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GO UCONN!!!!!
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Congrats to my granddaughter Noa and her team!!!
Barrett and Logan enjoying a Rice Crispie Treat!!!
With some hot chocolate!!!
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UConn had a tough outing on Wednesday night when they take a trip to Omaha and the D.J. Sokal arena to take on the Creighton Bluejays. UConn won the first match up by eight 63-55 and it's going to take another great defensive effort to duplicate that win.
There is a really good article I linked from the Courant and Alexa Phlippou. It cronicles all the injuries and how the team is working to overcome them. It will be another tough game without Dorka Juhasz if she can't go. I'm thinking she will need more time.
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GAMES
MOST SCORES HAVE CLICKABLE LINKS TO A GAME STORY
UPSETS IN RED
No. 21 Iowa No. 23 Ohio State
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Straight from the Dog
Well, it didn't end the way I wanted it to, but what a game between No. 7 Tennessee and unranked Arkansas. The Lady Vols won in overtime 86-83 behing Joran Horston with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and Rae Burrell's 21 points. The Razorbacks had their chances but missed two free throws with 8 seconds left that would have tied the game up.
This was similar to all the fourth quarter comebacks Tennessee had earlier in the season. Up next for Tennessee is a tough Florida team on the road on Thursday night. GO GATORS!!!
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There was a big Big Ten game Monday night when No. 5 Indiana visited No. 6 Michigan. It wasn't a good night for the Hoosiers. They battled to a 32-30 halftime deficit but the Wolverines used a big 3rd quarter to take a 12 point lead going into the final 10 minutes. They held on for the 65-50 win. I didn't watch the game but my friend "Linkster" watched the game and he said - "I have no problem facing either in the NCAA's."
I like his confidence.
Top 16
The top 16:
1. South Carolina
2. Stanford
3. NC State
4. Tennessee
5. Louisville
6. Indiana
7. Texas
8. Arizona
9. Michigan
10. Iowa State
11. UConn
12. LSU
13. Baylor
14. Oregon
15. Georgia
16. Kansas State
The 16 teams are shown grouped, because, with some exceptions, it’s more important what seed line you are on them where you are within the seed line.
With UConn ranked number 11, that makes them a three seed. I’ve heard suggestions, but have not confirmed myself, that as a three seed, it might not be possible to place UConn in Bridgeport. I recently had a spirited discussion with a basketball fan who was not fully aware that some of the seeding principles are aspirational, but others are absolute rules. If placing UConn in Bridgeport violates one of the absolute rules, it’s not going to happen.
I also had a talk with TonyC a few minutes ago. He mentioned something I knew, but whose import had not sunk in until our conversation. I’ve taken it on faith that the seeding committee would like to have UConn in Bridgeport to draw a big audience. But, and I’ll ask this as an honest question, do they want fannies in the seats or do they want ticket sales? Those aren’t the same thing. The ticket sales are virtually complete, so while some people purchasing tickets might not show up in Bridgeport if UConn isn’t there, the sale has been made. Sending UConn to a different region might actually increase sales.
At the moment, I think that if UConn is a two seed, they get to go to Bridgeport. If they are a three seed, it’s not so clear.
UConn doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for signature wins in their remaining games (I’ll talk about Tennessee separately), so movement up is largely dependent on teams ahead of us moving down.
Tennessee already stumbled, about two hours after the reveal, but I think that simply swaps Tennessee and Louisville at the moment. Tennessee deserves to drop further but I don’t see them dropping down to the three seed line based on that single loss.
Texas is contributing. They lost a close game to Oklahoma. That might be enough to move them down temporarily, but they have two upcoming games against Baylor, currently number 13 on this list. If they sweep, they probably remain as a two seed. If they split or lose both, they are down at least one seed line.
Of course, if Baylor sweeps Texas, they’re going to make noises about moving up a couple seed lines.
Arizona lost to Stanford. The game was reasonably close; Arizona was within four under four minutes, but Stanford leaned on career highs by both Brink and Van Gytenbeek to earn the win. They were the last of the two seeds so a loss might move them down a seed line but it’s a close call whether that loss would move them below UConn.
Indiana and Michigan face-off Monday. One of them is guaranteed to lose but of course one of them is guaranteed to win. Both are currently listed ahead of UConn. It seems plausible that the loser might slip slightly behind.
Iowa State is the other team ahead of UConn, and they face Kansas State on Wednesday. A minor upset by Kansas State would help UConn.
UConn’s game against Tennessee is getting closer and looming larger. A win by UConn might be enough to move UConn onto the two line, but I fear a loss may make a two seed all but impossible.
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By David in Naples
Basketball is a game of rhythm and routine. Great shooters get in a rhythm and can't miss. Great teams get into a comfortable routine and play better. Nothing about yesterday's victory over Providence was rhythmic or routine. Consider:
1. The game time was shifted from mid-day Sunday to Sunday night at 7:30 pm.
2. The team bus broke down and the team needed to wait for vans to get to the game.
3. The location of the game was shifted to a campus gym.
4. Dorka was an unexpected scratch due to a injured foot.
5. Due to the snowstorm, UConn could not practice Saturday.
The game itself lacked any rhythm or regular routine. Consier:
1. The two best young shooters on the team, Caroline and Azzi went 2-10 combined from three range.
2. The Huskies had the same number of turnovers (16) & fouls (16) as assists (16).
3. Due to turnovers and sloppy rebounding, Providence took 57 shots, 9 more than UConn.
4. Providence had 20 points off UConn turnovers.
5. Nika Muhl took 0 shots.
This game is best forgotten and marked down as a fluke due to weather and travel.
Go Huskies..!!
1. The game time was shifted from mid-day Sunday to Sunday night at 7:30 pm.
2. The team bus broke down and the team needed to wait for vans to get to the game.
3. The location of the game was shifted to a campus gym.
4. Dorka was an unexpected scratch due to a injured foot.
5. Due to the snowstorm, UConn could not practice Saturday.
The game itself lacked any rhythm or regular routine. Consier:
1. The two best young shooters on the team, Caroline and Azzi went 2-10 combined from three range.
2. The Huskies had the same number of turnovers (16) & fouls (16) as assists (16).
3. Due to turnovers and sloppy rebounding, Providence took 57 shots, 9 more than UConn.
4. Providence had 20 points off UConn turnovers.
5. Nika Muhl took 0 shots.
This game is best forgotten and marked down as a fluke due to weather and travel.
Go Huskies..!!
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UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
"We're going through hell" Courant
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Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
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