Whoopsies
1 MAAC ATTACK! Some folks were/are wondering where Quinnipiac is. (And SOME folks are wondering how to pronounce it.) But longtime readers have followed the growth of the program these last few years know the MAAC is no longer the Marist Red Foxes. The Bobcats (and the Rider Broncs) are solid programs. But, even knowing that, I’m betting most of us didn’t have the #12 Q over smokin’ hot #5 Marquette. I’m wondering if experience came into play… BUT, whatever happen in the minds and bodies of the players, the end result was Quinnipiac’s first NCAA tournament win in school history, 68-65.
“When we won the MAAC championship close to two weeks ago, I told my young ladies to enjoy the moment, because you never know,” said 22nd-year coach Tricia Fabbri. “We worked very hard to win that title. But I also said, don’t be satisfied. We weren’t finished yet. And then today we came down here to win a game and advance into Monday. It’s a goal that we started last year when we left for summer and we continued just to move forward with our mission. And here we are getting ready to play in the field of 32 come Monday night.”
So, what a story #9 Purdue is. Honestly, I had them pegged for toast earlier this season. Now they win their first tournament game, upsetting #8 Green Bay, 74-62.
Think about all the things you can do in six minutes and 57 seconds.
You can run a mile at a leisurely pace. You can microwave a Hot Pocket and eat it, too. You can listen to the vast majority of “Stairway to Heaven.”
Or, if you’re the Purdue women’s basketball team, you can defend. And defend. And hit a few shots, but mostly defend.
Heartbreaking/Heart stopping: #10 Oregon upsets #7 Temple, 71-70, courtesy of a last second shot by Ruthy Hebard, who then contested and Fitzgerald’s really last second shot. Warned ya Oregon was gonna be good.
Oregon’s three double-figure scorers — Hebard, Ionescu and McGwire — were all freshmen, and they combined to take 45 of the Ducks’ 67 shots. “I don’t think we consider ourselves freshmen anymore,” said Ionescu, the Pac-12’s freshman of the year. “We have to step up to the level of competition.”
I’m not sure I’m surprised. With something to prove, #9 Cal scored just enough to beat #8 LSU, 55-52, and put the Pac12 at 7-0.
Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s baby boy might not wait until his due date in May to be born if there are many more heart-racing finishes like this for California.
“More games like this, he could come any day,” Gottlieb said after the Golden Bears held on for [the] win
Wake ups
Former USC/Pepperdine-now-New Mexico State coach Mark Trakh is familiar with Stanford. He’s also had great success with the Aggie program. His team proved that the #15s should not be taken for granted. They led the Cardinal into the fourth, but they couldn’t hold on. Stanford emerged victorious, 72-64.
USC’s search committee has got to have their eye on coach Jody Wynn at Long Beach State. Yet another program that has been on the WHB radar these last couple of years, they sure got #2 Oregon State’s attention as the Beavers escaped with a one-point win over the #15 49ers, 56-55.
the 49ers, who have three players on their roster from the state of Oregon, were not intimidated playing a Pac-12 power on its home floor. Long Beach State had the right personnel to give OSU problems – an athletic team that presses full court.
Had the last shot gone down, it would have been a disappointing end for OSU senior guards Sydney Wiese and Gabby Hanson, and senior forward Kolbie Orum, who have been part of March Madness every year in their college careers.
“No matter when this team ends their season, it’s hard to do better than what they’ve done,” OSU coach Scott Rueck said. “I don’t think they’re going to be defined by this tournament.”
Talk about attention getters? Yet another program that’s been in the (WHB) news: #13 Belmont. They matched #4 Kentucky basket for basket in the first half, but fell 3 points short in the second. Wildcats escape Bruins, 73-70.
While libraries the world over might prove that history is indeed written by those who win, their stories are often worth telling only because of those who lose.
So let’s give the first words of this history not to No. 4 seed Kentucky or No. 5 Ohio State, the two teams that won NCAA tournament first-round games Friday in Memorial Coliseum. Let’s start instead with No. 13 Belmont’s Darby Maggard, a sophomore generously listed at 5-foot-4 who had the ball in her hands with a chance to tie the score against Kentucky in the final seconds of regulation.
#12 Western Kentucky kept within arms length of #5 Ohio State, but could never quite grab the Buckeye’s jersey. Hilltoppers fell, 70-63.
I wouldn’t say #11 South Florida was mis-seeded – they’ve had too weird a season to get an accurate bead on them. BUT, they can be feisty as heck, as #6 Missouri found out. Tigers survive on Sierra Michaelis’s put back, 66-64.
Gotta love those – in-state matchups… and what’s a tourney without a little officiating controversy? Miami withstood Florida Gulf’s second half barrage of three’s to advance with a 62-60 win. Was that shoulder/clear out by Hayes a charge or a flop? But wait – I thought you said you wanted the PLAYERS to decide the game….
#12 Penn just straight up ran out of gas in the fourth, or they would have sent #5 Texas A&M packing. Instead, the Aggies roar back with (a record) 28 in the final frame to dispatch the Ivy League upstart, 63-61.
“That’s the biggest comeback I’ve ever been a part of,” said Aggies veteran coach Gary Blair. “The game is never over at A&M until we decide it’s over.”
Walkovers: No disrespect to the competition, but they were sorely overmatched:
#1 Baylor over Texas Southern, 89.
#2 Duke over #15 Hampton, 63 (but waiting on sophomore point guard Kyra Lambert’s injury).
#2 Mississippi State over #15 Troy, 41.
#3 Maryland over #14 Bucknell, 42.
#1 South Carolina over #16 UNC Asheville, 50.
#1 Notre Dame over #16 Robert Morris, 30.
#3 Texas over #14 Central Arkansas, 28.
#3 Washington over #14 Montana State, 28.
#4 UCLA over #13 Boise State, 27.
#7 Creighton over #10 Toledo, 27.
#7 DePaul over Northern Illinois, 21.
#8 Syracuse over #9 Iowa State, 20.
#4 Louisville over #13 Chattanooga, 20.
#3 Florida State over #14 Western Illinois, 19.
#6 NC State over #11 Auburn, 14.
More like don’t trip, take a breath and step-over…
No surprise, it wasn’t a breeze for #6 West Virginia, as coach Smith has built a program to watch out for. Mountaineers pull away from #11 Elon, 13.
#7 Kansas State over #10 Drake, 13.
#6 Oklahoma over #11 Gonzaga, 13.
#8 Arizona State had #9 Michigan State right where they wanted them, then let them score 26 in the fourth. Still won by 12.
#5 Tennessee over #12 Dayton, 9.
Tasty Treats on Tap Sunday:
#5 Ohio State v. #4 Kentucky, 12:05, ESPN2
Linnae Harper all business in facing her former team
Ohio State Preparing For Second Round Matchup Against Kentucky
Fourth-Seeded Kentucky Faces Fifth-Seeded Ohio State Sunday
Ohio State’s Harper braces for challenge of facing former Kentucky teammates
Kentucky, Ohio St. to test mettle to gain Sweet 16 berth (Mar 17, 2017)
Kentucky and Ohio State prepare for first-time NCAA matchup
#6 West Virginia v. #3 Maryland, 2:35, ESPN2
Maryland women’s basketball is at same spot as last year’s NCAA tournament disappointment
#3 Maryland Hosts WVU in NCAA Second Round
Stopping Brionna Jones the challenge Maryland throws at West Virginia in NCAA second round
Maryland women’s basketball vs. West Virginia preview
#7 DePaul v. #2 Mississippi State, 2:35 ESPN2
Mississippi State looks to maintain edge against DePaul
MSU looks for second straight Sweet 16 berth today
Mississippi St hosts upset-minded DePaul in NCAA 2nd round
DePaul Faces Big Challenge on Sunday
LocaJac
#6 NC State v #3 Texas, 2:40, ESPN2
Texas women’s basketball faces No. 6-seeded North Carolina State
Road-tested Wolfpack eyeing upset over host Texas
#8 Arizona State v. #1 South Carolina, 7:05, ESPN
Sun Devils pose problems in paint for Gamecocks
South Carolina, Arizona St. aren’t same women’s teams as before NCAAs
ASU women’s basketball hopes to handle environment vs. South Carolina
#6 Missouri v. #3 Florida State, 7:10, ESPN2
Missouri women seeking another milestone vs. Florida State
Florida State, Missouri square off in next round
#9 Purdue v. #1 Notre Dame, 9:05, ESPN
Purdue’s Harris earns teammates trust
Purdue Women’s Basketball: Boilers NCAA second round tipoff set
Time to resume Purdue-Notre Dame series
WBB Ready to Face No. 2 Notre Dame
Irish Host Pajama Party at Purcell Pavilion vs. Purdue
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw miffed over late tipoff time
Scouting Purdue women at Notre Dame
Scouting report: Creighton women vs. Oregon State
Some Writing:
In the NY Times: Jere’ is back! UConn Women Enter Tourney With 107 Consecutive Wins, But … and so is Howard Forget the Seeding. Maryland Feels It Can Beat Anybody, Including UConn.
From the Players Tribune: Holly Warlick, The Voice in My Head
The coaching dynamic between us — head coach and assistant — wasn’t all that different from the dynamic between us when I was a player and she was my coach. As a player, Pat pushed me a harder than others because she knew I could take it. She would give me the hardest defensive assignments, or yell at me a little louder than she would at everybody else. When I became her assistant, she kept challenging me. Our basketball philosophy was the same — how could it not be? But she knew when, how and just how far to push to me.
She called me Warlick. I called her Summitt.
Eventually, through all the time we spent together, especially traveling to road games or going on recruiting trips, that dynamic shifted to something more like friendship. Everyone knows about Pat’s icy stare and tough persona, but she was also a loving matriarch with a quick wit. She was someone you always wanted to be around because you never knew what was going to come out of her mouth or happen next.
Like, say, accidentally ending up in a strip club.