NCAA Tournament Notes
The Big Ten (11) has 3 teams in the Sweet 16. Purdue, Penn State and Minnesota all advanced. Michigan State and Ohio State both were eliminated. The Big Ten (11) ties the SEC and the Big East for the honor of most conference teams in the Sweet 16 as Tennessee, Georgia and Vandy all made it for the SEC and Notre Dame, UCONN and Boston college represent the Big East. Nine of the 16 are from these 3 power conferences of women's basketball. Here's a link to the updated bracket showing upcoming games and tip off times.
BRACKET
Looking ahead, the Sunday games have more intrigue to me. The Tennessee/Baylor match-up, Duke/LA Tech, and BC/Minnesota are games I am looking forward to watching! Not to say the Saturday games aren't compelling. Texas/LSU and Purdue/Georgia will be very interesting to see.
WNBA Notes
The Fever made a really good acquisition yesterday signing center Astou Ndiaye-Diatta to a 2004 contract. The jury is out on whether she can return to the form she displayed prior to giving birth to triplets, but if she can, she can definitely help this team. STORY
Draft Notes:
Rebecca Lobo has listed her top ten WNBA prospects.
REBECCA LOBO PROSPECT TRACKER
1. Diana Taurasi, UConn
2. Alana Beard, Duke
3. Nicole Powell, Stanford
4. Chandi Jones, Houston
5. Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota
6. Kelly Mazzante, Penn State
7. Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State
8. Vanessa Hayden, Florida
9. Shemeka Christon, Arkansas
10. Rebekkah Brunson, Georgetown
Stay tuned for my 2004 draft predictions - coming in future posts.
Have a great day! PEACE !
NCAA Tournament Notes
The Big Ten (11) made a strong showing in the first round. Only Iowa failed to advance. Here are scores and recaps of all the Big Ten games from this weekend.
Ohio State 73
West Virginia 67 RECAP
Minnesota 92
UCLA 81 RECAP
Penn State 79
Hampton 42 RECAP
Purdue 78
St. Francis 59 RECAP
Michigan State 72
Arizona 60 RECAP
Virginia Tech 89
Iowa 76 RECAP
Notre Dame got a real scare from SMS in the first round prevailing in OT 69-65.
ND/SMS Recap
Valpo came back from 16 down against Kansas State before finally succumbing to the Wildcats 71-63. Valpo/K-State Recap
Big Ten Notes
The All Big Ten Team is announced. Kelly Mazzante repeats as conference Player of the Year.
All-Big Ten (as selected by coaches)
First Team: Janel McCarville, Minnesota, Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota*; Kelly Mazzante, Penn State*; Tanisha Wright, Penn State, Shereka Wright, Purdue*.
Second Team: Jennie Lillis, Iowa; Jennifer Smith, Michigan; Lindsay Bowen, Michigan State; Caity Matter, Ohio State; Erika Valek, Purdue.
Third Team: Jenny DeMuth, Indiana; Jamie Cavey, Iowa; Kristi Faulkner, Iowa; Liz Shimek, Michigan State; Jess Strom, Penn State.
Honorable Mention: Cindy Dallas, Angelina Williams, ILLINOIS; Kristin Haynie, MICHIGAN STATE; Jessica Davenport, LaToya Turner, OHIO STATE; Jessica Brungo, PENN STATE; Katie Gearlds, PURDUE.
All-Freshman team^: Rene Haynes, MICHIGAN STATE; Brandie Hoskins, Jessica Davenport, OHIO STATE; Reicina Russell, PENN STATE; Katie Gearlds, Erin Lawless, PURDUE.
Player of the Year: Kelly Mazzante, Penn State
Defensive Player of the Year: Tanisha Wright, Penn State
Freshman of the Year: Katie Gearlds, Purdue
Coach of the Year: Rene Portland, Penn State
All-Big Ten (as selected by media)
First Team: Jennifer Smith, Michigan; Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota*; Kelly Mazzante, Penn State*; Tanisha Wright, Penn State; Shereka Wright, Purdue*.
Second Team: Cindy Dallas, Illinois; Jenny DeMuth, Indiana; Jennie Lillis, Iowa; Janel McCarville, Minnesota; Caity Matter, Ohio State.
Third Team: Angelina Williams, Illinois; Jamie Cavey, Iowa; Kristi Faulkner, Iowa; LaToya Turner, Ohio State; Jess Strom, Penn State.
Honorable Mention: Tiffanie Guthrie, ILLINOIS; Cyndi Valentin, INDIANA; Tabitha Pool, MICHIGAN; Lindsay Bowen, Kristin Haynie, Liz Shimek, MICHIGAN STATE; Jessica Davenport, OHIO STATE; Jessica Brungo, PENN STATE; Katie Gearlds, Erika Valek, PURDUE; Stephanie Rich, WISCONSIN.
Player of the Year: Kelly Mazzante, Penn State
Freshman of the Year: Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Rene Portland, Penn State
* Unanimous selection; ^ Six honorees due to tie
Top 25 Notes
#3 Texas got a big win at #17 Oklahoma 57-54. Boisterous Oklahoma fans booed the Longhorns off the court. "Them booing us off of the court is a sign that they have such respect for our program," said a smiling Stacy Stephens, who finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. "We don't take it too personal." STORY
#4 UCONN coasted over West Virginia in Diana Taurasi's final game in Storrs. RECAP
Have a great day! Peace!
WNBA Notes
The Fever sign Katie Starbird to a free agent contract. Fever signing Further proof of the inept ability of the Fever management to evaluate their team. They already have a player just like Starbird in Kristen Rasmussen. One could even argue that Stephanie White is a similar player. Starbird, a good shooter and an average ball handler who was out of the league last year after being cut by Seattle in training camp, adds nothing to the Fever roster. Perhaps there is a trade brewing that we don't know about. But somehow, I doubt it. That would make too much sense. The Fever management might think they can fool people into thinking they are working hard on rebuilding their roster but anyone that really knows women's basketball will not be fooled. The Fever are reeling from the loss of two first round draft picks in their first four years - Jurgita Stremikite and Tawana McDonald were both first rounders who are no longer with the team. An expansion franchise who missed on 2 first rounders in their first four years has a credibility problem. Last year they traded promising draftee Gwen Jackson for aging Natalie Williams. To compensate for that blunder they select Deanna Jackson in the Cleveland dispersal draft. Then, this year they trade the number 3 overall pick in a talented draft pool for a guard that couldn't break the starting lineup in Charlotte. I know I sound like a broken record but Holy Crap!
The Fever also announced their pre-season schedule. First game is May 4 at Conseco against Houston. Fever Preseason
Top 25 Notes
Tennessee is back at #1 in the AP Poll. Duke is #2, Texas #3 and UCONN falls to #4. Penn State is up to #5 and Purdue drops to #6. AP POLL
Here's a link to the Women's Conference tournament schedule from ESPN. Tourney Schedule
Here's a link to the latest RPI. RPI LINK
Hoosier Hoops of Note
IUPUI dropped their season finale to Western Illinois 79-49. The Jaguars will be the seventh seed in the upcoming Mid Continent Conference tourney. STORY
Notre Dame hosts Syracuse tonight for senior night. ND PREGAME
Ball State travels to Northern Illinois tonight for their finale. BSU Pregame
Nancy Bowden of Butler was named to the All Horizon League first team. STORY
Have a great one! Peace.
Big Ten (11) Recap
BIG TEN CHAMPS! # 6 Penn State overcame a 14 point halftime deficit and won the Big Ten (11) Regular Season Championship over # 4 Purdue 69-60. Jess Brungo of PSU hit the big three pointer to seal the Boilers fate. Kelly Mazzante had 24 for the Lady Lions. Shereka Wright scored 21 for Purdue.
PSU/PU Recap
#12 Minnesota is still struggling to find themselves after the loss of their leader, PG Lindsey Whalen. They dropped a 57-47 decision to Michigan in Ann Arbor. Jennifer Smith had 19 for Michigan and Janel McCarville had a double/double for the Gophers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. STORY
#22 Michigan State needed overtime to get by scrappy Indiana 60-51. STORY
#25 Ohio State keeps rolling. Their latest triumph - a 72-56 decision over Wisconsin. OSU/UW Recap
Iowa finishes strong in the conference with a 89-64 win at Illionois
Iowa/Ill Recap Cindy Dallas became the first member of the Illini to reach the 1,000 career rebound milestone.
BIG TEN TOURNEY BRACKET
Thursday's schedule:
Wisconsin vs. Indiana 3:00 PM
Michigan vs. Illinois apx 5:30 PM
Minnesota vs Northwestern apx 8:00 PM
Friday's schedule:
Penn State vs. Wisc/Ind winner 12:00 Noon
Iowa vs. Michigan State apx 2:30 PM
Purdue vs. Mich/Ill winner 6:00 PM
Ohio State vs. Minn/NW winner apx 8:30 PM
Here's a link to the PDF version of the bracket for those who have Adobe Acrobat. BRACKET
Top 25 Notes
#1 UCONN lost Saturday at Villanova 59-56. Despite losing, the Huskies clinched the Big East Conference championship. Diana Taurasi was held to 8 points in the contest. It appears to me she is a half step slower lately. She looks like she might need to lose 5-10 pounds to regain her quickness. STORY
#2 Tennessee had no problem with #17 LSU 85-62. In typical Pat Summit fashion, she is building up her team prior to the tournament run. "After knowing the personality of this group, there's no way I'd bet against this team for anything." Summit stated. STORY
Jamie Carey hit a game winning three pointer lifting # 5 Texas to a 65-63 victory over # 9 Kansas State. KSU's Nicole Ohlde became the all-time leading scorer in Wildcat history with 2,123 career points. Texas/KSU Recap
#19 Georgia got by Kentucky 73-62. STORY
#18 DePaul lost their third game in a row 62-61 to Marquette on a questionable charging call in the last seconds. STORY
Vanessa Hayden led Florida with 22 points in a mild upset of #20 Auburn 71-60. FLA/AUB Recap
Have a great week! Peace!
