There seems to be a lot of parity as UCONN and Tenn are not even in the top 25. La Tech who is usually always ranked in the Top 25 is not in it but they are missing a top scorer.

I have seen LSU, Stanford, and Duke play and those teams are really good and have what it takes to win it all. Should be a very interesting season. I like LSU right now.

Err...yes, they are. UConn is ranked #8 in both AP and ESPN's poll, Tennessee is #9 in AP, #10 in ESPN.

It does seem, and I hoped and I assume most others hoped, that in spite of UC and TN dominance in recent years, the women's game was becoming akin to the men's in terms of parity- there are more good players and they are seeking to make their own niche as opposed to using major programs to be noticed.

I agree with you both especially Chip. I look at some of the other schools and they ladies are becoming superstars at other schools and is showing that he can be done at schools besides UT and Conn.

Well, there are a lot more teams that are being competitive. This week, the Top 14 didn't change, since nobody lost. Next week, though, UConn (ranked 8) hosts Michigan State (ranked 11) -- should be a great one, and will say a lot about both teams...

#2 Stanford takes on the Lady Vols tonight in Knoxville. According to my lesbian supervisor at the office, this will be the first true test for Stanford. No matter how you look at it, it should be a great game (at least I hope so).

It was a great game..I followed it by gametracker and Stanford tied the game at 67 on a 3pt with 5 seconds to go..then at the buzzer Shanna Zolman won it for Tennessee with a 3 pt. it was a holiday for the nite on espn's sportscenter..awesome deal..

WOW -- Tennessee and UConn get !@#$%slapped on the SAME NIGHT -- when was the last time THAT happened. Tennessee just got waxed by Rutgers (got 16 points in the first half -- my guess is that Pat Summitt is letting her team hear it right now), and UConn lost at Storrs to Michigan State by 16. You can't really call it THAT much of an upset, since the Spartans (#10) are ranked above UConn (#11), but still, a good win for Michigan State.

Rutgers just pulled off another upset yesterday, beating #3 Texas 51-47. This one came on the road too, breaking a 41 game winning streak for Texas on its home court. I'm interested to see where they'll re-enter the Coaches' Poll next week.

Just goes to show you that any team that underestimates a Vivian Stringer coached team is a lunk-head.

I'm glad we are finally getting to conference play, as I'm ready to see Pat and Company win another SEC title and move on to another Women's Final Three and Tennessee!

I wish she had never left Iowa!

..speaking of Iowa, they sort of got 'jacked' in today's AP poll. They remained at #18, even though they are still undefeated at won their first two Big 10 games. :mad:

Lady Vols down to #10, but they've won the title with 10 losses in a season, so I'm not worried!

Wow -- Rutgers does it again -- takes out #1 LSU. That's three top 10 teams in a little over a week. Good thing UConn's not playing them right now, on the skids as they are. Another good top 10 game tomorrow night -- #6 Michigan State travels to #9 Ohio State. Go Spartans

if rutgers doesn't do something like go out and lose to rider, it will be interesting to see how the pollsters handle them next week.

it seems they have only begrudgingly moved rutgers up the polls, and only after a major win. well, they've just put together three major wins, including one against the unanimous number 1 team. if there is any justice, or even any sanity among the poll voters, rutgers will get more than a couple first place votes.

viva la vivian!

I am so glad to see Rutgers doing well..Stringer is one of the best coaches out there and she gets the ladies to work hard. Maybe this is the year for Rutgers to get back to the NCAA tournament and do some serious damage.

Rutgers freshman Carson and Aavajon has been outstanding and all american point guard Cappie Pointdexter is back too...

I'm off to the Hartford Civic Center to see the UConn Women take on the Rutgers Scarlett Knights. Though Rutgers has the, slightly, better record, they're both 6-1 in the Big East. Both teams are hungry for this win. This will prove to be a very exciting game.

Rutgers didn't do well once again vs UCONN..but maybe when the two meet again in NJ..Rutgers just seems to never be able to get over the hump against UCONN>>

Awesome game between TCU and Depaul yesterday. This game went back-and-forth, but I always had the feeling that the ranked team (#15 Depaul) would pull it out, which they did in overtime. Incidentally, TCU's head coach is very hot. Just an observation amongst the good play on the court wink .

Huge win for Michigan State against number 3 ranked Ohio State!! That should move the Lady Spartans up in the national rankings! Watch out LSU!

I'm not a huge fan of MSU ... HUGE Michigan fan here ... but I have lots of love for the Lady Spartans tonight. A HUGE win for the gals in East Lansing and if Penn State wins in Columbus next week, the Spartans will clinch a tie for regular season Big 10 title. GO STATE! (Note: This will be the ONLY time that I EVER say that on the board.)

Nick

[ February 20, 2005, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

You are a bigger person than I am!!

Ohio State loses in OT to Minnesota, and Michigan State is up at half over Penn State thanks to a desperate 3 pointer at the buzzer...

It's going to be a great game between Minnesota vs Michigan St. I know people thought with the lost of Lindsay Whalen that Minnesota would fall off but they didn't. They are a legit team that is playing very well.

why in the hell is Stanford a number 2 seed?

Too bad our Lady Zags got totally snubeed this year. Coach Mark Few of the mens Zags is pissed, bigtime. He is not alone. They had a great year. Oh well.... frown

Well, at least the Lady Ducks made the tourney as a #10 seed. Their first game is on Saturday in Seattle against TCU. I am also surprised that Stanford, the #1 ranked team, is a #2 seed. It looks like the women's field is wide open this year with no clear favorite. Should be fun and unpredictable.

Both Stanford and Gonzaga got shafted. It is outrageous that Stanford did not get a #1 seed. They have the #1 ranking in the country, won 20 consecutive games, were 5-1 vs. top 25 teams. Their two losses were close, while their wins were by an average of 20 points. I do think it's a case of East bias. As Tara VanderVeer said, most of those decided never saw them play. Pac-10 is allegedly a weak conference, but 5 of the teams are in the NCAA, which does not sound weak to me. They only got the #6 seed overall.
But at least they are in and can use the disrespect as motivator. Gonzaga had their best year ever with 23 wins, but losing the tournament to Santa Clara cost them a seat at the dance. Too bad when you consider the number of 18-16 or somesuch teams that do get in.
It is a wide open field.
What does feel good, though is that while the Baylor men were mired in murder and witness tampering, the women were quietly building a strong program that has a definite chance at making the final four.

They did though didn't they. Thanks!

The chair of the tournament committee was asked about both Baylor and about Stanford. She said that in looking at the numbers, there was virtually nothing that separated Michigan State, North Carolina, Baylor, and Stanford -- their records against the top 25 and all. Kim Mulkey-Robertson admitted that when they interviewed her yesterday.

They had to look for ONE key component that separated the four. And that ONE thing was that Baylor and Stanford both have a loss outside the top 50. That was the ONLY thing separating the four teams. Everything else was almost exactly identical. MSU's three losses were all to top 50 teams -- two on the road, one on a neutral court. They have wins at Minnesota, UConn, and Notre Dame, as well as home wins over Ohio State, Minnesota, and Boston College -- all tournament teams. They tied for their conference title and won their conference tournament. Carolina won the ACC and the ACC tournament and has three wins over Duke. Stanford's and Baylor's ONE bad loss, as unfair as it sounds, was the only thing that separated them from the other two. The price of parity -- that something so small could be the difference between a 1 seed and a 2.

Who's going to the 1st & 2nd Rounds? I'm going to the games in Dallas to cheer on the Texas Longhorns and some other Texas teams in that pod.

Texas plays Oral Roberts.

If Texas is playing Oral Roberts I sure hope you're rooting for Texas!
Unfortunately the nearest venue to me is Fresno, which is several hours away. I went to the Final Four in San Jose several years ago (when Purdue won). I did not have ties with any of the 4 schools but still it was worth going to.

Our own Ms. de Blazer wrote a great recap of the first two days of the tourney. Check it out.

Ms. de Blazer - thanks for the recap! Was anyone else here happy to see Penn State lose? If I despise one person, it is Rene Portland! Her teams have been lingering around the top 15 or so for years without ever getting to the top, and I hope that will remain her legacy!

I certainly wasn't, but the Lady Lions definitely didn't play like they wanted to win it. Liberty's 6'8" center changed their ability to drive the lane and get aggressive lay-ups. Though it pains me to say this, Rene was outcoached again. She gets the team so tight at tournament time. It just seems like they can’t play well anywhere except the Jordan Center. Liberty was ready for the PSU press and half-court trap.

But "despise" Rene Portland? That's pretty strong.

Both Rene and the Lady Lions have been great role models for my two young nieces (6 and 9), always taking time out for autographs and photos at games.

It's true that Rene doesn't have a strong record in the post season, but Di, you don't have to worry, Rene's legacy at Penn State is secure, and is much deeper than her NCAA record. As she likes to tell you, she is the only coach Joe Paterno hired when he was athletic director. When Rene came on board, they played in the small gym on campus and traveled in a bus. Now, it's the (often sold out) 15,000 seat Jordan Center and a charter jet. The Lady Lions have a fan base and a record that the Penn State men could only dream of.

But maybe I'm just looking at things through my Blue and White tinted glasses.

[ March 21, 2005, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: PennState4Ever ]

Doesn't she have some history of bias regarding lesbians? Any time I hear her name I think of that. If that is true, then that's not much of a role model.

Edit to add: the review of the women's tournament has this: "Penn State coach Rene Portland insists that her program has never had any lesbians and never will."

[ March 21, 2005, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

I mentioned that in the Pat Summitt thread, in response to GJ's reference to gay baiting in women's college sports. Several years ago, it was reported that Rene said she wouldn't tolerate lesbian behavior on her squad (or words to that effect -- if I'm wrong, please correct me). At the same time, Rene has been a strong voice for women's sports. Several years ago she really went after Penn State in the media when the women lost home court advantage in the NCAAs so that the men could have it for the NIT.

I guess what I was referring to is that through my sister, who is an great Lady Lion fan and follows the team religiously, my nieces have learned the sport, enjoy following a team, are learing to play the game, and learning all those lessons that come along with involvement in sports. And, when they travel from Pittsburgh to State College for a game, they see those things played out on the floor....they see a gracious team and coach appreciative of their fans. Importantly, though, my nieces see that if their interests are outside the dance classes, etc, that sports is an avenue just as open to girls, as it is to boys.

Sorry PennState4Ever, but yes, I despise her, my feelings go back to my college playing days, my team was in the same conference as Penn State. Perhaps she is nice off the court, except for her obvious dislike of lesbian players, but on the court, she comes across as a cocky, stuck-up snob!

But everybody has different experiences with and about people, and we all come to different impressions about those people. But yes, your blue and white tinted glasses could be skewing your opinion in her favor

My boss before my current one named his dog Nittany - use to make me gag when I would hear him call her wink

I can see where she comes across that way -- she definitely can stomp a pump courtside with the best of 'em!

I may have a Penn State tattoo...but naming your dog Nittany is just over the top!

Snicker: "maybe she could use one or two."

Great job, Ms. deB.

Unless your nieces grow up to be lesbians and can't play at their preferred college because the coach is openly homophobic.

Yes. That was a fine line. The only reason I didn't include it when I quoted is because it didn't fit the context of what I was saying.

Then your sister is the true role model, and good for her.

And that's the best line I've heard all day. Thanks, JIP! (Although the "needing one or two" line made me laugh out loud!)

Michigan State pulls out a SQUEAKER against USC to make it into the Sweet 16! (Both Spartan Men's and Women's teams have made it!). USC's defense gave the Spartans fits all game, but State pulled it out in the closing seconds. GO GREEN!

GO GREEN...GO WHITE...GO GREEN.... LOL

That was an exciting game and you gotta love Lindsay Bowen stepping up at the end of the game like that.

I think if you look at Lady Spartans scores this year, they are not like UNC or DUke or Tennessee who blow their teams off the court. MSU plays a lot of close games, so this result did not surprise me in the least.

The Pac-10 continues to impress, with Arizona State knocking off Notre Dame and USC agonizingly close to knocking off #1 seeded Michigan. Is anyone still unimpressed by Stanford's 20 consecutive wins against PAC-10 opposition?

not that anyone probably cares but my Mountaineers are also 2-0 in the WNIT

and who do they get in the next round--Wake Forest

I just find it ironic that both the men's and the women's team end up playing Wake in the post-season

It was against Michigan STATE!

Whoops, sorry I left off the State (I really did know that, it's just a typo). Had it been against Michigan, it would hardly have been impressive.

I think there was some really bad coaching late game for both USC and Kansas State. However, I will be summing up the sweet 16 for this site and will elaborate on my thoughts then. (Is it unethical to plug my own coming article? Should I ask Tom DeLay?)
Sorry to see the Ducks get wiped out but they were an underdog #10 playing a very strong Baylor team so it's not surprising.

Jerry Falwell's Liberty University Lady Flames are "Cinderella" making the Sweet Sixteen as a #13 seed.