Let the UConn invitational begin
by Kevin Meacham on Mar 15, 2010 7:00 PM EDT
24 comments
Tonight is one of the biggest nights of the year in women's basketball: the night that 63 teams get to find out whether or not they will lose to UConn, in which round they will do so, and when Pat Summitt will get her hat and broom handed to her in an epic Geno-delivered beatdown.
In the comments section, you'll see my stream-of-consciousness, mostly-off-the-top-of-my-head quickie live analysis of the bracket. Here's the important information, for the purposes of this blog:
- UConn was seeded No. 1 in the Dayton region, and named the No. 1 overall seed (duh)
- Their first-round pod will take place in Norfolk, Va. First-round games (UConn vs. #16 seed Southern and #8 Temple vs. #9 James Madison) will take place Sunday afternoon.
- UConn-Southern will kick things off at 12:15, with Temple-James Madison to follow 30 minutes after
- The second-round game will take place Tuesday night, either at 7 or 9
- The regionals will take place in Dayton, Ohio the following Sunday (March 28) and Tuesday (March 30)
- The Final Four will be in San Antonio the following Sunday (April 4) and Tuesday (April 6)
- UConn's likely opponent in the Final Four would be archrival Tennessee, the top seed in the Memphis region. They could also play Duke, West Virginia or Baylor
- The top seeds on the other side of the bracket were Stanford (probably the biggest, possibly the only threat to UConn) and Nebraska
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Already a highlight so far
The St. John’s players dancing at a table in the ESPN Zone along with Stormy, The Red Storm Bear.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
I realize I will be the only person commenting in this thread
except maybe the stray fcmonk “This sport f—king sucks” comment. I’m OK with that.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
I will say, in the interest of covering my bases
Stanford probably could beat UConn on their best day. UConn beats them 6 or 7 out of 10, but as Danny O’Shea in Little Giants explained, it only takes one time.
One time.
One time.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
Who will UConn destroy by 60 in the first round?
There are several close-to-.500 teams that can be expected to take a pummeling from Geno’s bunch.
-Austin Peay (15-17) out of the OVC, the odds-on favorite if we’re going by S-Curve
-Portland State (18-14) out of the Big Sky
-UC Riverside (17-15) out of the Big West
-Cleveland State (19-13) out of the Horizon
-Northern Iowa (17-15) out of the MVC
-St. Francis (PA) (17-14) out of the NEC, the odds-on favorite if we’re going by the “UConn is playing the first two rounds in Pittsburgh, so it just makes sense to shuffle this team to the closest available site” standard
For the record, I’m going with St. Francis.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
Stanford's region (in Sacramento)
1-Stanford vs. 16-UC Riverside
8-Iowa vs. 9-Rutgers
5-Georgia vs. 12-Tulane
4-Oklahoma State vs. 13-Chattanooga
6-Vanderbilt vs. 11-DePaul
3-Xavier vs. 14-East Tennessee State
7-Gonzaga vs. 10-North Carolina
2-Texas A&M vs. 15-Portland State
Quick non-expert analysis:
—Stanford takes it in a walk. Cardinal are unbeaten except for 12-point loss to UConn in Hartford near Christmas.
—Rutgers seems seeded way too high.
—Georgia beat Tennessee, but struggled to finish the year.
—I hate that both East Tennessee State men and women made the tourney, and UConn couldn’t do the same thing.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
Nebraska's region (at Kansas City)
1-Nebraska vs. 16-Northern Iowa
8-UCLA vs. 9-North Carolina State
5-Michigan State vs. 12-Bowling Green
4-Kentucky vs. 13-Liberty
6-Georgia Tech vs. 11-Arkansas-Little Rock
3-Oklahoma vs. 14-South Dakota State
7-Wisconsin vs. 10-Vermont
2-Notre Dame vs. 15-Cleveland State
Winner of this region plays the winner of Stanford’s region.
Did they really put UConn and Tennessee on the same side of the bracket? They must be way desperate for ratings.
This region is the only one with any real chance of seeing a #1 seed upset. Nebraska has the good post player Griffin, and went 30-0 until losing in the Big 12 semis, but I remain unconvinced. They’re the favorites, but it’s much closer than the other juggernaut 1-seeds.
Vermont brought back most of the team that UConn destroyed in the first round last year at Gampel, and moved from a 16 seed to a 10. Good for them. The Catamounts also knocked off Jen Rizzotti’s Hartford team in the America East final…Hartford might sneak in as an at-large, though.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
No, they'll be a 10 or 11 if they get in
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
by Kevin Meacham on Mar 15, 2010 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Tennessee's region (at Memphis)
1-Tennessee vs. 16-Austin Peay
8-Dayton vs. 9-TCU
5-Georgetown vs. 12-Marist
4-Baylor vs. 13-Fresno State
6-Texas vs. 11-San Diego State
3-West Virginia vs. 14-Lamar
7-LSU vs. 10-Hartford
2-Duke vs. 15-Hampton
Lady Vols lost in the first round last year, which is hilarious for so many reasons. That team had five new starters. Geno will crush them if they get to the Final Four.
Tennessee-Baylor in the Sweet 16 would probably be the most-watched game before the Final Four, thanks to Brittany Griner. She’s 6-8 (which is like 7-3 in the women’s game), and she has a deeper voice than Jeff Adrien.
I could see WVU or Baylor taking down the Lady Vols. I don’t think Duke is a threat if they get to the E8.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
UConn's region coming up next
I feel sorry for the other 15 teams upcoming. They haven’t got a chance.
Also, Maya Moore is apparently a drummer. There’s really nothing she can’t do.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
To put that first sentence another way
Sucks to be you, #2 seed Ohio State. Although they are very good AND the game would be in Dayton. Probably the toughest #2 seed UConn could have drawn.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
by Kevin Meacham on Mar 15, 2010 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
UConn's region (at Dayton)
1-UConn vs. 16-Southern
8-Temple vs. 9-James Madison
5-Virginia vs. 12-UW-Green Bay
4-Iowa State vs. 13-Lehigh
UConn connections in this bracket: Temple’s coach is Tonya Cardoza, who was a longtime assistant under Geno Auriemma. Auriemma was an assistant at Virginia in the early 80’s prior to coming to Storrs. Iowa State is one of two teams (Stanford in 2005 the other) to beat UConn prior to the Elite Eight since 1993 (1999 Sweet 16).
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
And the bottom half...
6-St. John’s vs. 11-Princeton
3-Florida State vs. 14-Louisiana Tech
7-Mississippi State vs. 10-Middle Tennessee
2-Ohio State vs. 15-St. Francis (PA)
St. John’s arguably played UConn the toughest among any of the Big East teams, losing 66-52 at Gampel a month ago. They’ll have to get through a very solid Florida State team in Tallahassee to get to Dayton, though. UConn beat FSU 78-59 four days after UConn beat Stanford.
Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender might be the best post player in the country not named Tina Charles. Any of OSU, FSU or SJU could make it to the Elite Eight. Obviously, I would be extremely surprised to see UConn lose (or win by fewer than 20) against any of the teams in their half of the region.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
by Kevin Meacham on Mar 15, 2010 7:46 PM EDT up reply actions
By the way, I can't believe I blanked on Southern in the "potential first-round game" pool
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
by Kevin Meacham on Mar 15, 2010 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions
For those of you with no interest in the women's game
You’ll be heartened to note that Syracuse was snubbed from the tournament despite a 22-10 record (they were 14-0 in the non-conference schedule, too.)
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
Hey, it's Ray Allen (the actor)!
He’s a big fan of Maya Moore. And then ESPN kinda cuts him off for a commercial break.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
they recycled the clip
from the special where they interviewed the likes of ray ray and bron bron
"...Don't talk black to me. How do you even talk black? End words with izzle..." Modern Family
by kemba walker is my hero... on Mar 15, 2010 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions
agreed
"...Don't talk black to me. How do you even talk black? End words with izzle..." Modern Family
by kemba walker is my hero... on Mar 15, 2010 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I think your poll is broken cause....wait a minute....
OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH.
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
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