Mostly based on when Geno unleashed Maya Moore for a 40 point game on Quentin Hillsman's Syracuse team in 2009. It stemmed from an incident where a Syracuse player, Nicole Michael, supposedly tripped Geno in the handshake line after that Moore beating. Hillsman is a crazy dude on the sidelines. I would love to see this game happen.
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The Hoop Hall Awards is open for voting. It's a position by position ballot.
Paige Bueckers is on the list for the Nancy Leiberman Point Guard award.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa is on the list for the Lisa Leslie Center award.
I believe you can vote once a day per email address.
Here is the link.
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By David in Naples
Only two UConn's players have started all 25 games. They are Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Odd that Evina, with doubts about her knee, is one of the two iron ladies. A total of 8 different players have started at least 2 games for the Huskies. Paige and Christyn a have logged 24 starts each and Nika is now up to 14. Anna has 6, Aubrey 5 and Aaliyah was started twice. The starting lineup has settled at Paige, Nika, Liv, Christyn and Evina.
Of the players that have not started this season, Mir has come off the bench 22 times. Piath has subbed in 20 times and Saylor 10 times. Autumn has appeared in 8 games for 14 minutes total. The deeper the Huskies go in the Big Dance, the fewer minutes the primary subs will play. Geno fine tunes the lineup and sticks with it for critical games.
Go Huskies..!!
Of the players that have not started this season, Mir has come off the bench 22 times. Piath has subbed in 20 times and Saylor 10 times. Autumn has appeared in 8 games for 14 minutes total. The deeper the Huskies go in the Big Dance, the fewer minutes the primary subs will play. Geno fine tunes the lineup and sticks with it for critical games.
Go Huskies..!!
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By Phil
First appearances
Four teams will make the first-ever appearance in an NCAA tournament this year. Stony Brook, despite being down by double digits in the conference tournament title game, getting back to beat the regular-season champion Maine to earn their first ever bid.
High Point was the regular-season winner of the Big South Conference and went on to win the conference tournament sending them to their first ever NCAA tournament.
Bradley finished fifth in the Missouri Valley conference regular-season. Missouri State is a right team in the conference and the odds on favorite to win the conference tournament but when one of their opponents in the tournament tested positive for Covid, Missouri State declined to play. That left Drake, the second seed in the conference against Bradley. Drake was missing their coach, two starting players and a reserve player due to COVID protocols. Bradley beat Drake to earn their first ever bid to the tournament.
Utah Valley is going to the tournament despite not winning their conference tournament. The winner was California Baptist, who did not lose a game all season, but they are in the four year transition from division to an ineligible to play in the tournament. Utah Valley finished in second place in the regular-season, so was selected as the designated team for the NCAA tournament.
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