TV Alert

Don’t miss today’s WNIT final on CBS College Sports at 3pm EST.

A little pregame news:

From the LA Times: Women’s basketball: USC preparing to play Toledo for WNIT title

USC (24-12) will attempt to win its fifth consecutive road game. The Trojans, who opened the tournament at home against UC Santa Barbara, advanced to the final with victories at Nevada, Brigham Young, Colorado and Illinois State.

A little local coverage from the Blade:

Trojan defense poses difficulty for Rockets

How they got there: Rockets’ WNIT run

From Toledo on the Move:

Excitement builds around UT Rockets

A lot of eyes on Toledo, more specifically the University of Toledo lady Rockets who are one step away to  winning the WNIT tournament.  This is the first time in the schools history that the Rockets have advanced to the championship game.  On Saturday, the Rockets host USC at home and the winner takes the title.

If the lady rockets can pull off another win, it will be their first postseason tournament crown.  UT administrators say this bodes well for more than just UT athletics.

You want tickets for the game? Sorry – Sold OUT!

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Footing regained and lost

#3 Baylor, #6 Xavier and #19 Georgetown got wins (though the Hoyas struggled a tad). But the Blue Demons got eaten up at the YUM Center by Louisville. The Cardinals have knocked off five ranked teams this season.

DePaul had company in the upset department: Colorado used 24 points from Brittany Spears to snap an 8-game losing streak against #15 Oklahoma, 73-68.

Over at Fanhouse, Milton Kent looks ahead to the tourney No. 1s.

With roughly three weeks remaining before the field for this year’s NCAA tournament is unveiled, it’s a pretty safe bet that, barring some catastrophe, one part of the women’s basketball committee’s work is largely done, even before the nine members get to Indianapolis.

That is to say, that we pretty much already know who the four No.1 seeds are, and can pretty safely assign them to their regions.

As for the other teams still in the “discussion:”

Toledo escaped with a one-point win over Eastern Michigan to go to 13-1 in the MAC West. Central Michigan (West) and Kent State (East) both got wins to take them to 10-4 in the conference.

It’s interesting at the top in the America East, especially since Binghamton beat BU. Now both teams sit at 11-4 in the conference. UMBC rules the roost, though, at 13-3. Oh, and don’t look now, but Hartford’s lurking at 10-4.

It’weren’t easy, but the Owls beat the Hawks to stay perfect in the A-10. On the horizon looms the clash with the Musketeers. (Feb. 27th, ESPNU, 4pm EST)

Navy’s defeat of American runs the Midshipmen’s record to 9-4 in the Patriot League. They’ve got a shot at the regular season conference title on Saturday.

With their 81-57 win over Air Force, Wyoming looks to run up on TCU and BYUs heels in the Mountain West. By the way, congrats to Dale Ann Meeker, who’s having her Powell High School jersey retired:

The first female athlete to receive a basketball scholarship at the University of Wyoming, Meeker played for the Pokes from 1975-1979. During her senior season, her team earned the Intermountain Conference championship, finishing with a school-record 25 wins and seven losses. That season would stand as the best in school history until surpassed by the 2006-2007 NIT team.

In high school, Meeker was part of the first-ever girls’ basketball team at Powell High School as a freshman. As a junior, she brought home a mythical state title — mythical because Wyoming did not hold an official state championship tournament for girls — while serving as the team captain. One year later, she repeated the feat, again as team captain.

 

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Honestly,

if GW coach Mike Bozeman ‘s seat isn’t red hot, someone needs to slap their AD Jack Kvancz upside the head: Temple Owls hand GW program-worst loss

That being said, the last regular season game between Temple and Xavier (both currently undefeated in the A-10) looks to be very interesting. I bet the Owls are glad it’s in Philly.

Oh, and a hearty “THANK YOU” to whoever manages the Temple website and clearly breaks down their current record. I hate counting Ws and Ls.

Yup, Miami is toasty: At No. 13, ‘Canes have highest ranking in 19 years

Coach Tricia Binford’s Montana State Bobcats have won 13 straight games at home and are still in contention for the league championship.

From Jim Massie: Late-season push critical for Buckeyes

Zach Silka writes, The self-described “win ugly” team at the University of Toledo has transformed into the “make its opponent look ugly” team.

From Rob Moseley from the Register-Guard, Lost in transition: 2010-11 season has been tough for Westhead’s women’s team

By now, two years into its new era, the Oregon women’s basketball team under offensive-oriented coach Paul Westhead was supposed to be playing a razzle-dazzle style that would achieve the dual purpose of entrenching the Ducks in the top half of the Pac-10 while entrenching thousands of butts in the seats of a grand new arena.

That was the best-case scenario, anyway. Three quarters of the way through the 2010-11 season, the UO women, while 14th nationally in scoring with 78.8 points per game, are enduring a tough stretch. And some fans are starting to wonder about the efficacy of hiring the legendary coach — on top of those fans who have long questioned a process they believe stunk just a bit of cronyism in the first place.

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