Where This is Going and Changes

Just added an RSS feed for WNBA news to the sidebar.

Other than that I’m not sure where this blog may be heading. Perhaps I’ll create a stand alone blog that is full of RSS feeds related to Woman’s Basketball.

Suggestions?

Top 25 – December 1, 2008

1. Connecticut – Last Week: 1
2. North Carolina – Last Week: 2
3. California – Last Week: 3
4. Stanford – Last Week: 5
5. Texas A&M – Last Week: 8
6. Oklahoma – Last Week: 4
7. Tennessee – Last Week: 9
8. Maryland – Last Week: 10
9. Texas – Last Week: 11
10. Baylor – Last Week: 6
11. Notre Dame – Last Week: 14
12. Duke – Last Week: 12
13. Louisville – Last Week: 7
14. Auburn – Last Week: 15
15. Rutgers – Last Week: 13
16. Vanderbilt – Last Week: 17
17. Purdue – Last Week: 19
18. Ohio St. – Last Week: 20
19. Oklahoma St. – Last Week: 18
20. Virginia – Last Week: 16
21. Michigan St. – Last Week: 24
22. TCU – Last Week: 22
23. Xavier – Last Week: 25
24. Pittsburgh – Last Week: NR
25. Arizona St. – Last Week: 21

Old Dominion and Iowa St. dropped out of the Top 25.

This Is a Hellava Team

The Associated Press’ 2008-09 preseason women’s All-America basketball team is determined by the votes of a 45-member national media panel. Here is theie team, and you have to admit it would make a hellava team.

Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 6-4, senior (Received votes form all 45 voters, only the 6th unanimous preseason All-American joining Holdsclaw, Taurasi, Beard, Augustus and Parker)
Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, sophomore
Angel McCoughtry, Louisville, 6-1, senior
Kristi Toliver, Maryland, 5-7, senior
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, 5-5, junior

Others receiving votes (in alphabetical order):
Jayne Appel, Stanford
DeWanna Bonner, Auburn
Tina Charles, Connecticut
Marissa Coleman, Maryland
Briann January, Arizona State
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State
Rashanda McCants, North Carolina
Renee Montgomery, Connecticut
Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers
Takia Starks, Texas A&M
Ashley Walker, California
Morgan Warburton, Utah
Monica Wright, Virginia
Shavonte Zellous, Pittsburgh.

2008-2009 Pre-Season Rankings

1 Connecticut (Big East)
2 Stanford (Pac 10)
3 Maryland (ACC)
4 Oklahoma (Big 12)
5 Rutgers (Big East)
6 North Carolina (ACC)
7 Tennessee (SEC)
8 Duke (ACC)
9 California (Pac 10)
10 Louisville (Big East)
11 Texas A&M (Big 12)
12 Vanderbilt (SEC)
13 Texas (Big 12)
14 Oklahoma St. (Big 12)
15 Virginia (ACC)
16 Notre Dame (Big East)
17 Arizona St. (Pac 10)
18 Ohio St. (Big 10)
19 Baylor (Big 12)
20 Auburn (SEC)
21 Florida St. (ACC)
22 Xavier (Atlantic 10)
22 Purdue (Big 10)
24 LSU (SEC)
25 Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic)

How the conferences fared:
ACC – 5 Teams
Atlantic 10 – 1 Team
Big East – 4 Teams
Big 10 – 2 Teams
Big 12 – 5 Teams
Colonial Athletic – 1 Team
Pac 10 – 3 Teams
SEC – 4 Teams

Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship

On April 8, 2008 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida the Tennessee Lady Vols won their second consecutive NCAA Women’s Division I Championship defeating the Stanford Cardinals. Tennessee reached the finals with a last second shot against LSU while Stanford won easily against the favorite UConn team.

The first Women’s tournament was played in 1982. In that tournament Louisiana Tech was the winner over Cheyney State. The team from Tennessee lead by Pat Summitt lost to Louisiana Tech in the semi-final game. Pat Summitt coached her first game at Tennessee in 1974 and has led a Tennessee team into every tournament. The 2008 game was their 13 championship game.

In the 27 year history of the tournament the only teams to have won more than one championship are; Louisiana Tech, Southern Cal and Stanford each with 2, UConn with 5 and Tennessee with a total of 8.

Louisiana State University (LSU) has appeared in each of the last five final fours. During that time they have advanced to the final set of games under four different coaches. They also have been unable to reach the championship game in any of those years.

From 1982, the first year of the tournament, until 1985, 32 teams played for the championship. The field was expanded to 40 for the 1986-1988 tournaments. There were 48 teams in 1989-1993 expanding to its current 64 teams format in 1994.

Seven times a lower-seeded team has won the championship, including three straight times from 2004 through 2006.

Originally posted on 6ThingsToConsider.com.

And Then There Were 16

The first two sets of games are over, and with very few exceptions the ’sweet 16′ is as expected. Now with the second weekend of games, we’ll see who’s going to step forward, have a good series of games and wind up as the Final 4 to go after the National Champion.

The Schedule for Saturday is:
New Orleans Regional:
Louisville against North Carolina
Oklahoma against LSU

Spokane Regional:
Vanderbilt against Maryland
Pittsburgh against Stanford

And on Sunday:
Oklahoma Regional:
Duke against Texas A&M
Notre Dame against Tennessee

Greensboro Regional:
Old Dominion against Connecticut
George Washington against Rutgers

And now for my prediction of the games.
Carolina will beat Louisville and will play LSU, who wins against Oklahoma. LSU will win a close game against Carolina in the regional final.

Maryland will defeat Vanderbilt and will also reach the final four when they play Pittsburgh.

Duke will beat Texas A&M and will play Tennessee, who wins against Norte Dame. Tennessee will win against Duke in the regional final.

UConn will defeat Old Dominion, but they will not reach the final four. They will lose for their second game to Rutgers. Rutgers gets to the regional final easily.

I’d Be Mad

I just watched the selection show and to put it mildly I’m a bit surprised and confused.

It just doesn’t make sense that UConn may have to play Rutgers to get to the final four.  But it may even be stranger that Carolina may have to play LSU on what can almost be considered their home floor.

If I would have to make a guess I would think that Maryland has the easiest path to the Final Four, and that’s even with them having to play Stanford, the team many think should have held the last top spot.

But let’s take a guess on the Final Four without really looking at the brackets.  I’d take Rutgers, LSU, Maryland and Tennessee as the four with Maryland and Tennessee in the Finals.

Top 20 Action – December 22

(20) Oklahoma State 107 – Central Arkansas 36

(18) Ohio State 86 – Nebraska 74

(11) Baylor 81 – St. Johns 58

Top 20 Action – December 21

(17) Notre Dame 67 – IUPOI 44

(14) Duke 92 – Bucknell 49

(12) California  74 – Kansas 41

(2) Connecticut 85 – San Diego State 53

Top 20 Action – December 20

(19) Texas 62 – (22) Arizona State 51

(15) DePaul 102 – Northwestern 64

George Washington 66 – (10) Texas A&M 65 (In OT)

(9) Oklahoma 121 – Central Arkansas 48

(4) Maryland 71 – James Madison 65

(3) UNC 93 – Western Kentucky 60