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National Coach of the Year Semi-finalists

NAME	SCHOOL	CONFERENCE
Geno Auriemma	UConn	Big East
Adia Barnes	Arizona	Pac-12
Gary Blair	Texas A&M	SEC
Mike Carey	West Virginia	Big 12
Jose Fernandez	USF	AAC
Brenda Frese	Maryland	Big Ten
Wes Moore	NC State	ACC
Joni Taylor	Georgia	SEC
Tara VanDerveer	Stanford	Pac-12
Jeff Walz	Louisville	ACC

This choice is always so subjective to me. You could make a good case for 3 or 4 of these coaches.

My Top 4 Choices in order of odds to win:

Wes Moore - He's done a great job at NC State. He keeps improving his team every year. And to be on this list is a real positive for him. They won the ACC regular season title. His two losses were to unranked Virginia Tech and North Carolina so that will hurt.

Gary Blair - He lost his best player, and only lost one game the entire season. They beat Preseason favorite South Carolina for the SEC Regular season title. Joni Taylor of Georgia actually won the SEC COY. But no way she wins National COY.

Tara VanDerveer - Broke Pat Summit's career win record and counting. Sanford has only lost 2 games this season.

Geno - My personal favorite. Surprised?? No seniors, 7 new players, and they only lost one game to a Top 25 team on the road. No. 1 in both rankings, BE regular season title. No. 1 in NET rankings, and the Top seed in the latest reveal.

Final Four candidates will be selected on March 18th. Look for the conference tournaments to impact this selection.

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The Ludicrous, Unprecedented Greatness of Paige Bueckers

She’s a freshman, and she already might be the best player in the history of UConn women’s basketball.

Ok, I'm as big a fan of Paige Bueckers as any UConn fan. She is fantastic. But even for me, the article I linked in the UConn Link Section was just way over the top. However, I did enjoy reading it.

Hey, maybe she will hit a few game winners to push UConn to a National Championship and I will change my mind. But until then, I'll settle for the best freshman in UConn history.

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Top 125 Women's Basketball Recruiting Class Rankings

ASGR Top Recruiting Classes

UConn was No. 1!!!!

No. 1, 5'11/G Azzzi Fudd

No. 3, 6'5/PF Amari DeBerry

No. 9, 6'2/SG Caroline Duchame

No. 27, 6'2/SG Saylor Poffenbarger (Enrolled)

The Big East did OK in this list.

DePaul 29

Marquette 42

Nova 63

GTown 69

Xavier 71

Butler 74

Seton Hall 88

St.J 91

Providence 113

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Only in Tennessee

Hanging out on the Tennessee women's basketball board on Volnation.com is always entertaining. You never know what kind of outlandish statement one of those Lady Vol crazies will post.

All living in their past glory and woefully trying to make themselves relevant again after so many years between their last championship and now. It's actually sad.

But sometimes the mind just snaps. Here is an exchange between a Tennessee fan and from what I can tell from prior postings, a Rutgers fan in a thread about the SEC awards. It's actually kinda pathetic.

Memvol44 - Tamari Key is the best all around center in the league!!! Should have been first team.....

Bballnut1952 - Aliyah Boston says hello.

Memvol44 - She can say hello all she wants. Key changed the other teams approach with her defense!! Boston didn't have to share minutes like Key did with Kasi. The difference is Boston has been in the league longer,didn't get many crap calls against her!!!

Memvol44 - There is not a better center in the league!!! Key is much more disruptive!! Boston can get off the ground!!! (I think he meant "Can't get off the ground")

Bballnut1952 - The difference is that Boston had a better season and is a better player and I doubt anyone but a few Lady Vol fans would agree with you that Key is the best center in the league. Key got some recognition (defensive 5 player team) and I'm happy for her.

Memvol44 - Will agree to disagree.....

Bballnut1952 - Boston changed the other teams approach just as much. She had more blocks even if in more minutes per game. Key's minutes were less not because she had to share minutes but the foul trouble she found herself in in many games. She fouled out of four of them. Both are Sophomores. Crap calls are in the eye of the partisan beholder.

Memvol44 - You are so wrong on so many points I don't know where to start..

Bballnut1952 - Well, I didn't make many points here that weren't facts. So feel free to correct. Boston changed the other teams approach just as much. Opinion. She had more blocks even if in more minutes per game. Fact. Key's minutes were less not because she had to share minutes but the foul trouble she found herself in in many games. Partial opinion She fouled out of four of them. Fact Both are Sophomores. Fact Crap calls are in the eye of the partisan beholder. This is pretty much fact.

At this point, there was no response from the Tennessee fan. The TKO goes to the RU fan.

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By David in Naples

The Huskies have a lot of streaks that have been extended this season. For example, 1,014 straight games without back-to-back loses. The last loss was March 17, 1993. No one on the current roster was alive then..!! UConn also has 941 wins during that streak. SO that translates into a record of 1,009-64 in regular season games, since 1992-93. There are also the 229 straight wins over unranked opponents and 156 straight conference wins. That includes conference tourny games.

The current 21-1 record is the 28th season of 21 or more wins. The shortened season brings that total down to 21. Without this year, UConn has won at least 25 games in each of the last 27 straight seasons. The current game winning streak is 11 after the Arkansas loss. The Huskies also have scored 63 or more points in every game this year (21).

Other stats - Paige leads the Huskies in points (415), assists (131), steals (50), minutes (758), field goals (163) and all shooting % (field goal, free throw and threes). I'm starting to think she may be pretty good...

Go Huskies..!!

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No. 10 Indiana 89 Iowa 80 - Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, and Ali Patberg each scored 22 points as 10th-ranked Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter for a home victory over Iowa on Wednesday. Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark, the nation’s second-leading scorer at 26.9 points per game, led all scorers with 32 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Manika Czinano added 20 points for the Hawkeyes. Berger scored eight of her points in the pivotal third quarter, when Indiana outscored Iowa 27-16. That’s when Indiana clamped down defensively on Iowa’s one-two punch as Clark had just four shots and Czinano missed five-of-seven shots. Nicole Cardano-Hillary added seven of her 13 points in the third as the Hoosiers took a 65-59 edge into the final 10 minutes. Holmes made 11-of-13 shots and had a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. Indiana outrebounded Iowa 38-21 and had a 56-38 advantage in points in the paint. The Hoosiers swept the Hawkeyes for the first time since 1994.

No. 20 West Virginia 72 Kansas State 64 - The No. 20 West Virginia women’s basketball team survived a third quarter rally from Kansas State to earn a 72-64 win on Wednesday night. Esmery Martinez posted her second straight double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Mountaineers. Behind her, Kysre Gondrezick and Kirsten Deans added 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Mountaineers started off well, jumping out to a 19-10 lead courtesy of Martinez and Jasmine Carson. After that, Kansas State came storming back with a 10-0 run to take a 20-19 lead, but a Martinez layup gave West Virginia a 21-20 lead after one quarter. West Virginia took a lead in the second quarter with a Carson three-pointer and a Martinez layup. The Mountaineers ended the quarter with two three-pointers, one from Gondrezick and one from Jayla Hemingway, to take a 41-32 lead into halftime. The Wildcats came out firing in the third quarter, with Ayoka Lee adding 10 of her 26 points in the third frame. In the fourth quarter, Kansas State got its final lead of the game with a quick five points, bringing the score to 56-55. With its victory over Kansas State, West Virginia has clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament next week.

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UCONN LINKS

Sorry if some links need a subscriptio

Chasing Perfection: Regular Season Wrap-up

Should UConn's Paige Bueckers win National POY?

The ultimate guide to Paige Bueckers sensational freshman season

The Ludicrous, Unprecedented Greatness of Paige Bueckers

Visit to Texas a lot less appealing

UConn Regular Season superlatives

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