The Sports Sizzle
Women's Basketball Madness: Guaranteed Final Four Match-ups
Katie Simons
Issue date: 3/20/07 Section: Sports
Men's basketball has parity. There is always going to be a George Mason team that makes it farther than they are supposed to, crazy upsets and buzzer beaters to get your juices flowing. Now the women's tournament may not have those upsets and most of the time the higher seeds win. But I will let you in on a little secret: I guarantee that the top teams in women's basketball will ultimately match up in the Elite Eight and the Final Four, making for some great college basketball. So here are a few things you should know about the women's tournament:
16's can beat 1's
It's never happened in the men's tournament and I doubt it will ever happen. But in the women's game it has happened once before. In 1998, Harvard upset Stanford, so if you're looking for a big time upset, switch the channel.
There are upsets!
The men's tournament always seems to have 12-5 upsets or 11-6, but, guess what, in the first round this year, we had two upsets in two days! The women's tournament already had three as 10th seeded Florida State, 11th seeded West Virginia, and a big time upset as #13 Marist took down regular season Big Ten Champions Ohio State. The women's tournament has premiere Elite Eight and Final Four games and upsets. Whoever said parity doesn't exist in the women's game was wrong.
The Dayton bracket is loaded
Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Middle Tennessee State. Enough said. Candace Parker, Courtney Paris, Jessica Davenport and Ashley Langhorne. Talented teams, talented players, it's anyone's game. Oklahoma may surprise some people because Courtney Paris may be the best inside player in the country. Tennessee played the toughest schedule all year so they are battle tested and ready to go. I've said enough about Maryland. Ohio State won the Big Ten and Middle Tennessee State has the longest winning streak in the nation now at 27.
Except ACC Domination:
Defending champion Maryland comes in as a two seed but that doesn't take anything away from their talent. They return 94 percent of their scoring from last year and are a deep team that is young and talented. The return of all five starters, kind of like Florida, means they actually have a shot at repeating. Duke almost went undefeated and no one really challenged them, except North Carolina. They have an inside game with 6'8" Alison Bales who is a shot blocking machine. Lindsey Harding is a complete player who will put the lock down on the defense and, not to mention, will show up in big games. Colorado Native Abby Waner can knock down the shot from long range and leads Duke in steals with her phenomenal ability to anticipate. North Carolina is led by their fiery point guard Ivory Latta, who, some say, is the best player in women's college basketball. They are quick and get up and down the floor, making them difficult to guard.
Great Coaches
Let me just list them for you because I think that will make my point extremely clear: Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Gail Gostenkors, Kay Yow, Sylvia Hatchell, Andy Landers, Tara VanDerveer, Vivian Stringer, Sheri Cole, Brenda Freese. Freese is up and coming and, in just a few short years, has won herself a championship. Gostenkors is the best coach never to win the big one and Sheri Cole turned a non-existent Oklahoma program into a contender. Kay Yow battled cancer and is now back on the sideline as her North Carolina State team is making a late season charge. Auriemma and Summitt are two of the best ever. Andy Landers just coached his 1,000th career game. Sylvia Hatchell won the big one back in 1994 and she has the talent to do it again. VanDerveer knows how to win. Vivian Stringer is a coaching legend who has been around for years. I could write a book, so why don't you Google them.
My Predictions
Final Four: Duke will be there no doubt, I swear it is their destiny. Great defense wins championships. North Carolina: because they get up and down the floor for all 40 minutes and I don't think anyone can keep up. In the Dayton bracket, it's a toss up between Maryland and Tennessee, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Oklahoma. Great post players are hard to find and 59 straight doubles-doubles is a phenomenal feat, just try and stop Courtney Paris. Finally, I like Stanford, a talented team that is often overlooked by the ACC and SEC teams.
National Championship: Duke vs. UNC; Duke get's over the hump and wins it all on the shoulders of seniors Lindsay Harding and Alison Bales.
16's can beat 1's
It's never happened in the men's tournament and I doubt it will ever happen. But in the women's game it has happened once before. In 1998, Harvard upset Stanford, so if you're looking for a big time upset, switch the channel.
There are upsets!
The men's tournament always seems to have 12-5 upsets or 11-6, but, guess what, in the first round this year, we had two upsets in two days! The women's tournament already had three as 10th seeded Florida State, 11th seeded West Virginia, and a big time upset as #13 Marist took down regular season Big Ten Champions Ohio State. The women's tournament has premiere Elite Eight and Final Four games and upsets. Whoever said parity doesn't exist in the women's game was wrong.
The Dayton bracket is loaded
Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Middle Tennessee State. Enough said. Candace Parker, Courtney Paris, Jessica Davenport and Ashley Langhorne. Talented teams, talented players, it's anyone's game. Oklahoma may surprise some people because Courtney Paris may be the best inside player in the country. Tennessee played the toughest schedule all year so they are battle tested and ready to go. I've said enough about Maryland. Ohio State won the Big Ten and Middle Tennessee State has the longest winning streak in the nation now at 27.
Except ACC Domination:
Defending champion Maryland comes in as a two seed but that doesn't take anything away from their talent. They return 94 percent of their scoring from last year and are a deep team that is young and talented. The return of all five starters, kind of like Florida, means they actually have a shot at repeating. Duke almost went undefeated and no one really challenged them, except North Carolina. They have an inside game with 6'8" Alison Bales who is a shot blocking machine. Lindsey Harding is a complete player who will put the lock down on the defense and, not to mention, will show up in big games. Colorado Native Abby Waner can knock down the shot from long range and leads Duke in steals with her phenomenal ability to anticipate. North Carolina is led by their fiery point guard Ivory Latta, who, some say, is the best player in women's college basketball. They are quick and get up and down the floor, making them difficult to guard.
Great Coaches
Let me just list them for you because I think that will make my point extremely clear: Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Gail Gostenkors, Kay Yow, Sylvia Hatchell, Andy Landers, Tara VanDerveer, Vivian Stringer, Sheri Cole, Brenda Freese. Freese is up and coming and, in just a few short years, has won herself a championship. Gostenkors is the best coach never to win the big one and Sheri Cole turned a non-existent Oklahoma program into a contender. Kay Yow battled cancer and is now back on the sideline as her North Carolina State team is making a late season charge. Auriemma and Summitt are two of the best ever. Andy Landers just coached his 1,000th career game. Sylvia Hatchell won the big one back in 1994 and she has the talent to do it again. VanDerveer knows how to win. Vivian Stringer is a coaching legend who has been around for years. I could write a book, so why don't you Google them.
My Predictions
Final Four: Duke will be there no doubt, I swear it is their destiny. Great defense wins championships. North Carolina: because they get up and down the floor for all 40 minutes and I don't think anyone can keep up. In the Dayton bracket, it's a toss up between Maryland and Tennessee, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Oklahoma. Great post players are hard to find and 59 straight doubles-doubles is a phenomenal feat, just try and stop Courtney Paris. Finally, I like Stanford, a talented team that is often overlooked by the ACC and SEC teams.
National Championship: Duke vs. UNC; Duke get's over the hump and wins it all on the shoulders of seniors Lindsay Harding and Alison Bales.
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