With about a month to go till the tournament, thought we should get this going ...
Great game going on right now between USC and UCLA.
Juju Watkins has been ridiculous so far, with 25 points at the half. USC up 38-35. #1 UCLA is nation's last unbeaten team.
Sorry to miss this one - see that UCLA suffered their first loss of the season in this one.
JuJu is awesome. She might be better than Clark by the end of her college career.
Quote from: wadesworld on February 14, 2025, 10:01:43 AMJuJu is awesome. She might be better than Clark by the end of her college career.
Agree. She obviously has a different game - more power, more of a slasher, better defensively, less crafty scorer, not quite as gifted a passer, etc - but she's a hell of a player.
I doubt she plays 4 years of college ball, though. In fact, it's pretty silly that current rules won't let her go to the WNBA after this season ... though maybe she'll make more at USC than she would in the WNBA.
Finished last night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks and 5 assists. She was the only USC to make a basket in the second and third quarters. At least half of her blocks were against UCLA's 6-7 All-American center Lauren Betts. Incredible stuff.
Quote from: MU82 on February 14, 2025, 10:53:56 AMAgree. She obviously has a different game - more power, more of a slasher, better defensively, less crafty scorer, not quite as gifted a passer, etc - but she's a hell of a player.
I doubt she plays 4 years of college ball, though. In fact, it's pretty silly that current rules won't let her go to the WNBA after this season ... though maybe she'll make more at USC than she would in the WNBA.
Finished last night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks and 5 assists. She was the only USC to make a basket in the second and third quarters. At least half of her blocks were against UCLA's 6-7 All-American center Lauren Betts. Incredible stuff.
CC is like Steph Curry, Juju is like a young Carmelo.
I think in a more apples to apples comparison, JuJu has a similar game to Rhyne Howard. I think she's gonna be great but I still probably take Bueckers if I had to draft one after this year, cause I think her game translates better like Clark's did...unless JuJu develops a reliable 3 ball, which she doesn't have.
Quote from: JWags85 on February 14, 2025, 09:19:54 PMCC is like Steph Curry, Juju is like a young Carmelo.
I think in a more apples to apples comparison, JuJu has a similar game to Rhyne Howard. I think she's gonna be great but I still probably take Bueckers if I had to draft one after this year, cause I think her game translates better like Clark's did...unless JuJu develops a reliable 3 ball, which she doesn't have.
JuJu couldn't miss from 3 in the first half, but then she couldn't buy one in the second half. She made up for her shot not falling with several head-turning plays at both ends of the court.
I think she'll do well in the WNBA. Better than Bueckers? We'll see ... but not for a while.
UConn is waxing South Carolina
Quote from: Uncle Rico on February 16, 2025, 01:27:44 PMUConn is waxing South Carolina
If South Carolina had a good coach, that never would have happened.
Wow - South Carolina had a 71 game home winning streak coming into this game. UCONN sure dominated in this one - wasn't expecting it - nice win for them.
On another UCONN note, I totally missed until the other day that their super frosh Sarah Strong is the daughter of Allison Feaster who played at Harvard and led them to a big 16-1 upset over Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and also had a long WNBA career.
USC gets the season sweep over UCLA last night with an 80-67 win and they win the Big Ten title. JuJu Watkins had 23 points in the first half and finishes with 30 points in the game. UCLA moves to 27-2 on the season with their only losses coming to USC.
Fun to see Cheryl Miller with her USC gear on (won two national championships there) sitting next to brother Reggie Miller of course representing UCLA with a Lauren Betts jersey on.
I'm enjoying watching the third match-up of the season between USC and UCLA.
It's being reported that Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley has resigned - https://www.on3.com/her/news/wisconsin-head-womens-basketball-coach-marisa-moseley-resigns/
Hope they can hire a coach who is willing to play Marquette :). Ok - I know that's not a priority for them at all but I really miss the rivalry game even if the UW program has struggled for ages. It will be interesting to me to see who they hire.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 09, 2025, 06:50:33 PMIt's being reported that Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley has resigned - https://www.on3.com/her/news/wisconsin-head-womens-basketball-coach-marisa-moseley-resigns/
Hope they can hire a coach who is willing to play Marquette :). Ok - I know that's not a priority for them at all but I really miss the rivalry game even if the UW program has struggled for ages. It will be interesting to me to see who they hire.
Greg Gard could always get it done for them, too!
Quote from: MU82 on March 09, 2025, 07:12:37 PMGreg Gard could always get it done for them, too!
Certainly has experience coaching girls
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 09, 2025, 05:19:01 PMI'm enjoying watching the third match-up of the season between USC and UCLA.
Took my MIL to the game yesterday. Nothing like two California schools playing a conference title game in Indiana. Juju gets ridiculous star treatment from the officials that even neutral fans were groaning, but UCLA shut her down in the second half until it was too late for USC. She's no Caitlin Clark. Really good halftime adjustments by Cori Close. Betts with 11 points in the second half was the difference. USC had 20 offensive rebounds, 26 more shots, but only made one more field goal that UCLA.
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on March 10, 2025, 09:08:07 AMTook my MIL to the game yesterday. Nothing like two California schools playing a conference title game in Indiana. Juju gets ridiculous star treatment from the officials that even neutral fans were groaning, but UCLA shut her down in the second half until it was too late for USC. She's no Caitlin Clark. Really good halftime adjustments by Cori Close. Betts with 11 points in the second half was the difference. USC had 20 offensive rebounds, 26 more shots, but only made one more field goal that UCLA.
Spoken like true Caitlin Clark stan, lol
Quote from: MUstarman on March 10, 2025, 01:17:37 PMSpoken like true Caitlin Clark stan, lol
sorry that I wasn't impressed with her 9 for 28 shooting performance (2-8 from three), which included multiple airballs and only 6 points in the second half when UCLA was chipping away at a 13 point lead until scoring five with 15 seconds left, as well as her two assists on the day.
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on March 10, 2025, 02:24:32 PMsorry that I wasn't impressed with her 9 for 28 shooting performance (2-8 from three), which included multiple airballs and only 6 points in the second half when UCLA was chipping away at a 13 point lead until scoring five with 15 seconds left, as well as her two assists on the day.
You'd have been plenty impressed with her had you seen the two regular-season USC-UCLA games.
Even great players aren't great every single game. Caitlin isn't. Neither is LeBron, for that matter.
After ratings for the women's tournament beat the men's tournament for the first time ever (and did so handily), it will be interesting to see the numbers this year now that Caitlin Clark has moved on to the WNBA.
So far this season, the women's game has done A-OK on ESPN, where viewership is up 3 percent from last season, according to The Sports Business Journal.
More than 1M tuned in to see UCLA beat USC in the B18G title game last Sunday. That's really good compared to most recent years, but it's only 1/3 the audience of last year's game, which of course featured Iowa and Clark.
The women's tournament can have outstanding ratings but still not equal (or even be all that close to) last year's, which set what some might consider an unrealistic bar.
I saw in the New Haven Register this morning that UConn 's Final and semi-final wins in the women's Big East tournament were the highest rated women's games ever on Fox.
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on March 16, 2025, 04:58:38 PMI saw in the New Haven Register this morning that UConn 's Final and semi-final wins in the women's Big East tournament were the highest rated women's games ever on Fox.
That's interesting as those were blowouts but I can see UCONN being a big draw.
Agree. The teams I really like watching are UConn, USC and South Carolina. Glad I recently got a new TV because I'm gonna be watching a TON of hoops over the next 3 weeks!
Devastating to see JuJu Watkins suffer what appears to be a significant knee injury.
UPDATE: Just announced that her season is over. Damn.
Quote from: MU82 on March 25, 2025, 01:29:21 AMDevastating to see JuJu Watkins suffer what appears to be a significant knee injury.
UPDATE: Just announced that her season is over. Damn.
A frickin ACL injury - ugh!!!
Absolutely terrible to see Ju-Ju tear her ACL. Destroys the women's tournament pretty much.
Very sad for her and for the women's college basketball.
Now, for the snarky bit....
Maybe it is time to talk about the State Farm celebrity endorser jinx. Mahomes, Reid, and Kelce in the Super Bowl, now Juju?
Quote from: tower912 on March 25, 2025, 08:15:50 AMVery sad for her and for the women's college basketball.
Now, for the snarky bit....
Maybe it is time to talk about the State Farm celebrity endorser jinx. Mahomes, Reid, and Kelce in the Super Bowl, now Juju?
I dunno but I have a list of commercials that should be dismissed. Starting with the Capitol One ads. Get rid of the Trivago dude as well and the Homes.com people. Now the Hotels.com commercial with Marie Antionette is clever.
Quote from: MuggsyB on March 25, 2025, 08:22:07 AMI dunno but I have a list of commercials that should be dismissed. Starting with the Capitol One ads. Get rid of the Trivago dude as well and the Homes.com people. Now the Hotels.com commercial with Marie Antionette is clever.
And yet none of those commercials are as annoying as the Apple ad and the "sick burn, Caitlin" ads from last year's tourney.
Quote from: MuggsyB on March 25, 2025, 08:22:07 AMI dunno but I have a list of commercials that should be dismissed. Starting with the Capitol One ads. Get rid of the Trivago dude as well and the Homes.com people. Now the Hotels.com commercial with Marie Antionette is clever.
;D ;D ;D
Quote from: MuggsyB on March 25, 2025, 08:12:17 AMAbsolutely terrible to see Ju-Ju tear her ACL. Destroys the women's tournament pretty much.
Come on, man. It doesn't come close to "destroying" the women's tournament.
There are a number of championship-caliber teams, and lots of stars worth watching.
It probably does destroy what was gonna be an epic matchup, though, as USC and UConn were on a collision course to meet in the regional final with a Final Four spot on the line. USC might still get there, but it's hard to imagine them beating UConn without JuJu - they were gonna have enough trouble beating UConn even with her, as the Huskies are playing better than any team in the country.
Quote from: MU82 on March 25, 2025, 09:04:48 AMCome on, man. It doesn't come close to "destroying" the women's tournament.
There are a number of championship-caliber teams, and lots of stars worth watching.
It probably does destroy what was gonna be an epic matchup, though, as USC and UConn were on a collision course to meet in the regional final with a Final Four spot on the line. USC might still get there, but it's hard to imagine them beating UConn without JuJu - they were gonna have enough trouble beating UConn even with her, as the Huskies are playing better than any team in the country.
Fewer people will watch.
Quote from: MU82 on March 25, 2025, 09:04:48 AMCome on, man. It doesn't come close to "destroying" the women's tournament.
There are a number of championship-caliber teams, and lots of stars worth watching.
It probably does destroy what was gonna be an epic matchup, though, as USC and UConn were on a collision course to meet in the regional final with a Final Four spot on the line. USC might still get there, but it's hard to imagine them beating UConn without JuJu - they were gonna have enough trouble beating UConn even with her, as the Huskies are playing better than any team in the country.
Yeah I was looking forward to a USC-UCONN matchup with JuJu able to play. Hate to see this happen to her :(.
Quote from: MuggsyB on March 25, 2025, 09:11:51 AMFewer people will watch.
Perhaps. I guess in the Muggsy native tongue, that's the definition of "destroy."
Doug Bruno retires as DePaul coach.
786-405 over 38 seasons, with 25 NCAAT appearances. (Sat out this past season with health issues.)
He's 74 and will continue to be part of the athletic department.
Quote from: MU82 on March 28, 2025, 03:41:54 PMDoug Bruno retires as DePaul coach.
786-405 over 38 seasons, with 25 NCAAT appearances. (Sat out this past season with health issues.)
He's 74 and will continue to be part of the athletic department.
An impressive career, made even more impressive considering where he did it.
Quote from: tower912 on March 25, 2025, 08:15:50 AMNow, for the snarky bit....
Maybe it is time to talk about the State Farm celebrity endorser jinx. Mahomes, Reid, and Kelce in the Super Bowl, now Juju?
Don't forget
(https://groupgordon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bV2Xz3.jpeg)
Geno is not keen-o on the NCAA's super-regional format.
From The Athletic:
SPOKANE, Wash. — It is the third year that UConn has come to the Pacific Northwest for the NCAA Tournament super regional, and the experience hasn't gotten any more pleasant.
Ahead of Saturday's Sweet 16 clash against No. 3 Oklahoma, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma once again railed on the two-site regional concept, a perennial source of frustration for him dating back to UConn's trip to Seattle in 2023.
"Whoever came up with this super regional stuff — and I know who they are — ruined the game. They did. They ruined the game," Auriemma said. "Half the country has no chance to get to a game in person. But you're making billions off of TV. Well, actually you're not, that would be the men's tournament. So, yeah there's a lot of issues that they need to fix."
The NCAA switched from four regional sites to two in 2023 in response to declining crowd sizes. The crowds have since grown, but with more teams at fewer sites, some teams have complained about logistics like sharing court space, finding enough hotels and the travel schedule.
The Huskies had a one-hour practice at 8 a.m. Friday to accommodate the four Spokane 4 Regional teams who have to practice in the arena and an additional four Spokane 1 teams that need shootaround time before their games tonight. On Saturday, they'll have an even earlier shootaround with the games tipping off earlier in the day.
"In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here," Auriemma said. "Which means there would be no games today, the games would be tomorrow. Which means we wouldn't have to get up at 6 a.m. to have an 8 o'clock practice here this morning for an hour. Which means we wouldn't have to get up at 5 a.m. to have a 7:30 shootaround for half an hour. Takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court?"
The super regional presents an additional problem with travel, though mostly for the winning teams in Spokane, who will have to make a cross-country trek (the second one in a week if UConn wins) to get to Tampa, Fla. for the Final Four. The women's tournament changed its Final Four days from Sunday-Tuesday to Friday-Sunday in 2017, which gives the teams who play in the Elite Eight on Monday even less time to prepare for the national semifinal. On the men's side, the Elite Eight concludes Sunday before the Saturday Final Four.
This format is locked in through 2028. The 2026 sites of Sacramento, Calif. and Fort Worth, Texas leading to a Phoenix Final Four are more geographically convenient, but the regional winners in Las Vegas in 2027 and Portland, Ore. in 2028 will once again have long travel to Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, respectively, for the next round.
"Ruined the game" seems to be a bit of an over-reach, but I get the frustration.
Incredible 2nd half for UConn and Bueckers. That team is gonna be tough to beat. (Captain Obvious, I know.)
Quote from: MU82 on March 29, 2025, 07:45:04 PMIncredible 2nd half for UConn and Bueckers. That team is gonna be tough to beat. (Captain Obvious, I know.)
Bueckers is crazy good.
So disappointing that USC is missing JuJu for the upcoming match up with UCONN. I think UCONN might have prevailed anyway but it would have likely been a much closer game.
Oklahoma has a commitment from the number 1 recruit in the nation for next season - hope to see them do well with former MU assistant Jennie Baranczyk (Lillis) as their head coach.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 29, 2025, 09:11:27 PMBueckers is crazy good.
So disappointing that USC is missing JuJu for the upcoming match up with UCONN. I think UCONN might have prevailed anyway but it would have likely been a much closer game.
Ditto. Sucks big-time for JuJu, obviously, but it also sucks for basketball fans everywhere.
Quote from: MU82 on March 29, 2025, 11:03:38 AMGeno is not keen-o on the NCAA's super-regional format.
From The Athletic:
SPOKANE, Wash. — It is the third year that UConn has come to the Pacific Northwest for the NCAA Tournament super regional, and the experience hasn't gotten any more pleasant.
Ahead of Saturday's Sweet 16 clash against No. 3 Oklahoma, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma once again railed on the two-site regional concept, a perennial source of frustration for him dating back to UConn's trip to Seattle in 2023.
"Whoever came up with this super regional stuff — and I know who they are — ruined the game. They did. They ruined the game," Auriemma said. "Half the country has no chance to get to a game in person. But you're making billions off of TV. Well, actually you're not, that would be the men's tournament. So, yeah there's a lot of issues that they need to fix."
The NCAA switched from four regional sites to two in 2023 in response to declining crowd sizes. The crowds have since grown, but with more teams at fewer sites, some teams have complained about logistics like sharing court space, finding enough hotels and the travel schedule.
The Huskies had a one-hour practice at 8 a.m. Friday to accommodate the four Spokane 4 Regional teams who have to practice in the arena and an additional four Spokane 1 teams that need shootaround time before their games tonight. On Saturday, they'll have an even earlier shootaround with the games tipping off earlier in the day.
"In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here," Auriemma said. "Which means there would be no games today, the games would be tomorrow. Which means we wouldn't have to get up at 6 a.m. to have an 8 o'clock practice here this morning for an hour. Which means we wouldn't have to get up at 5 a.m. to have a 7:30 shootaround for half an hour. Takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court?"
The super regional presents an additional problem with travel, though mostly for the winning teams in Spokane, who will have to make a cross-country trek (the second one in a week if UConn wins) to get to Tampa, Fla. for the Final Four. The women's tournament changed its Final Four days from Sunday-Tuesday to Friday-Sunday in 2017, which gives the teams who play in the Elite Eight on Monday even less time to prepare for the national semifinal. On the men's side, the Elite Eight concludes Sunday before the Saturday Final Four.
This format is locked in through 2028. The 2026 sites of Sacramento, Calif. and Fort Worth, Texas leading to a Phoenix Final Four are more geographically convenient, but the regional winners in Las Vegas in 2027 and Portland, Ore. in 2028 will once again have long travel to Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, respectively, for the next round.
My Google news feed brought up a story this morning of Coach Kim Mulkey making the identical claim as Geno.
There's also an issue with having regionals so far from the Final 4 sites. And Spokane is quite far from Tampa for this year. From Rebecca Lobo - https://x.com/RebeccaLobo/status/1902445368786174210
On another note, I'm also not a fan of the afternoon championship game time start that they are sticking with. I liked the prime time game time much more but I know they aren't making these decisions based on what I want :).
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 30, 2025, 11:45:27 AMThere's also an issue with having regionals so far from the Final 4 sites. And Spokane is quite far from Tampa for this year. From Rebecca Lobo - https://x.com/RebeccaLobo/status/1902445368786174210
On another note, I'm also not a fan of the afternoon championship game time start that they are sticking with. I liked the prime time game time much more but I know they aren't making these decisions based on what I want :).
I think Lobo is great, but four examples over 25 years isn't really indicative of anything.
They should go back to Sunday-Tuesday.
It would give the teams the same amount of time to prepare for the FF that the men have. Plus, wouldn't having the semis on Sunday (vs Fri) and the championship on Tue (vs Sun) be better for ratings, too?
Maybe that's just too fair and makes too much sense.
Quote from: MU82 on March 30, 2025, 07:40:23 PMThey should go back to Sunday-Tuesday.
It would give the teams the same amount of time to prepare for the FF that the men have. Plus, wouldn't having the semis on Sunday (vs Fri) and the championship on Tue (vs Sun) be better for ratings, too?
Maybe that's just too fair and makes too much sense.
There's nothing really unfair. They are competing against other teams with similar rest.
Quote from: The Sultan on March 30, 2025, 07:42:20 PMThere's nothing really unfair. They are competing against other teams with similar rest.
If 2 teams are traveling across the country and the other 2 are traveling from a much closer location, with only 3 off days between games, the latter 2 would seem to have an advantage. That's what some coaches and observers are arguing, and it seems valid to me.
Also, might the quality of basketball games simplify be better if the women had the same amount of time to rest and prepare as the men do?
Quote from: MU82 on March 30, 2025, 07:51:33 PMIf 2 teams are traveling across the country and the other 2 are traveling from a much closer location, with only 3 off days between games, the latter 2 would seem to have an advantage. That's what some coaches and observers are arguing, and it seems valid to me.
Also, might the quality of basketball games simplify be better if the women had the same amount of time to rest and prepare as the men do?
No idea why you keep comparing to the men. That's irrelevant. Regardless, both men and women can have as little as three days rest between the second and third rounds with long travel in between and I've never heard that being a problem.
Quote from: The Sultan on March 30, 2025, 08:24:24 PMNo idea why you keep comparing to the men. That's irrelevant. Regardless, both men and women can have as little as three days rest between the second and third rounds with long travel in between and I've never heard that being a problem.
Thanks.
Quote from: MU82 on March 30, 2025, 08:26:59 PMThanks.
No problem. But honestly your arguments are pretty easy to bat down when simple logic is applied.
Quote from: The Sultan on March 30, 2025, 08:31:51 PMNo problem. But honestly your arguments are pretty easy to bat down when simple logic is applied.
Thanks, Officer.
South Carolina is good, as always. But this isn't one of Dawn Staley's superpower teams. Kudos to her for getting them back to the Final Four.
I found it interesting that there are all number 1 seeds in the Men's Final 4 - felt like it doesn't happen much for the Men. And I do see it's the first time since 2008 and only second time ever. But then I looked it up on the Women's side of things and realized it has happened less often there than I would have expected - 4 times and the last time was 2018. I don't expect it to happen this year for the women as I expect 2 seed UCONN to be there. I think UCONN had a good chance of beating an at full strength USC team and now has a much better chance of doing so with JuJu Watkins sidelined. And heck TCU could upset Texas - I'd just say a team from the state of Texas is going to win that game :).
I liked the Sunday-Tuesday lineup for the Women - not sure why they changed it back to Fri-Sun but just assumed the ratings weren't really better for Sun-Tue. I don't think they are ready for neutral sites for the first two rounds but am not a big fan of only two regional sites. There are still too many women's basketball fans who have the 'my girls' syndrome and only want to watch/root for their team - don't think there are enough fans who want to watch multiple women's teams play yet. That's not an issue for me though and this time of year I just have more basketball to watch since I enjoy watching the men's and women's tourneys :).
Quote from: MU82 on March 28, 2025, 03:41:54 PMDoug Bruno retires as DePaul coach.
786-405 over 38 seasons, with 25 NCAAT appearances. (Sat out this past season with health issues.)
He's 74 and will continue to be part of the athletic department.
Kudos to Bruno and his incredible run at DePaul. It will be interesting to hear who they hire - not sure if they will look at Pizotti or not who was the interim head coach this year and had coached at St. Louis previously.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 09, 2025, 06:50:33 PMIt's being reported that Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley has resigned - https://www.on3.com/her/news/wisconsin-head-womens-basketball-coach-marisa-moseley-resigns/
Hope they can hire a coach who is willing to play Marquette :). Ok - I know that's not a priority for them at all but I really miss the rivalry game even if the UW program has struggled for ages. It will be interesting to me to see who they hire.
Very unimpressed with Wisonsin's hire of former Missouri Coach Robin Pingeton - not sure why they made that hire and she does not seem to be the one to get that program going in the right direction.
Villanova has advanced to the WBIT Semfinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indy. They will take on Belmont University at 2:30P Monday. Former MU player Emily LaChapelle plays for Belmont now. Belmont won at JMU 90-45 in their last game - JMU is where MU lost in OT last game - that's quite the big victory on the road for Belmont.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 30, 2025, 09:48:19 PMVery unimpressed with Wisonsin's hire of former Missouri Coach Robin Pingeton - not sure why they made that hire and she does not seem to be the one to get that program going in the right direction.
They're not going to come out and say this, but I just don't think its that important a program for them. Football, volleyball, men's basketball and men's and women's hockey are all going to be given more resources. And I feel this is a place where they just don't feel they can compete.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 30, 2025, 09:46:26 PMKudos to Bruno and his incredible run at DePaul. It will be interesting to hear who they hire - not sure if they will look at Pizotti or not who was the interim head coach this year and had coached at St. Louis previously.
My understanding is that Bruno is advocating for Pizzotti for the job. 14 year assistant and Associate HC. DePaul has definitely slipped a bit post pandemic in the past 5 or so seasons, also coinciding with the portal, NIL, etc..
There has been some discussion that DePaul might improve their financial support for Women's Basketball. We'll see. For what it's worth, some other possible names I have heard mentioned as possibilities. They are not using a search firm:
Bart Brooks: Belmont HC and former 11 year assistant at DePaul.
Cary Thibault-DuDonis: Fairfield HC. She has turned down some P4 opportunities the past couple of cycles.
Carrie Moore: Harvard HC.
Erin Dickerson-Davis: William & Mary HC.
Kristen Gillespie: Illinois State HC.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 30, 2025, 09:48:19 PMVery unimpressed with Wisonsin's hire of former Missouri Coach Robin Pingeton - not sure why they made that hire and she does not seem to be the one to get that program going in the right direction.
Yep. Surprising hire. Her program has definitely slipped the past half dozen seasons since the more successful Sophie Cunningham years. Pingeton would have been let go sooner at Missouri, but they had a unique situation of having 3 different AD's in roughly 4 years. It bought her a little more time. She was in the bottom tier of SEC compensation ($650k) with a limited budget there.
The new AD there, Laird Veatch, is making a much bigger commitment to Women's Basketball. They reached out to Jeff Mittie (Kansas State), Molly Miller (GCU, now Arizona State), and Jacie Hoyt (Oklahoma State). Hoyt previously worked for Mittie (Veatch worked with both) and she was very close to taking the job. But both Hoyt and Miller had some NIL and other budget concerns. Harper was next up and she was available.
Harper's pay is $900k base with incentives that would put her into seven figures. She is receiving a $950k staff hire budget. And she is receiving an annual $100k personal family travel budget. These are roughly top 25 range. 3rd place finishes and Sweet 16's weren't good enough for what Tennessee wanted, but that would go over well at Missouri.
It will be challenging for Pingeton at Wisconsin unless she can secure some improved resources there. With just 1 NCAA tourney appearance in the past 23 seasons, the bar is low at Wisconsin.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on March 30, 2025, 09:46:26 PMKudos to Bruno and his incredible run at DePaul. It will be interesting to hear who they hire - not sure if they will look at Pizotti or not who was the interim head coach this year and had coached at St. Louis previously.
Per the Sun Times, Bruno suffered a stroke that left him in a coma for weeks. Sounds like he's doing much better now.
Quote from: Spaniel with a Short Tail on March 31, 2025, 07:05:41 PMPer the Sun Times, Bruno suffered a stroke that left him in a coma for weeks. Sounds like he's doing much better now.
I hadn't heard yet what his medical issue had been - that sounds scary. Glad to hear he seems to be doing much better now.
Penn State has had 8 players enter the transfer portal this year. I was surprised PSU kept Kieger after this season and this certainly won't help. One of those players to enter the portal is Gabby Elliott - sister of former MU player Greg Elliott - she's already played at Clemson, Michigan State and Penn State now.
I also saw Aizhanique Mayo has entered the transfer portal out of Xavier. She was a MU commit originally and seemingly left MU less than a week before the season started her frosh year.
After a slow start, UConn got rolling. They have so many offensive weapons and they're defensively sound, too. And they're finally healthy. Hard to believe Geno hasn't won a title in years ... but this one feels like it's his.
The key is they're collectively all healthy for the first time in years.
I know the games are different in the tournament, but the UConn ladies blew out South Carolina in South Carolina by like 20 points in February.
Notre Dame PG Olivia Miles decided against leaving for the WNBA, even though she was being projected as the #2 overall draft pick. She opted for the transfer portal instead.
Quote from: MU82 on April 01, 2025, 10:28:08 AMNotre Dame PG Olivia Miles decided against leaving for the WNBA, even though she was being projected as the #2 overall draft pick. She opted for the transfer portal instead.
WNBA salaries and other perks will increase after next season. So waiting a year isn't super surprising.
As far as transferring, she is expected to go to TCU where she knows the head coach Mark Campbell. He was an assistant at Oregon when the Ducks were one of Miles' finalists out of high school. A few others were the HC at then Princeton, now UNC, as well as UConn and a few others).
Quote from: yamarama on April 01, 2025, 11:27:11 AMWNBA salaries and other perks will increase after next season. So waiting a year isn't super surprising.
As far as transferring, she is expected to go to TCU where she knows the head coach Mark Campbell. He was an assistant at Oregon when the Ducks were one of Miles' finalists out of high school. A few others were the HC at then Princeton, now UNC, as well as UConn and a few others).
Did she not like ND, or does she simply like Campbell/TCU more?
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on April 01, 2025, 06:54:22 AMThe key is they're collectively all healthy for the first time in years.
I know the games are different in the tournament, but the UConn ladies blew out South Carolina in South Carolina by like 20 points in February.
I'm expecting a South Carolina-UCONN matchup in the final and think UCONN will prevail again just as they did in the blowout in the regular season. Of course I've been wrong many times before so we will see what happens 😀.
Does Geno retire if they win the national championship?
Fun to see the shot of Sarah Strong's mom Allison Feaster in the stands last night - I remember her playing for Harvard when they were a 16 seed and won at 1 seed Stanford.
Quote from: MU82 on April 01, 2025, 11:32:59 AMDid she not like ND, or does she simply like Campbell/TCU more?
She likes ND a lot. No issues there. She early enrolled there, and she spent 4 years there. She almost chose the WNBA. And if it were a year from now, she would have very likely done that.
My understanding also is that NIL is not a big factor in the decision.
She does not have a do not contact tag. So she's open to listen to everyone.
Note: I inadvertently left Stanford off of her high school finalists list with UConn, ND, Princeton, Oregon.
Arizona's Adia Barnes is expected to be hired as the next HC at SMU. New SMU AD Damon Evans didn't waste any time changing the Women's Hoops Head Coach. Barnes almost became the new head coach at Auburn this cycle.
She almost became the HC at Auburn this cycle. Lindy La Rocque from UNlV is expected to be one of Arizona's targets. The current AD at Arizona is the former AD at UNLV that hired La Rocque.
Two anti-climactic games.
South Carolina-Texas was boring. As soon as Booker got her third foul, Texas had no chance. And though South Carolina obviously is very good, this isn't one of their dominant or super-efficient teams that's fun to watch.
UConn's win over UCLA was pretty much never in doubt. UConn is a joy to watch. They are such a good passing team, and they have so many ways to score. Their defense is active, they hustle, and they play smart. Bueckers didn't even have a good game, and they still won in a rout.
You'd like to think tomorrow's game will be closer than when UConn crushed South Carolina during the season, but I don't see how UConn loses unless they go ice cold shooting.
Quote from: yamarama on April 05, 2025, 08:42:10 AMArizona's Adia Barnes is expected to be hired as the next HC at SMU. New SMU AD Damon Evans didn't waste any time changing the Women's Hoops Head Coach. Barnes almost became the new head coach at Auburn this cycle.
She almost became the HC at Auburn this cycle. Lindy La Rocque from UNlV is expected to be one of Arizona's targets. The current AD at Arizona is the former AD at UNLV that hired La Rocque.
Lindy La Rocque announced she is staying at UNLV, in her hone town. It's significant because she has multiple ties to Arizona. Her godfather was Lute Olson. Olson coached Lindy's dad in college and the families remained close. Also, long time Arizona Men's Basketball assistant Jack Murphy, coached AAU basketball for La Rocque's dad. And their families are also close. But she announced she is staying at UNLV.
Quote from: MU82 on April 05, 2025, 01:14:58 PMTwo anti-climactic games.
South Carolina-Texas was boring. As soon as Booker got her third foul, Texas had no chance. And though South Carolina obviously is very good, this isn't one of their dominant or super-efficient teams that's fun to watch.
UConn's win over UCLA was pretty much never in doubt. UConn is a joy to watch. They are such a good passing team, and they have so many ways to score. Their defense is active, they hustle, and they play smart. Bueckers didn't even have a good game, and they still won in a rout.
You'd like to think tomorrow's game will be closer than when UConn crushed South Carolina during the season, but I don't see how UConn loses unless they go ice cold shooting.
I had such high hopes at the start of the first game and then it became a blowout. The second game went exactly as I expected it to. I think UCONN wins in another blowout tomorrow.
Congrats to UConn
Staley getting embarrassed. You hate to see it.
This UConn team is ridiculous. Bueckers is their third leading score so far tonight and they're up 29
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 03:54:17 PMStaley getting embarrassed. You hate to see it.
This UConn team is ridiculous. Bueckers is their third leading score so far tonight and they're up 29
Am I not supposed to like Staley?
Damn. 30 pt lead? Yikes.
Quote from: The Sultan on April 06, 2025, 03:56:44 PMAm I not supposed to like Staley?
Didn't say you didn't have you but seeing the blow by of Geno at the end shows her lack of class. I guess she has more commercials to make promoting herself as "the GOAT." I find her completely unlikable on a Kim Mulkey level
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 04:24:43 PMDidn't say you didn't have you but seeing the blow by of Geno at the end shows her lack of class. I guess she has more commercials to make promoting herself as "the GOAT." I find her completely unlikable on a Kim Mulkey level
I don't agree and that's fine.
Ex-Head coach from the best college sports conference in the country: "We have entire men's teams across this country now that are turning trans. Women's teams, they're turning trans."
Can we even trust that this was the women's championship?
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 04:24:43 PMDidn't say you didn't have you but seeing the blow by of Geno at the end shows her lack of class. I guess she has more commercials to make promoting herself as "the GOAT." I find her completely unlikable on a Kim Mulkey level
My whole family saw that and remarked the same thing.
Quote from: Jockey on April 06, 2025, 04:31:48 PMEx-Head coach from the best college sports conference in the country: "We have entire men's teams across this country now that are turning trans. Women's teams, they're turning trans."
Can we even trust that this was the women's championship?
Yes.
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 03:54:17 PMStaley getting embarrassed. You hate to see it.
This UConn team is ridiculous. Bueckers is their third leading score so far tonight and they're up 29
Yeah - doubt they'll even drop off that much with the loss of Bueckers. Strong is such a strong player as a frosh - wow!
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 04:24:43 PMDidn't say you didn't have you but seeing the blow by of Geno at the end shows her lack of class. I guess she has more commercials to make promoting herself as "the GOAT." I find her completely unlikable on a Kim Mulkey level
Kim Mulkey is high up on my unlikable coaches list - not sure anyone can be more dislikable than Mulkey for me.
Quote from: Jockey on April 06, 2025, 04:31:48 PMEx-Head coach from the best college sports conference in the country: "We have entire men's teams across this country now that are turning trans. Women's teams, they're turning trans."
Can we even trust that this was the women's championship?
I'm just excited because it means Men's soccer in the US might be good.
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 06, 2025, 04:24:43 PMDidn't say you didn't have you but seeing the blow by of Geno at the end shows her lack of class. I guess she has more commercials to make promoting herself as "the GOAT." I find her completely unlikable on a Kim Mulkey level
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on April 06, 2025, 04:33:06 PMMy whole family saw that and remarked the same thing.
My wife and I didn't notice in real time, so we went back and watched it. I mean, Staley shook Geno's hand, they chatted for a couple seconds, and then each of them went down the line to finish handshakes. When I said that Staley was getting criticized, my wife said, "Was she supposed to hug him? People are looking for something to complain about."
All of us have watched enough basketball and have seen REAL stuff go on between coaches postgame - like when Self got into it with Shaka in Hawaii. This was nothing.
Quote from: Jockey on April 06, 2025, 04:31:48 PMEx-Head coach from the best college sports conference in the country: "We have entire men's teams across this country now that are turning trans. Women's teams, they're turning trans."
Can we even trust that this was the women's championship?
Huh?
Quote from: Marquette Fan on April 06, 2025, 04:40:25 PMKim Mulkey is high up on my unlikable coaches list - not sure anyone can be more dislikable than Mulkey for me.
Mulkey and Staley are unlikable.
Dawn Staley is great. I'm a big fan of Dawn Staley. She was unsurprisingly complimentary of a deserving Connecticut after the game.
https://x.com/sportscenter/status/1908965683255181673?s=46
Quote from: MuggsyB on April 06, 2025, 05:59:44 PMMulkey and Staley are unlikable.
I like Staley myself but Mulkey not so much.
Quote from: MU82 on April 06, 2025, 04:49:16 PMMy wife and I didn't notice in real time, so we went back and watched it. I mean, Staley shook Geno's hand, they chatted for a couple seconds, and then each of them went down the line to finish handshakes. When I said that Staley was getting criticized, my wife said, "Was she supposed to hug him? People are looking for something to complain about."
All of us have watched enough basketball and have seen REAL stuff go on between coaches postgame - like when Self got into it with Shaka in Hawaii. This was nothing.
I take back some of my original comments. I was speaking with my brother and he said they showed Geno and Dawn hugging it out before the game.
Quote from: Marquette Fan on April 06, 2025, 06:15:58 PMI like Staley myself but Mulkey not so much.
Perhaps I just don't like any of them other than Lindsay Gottlieb.
The coaches meeting at the end of a game is overrated - one of them just lost a game. What are they supposed to do?
As for the game itself, UConn has been the best team for a couple months, so what they did is hardly surprising.
They really are a joy to watch - ball movement, movement without the ball, passing, shotmaking, in-your-face defense, hustle, star players, charismatic coach, the whole package.
I'm happy for Bueckers and Fudd, who both had their careers interrupted by serious injuries but worked hard to play at a superior level.
With Fudd and Strong back, and a good supporting cast, it's hard to imagine UConn not being favored again next season - especially if JuJu can't return.
Quote from: MU82 on April 07, 2025, 04:16:14 PMAs for the game itself, UConn has been the best team for a couple months, so what they did is hardly surprising.
They really are a joy to watch - ball movement, movement without the ball, passing, shotmaking, in-your-face defense, hustle, star players, charismatic coach, the whole package.
I'm happy for Bueckers and Fudd, who both had their careers interrupted by serious injuries but worked hard to play at a superior level.
With Fudd and Strong back, and a good supporting cast, it's hard to imagine UConn not being favored again next season - especially if JuJu can't return.
Yeah I thought USC might give them a tough game if at full strength but still expected UCONN to win the Championship. And I'd be favoring them for next season too. Strong is already so incredible as a frosh - she's going to be a fun one to watch for the next few years.
When I was in Knoxville this past weekend to run a marathon, I visited the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. It was a little trip down memory lane for me and interesting. They had some Milwaukee Does stuff there and the Lady Popes of Pius are mentioned there for a high school record 12 straight state championships.
From The Athletic:
Big ratings for women's NCAA championship: 8.5M, up 75 percent from the UConn-South Carolina title game in 2022. Did it top the two title games from the Caitlin Clark era? No. (But that wasn't an expectation anyway.)
On the other hand, crushing the most recent non-CC title game audience numbers establishes an exciting new ratings level for women's college basketball. (Now, imagine how much higher it would be if ABC actually put the title game in prime time.)
Quote from: MU82 on April 09, 2025, 09:30:41 AMFrom The Athletic:
Big ratings for women's NCAA championship: 8.5M, up 75 percent from the UConn-South Carolina title game in 2022. Did it top the two title games from the Caitlin Clark era? No. (But that wasn't an expectation anyway.)
On the other hand, crushing the most recent non-CC title game audience numbers establishes an exciting new ratings level for women's college basketball. (Now, imagine how much higher it would be if ABC actually put the title game in prime time.)
That 2022 game was broadcast in prime time (tip off at 8 pm EST), so maybe not.
Quote from: MU82 on April 09, 2025, 09:30:41 AMFrom The Athletic:
Big ratings for women's NCAA championship: 8.5M, up 75 percent from the UConn-South Carolina title game in 2022. Did it top the two title games from the Caitlin Clark era? No. (But that wasn't an expectation anyway.)
On the other hand, crushing the most recent non-CC title game audience numbers establishes an exciting new ratings level for women's college basketball. (Now, imagine how much higher it would be if ABC actually put the title game in prime time.)
I actually think game time was fine.
Yeah, I don't understand the complaints about the game time. Sunday afternoons are just fine.
Now we need to work on the ridiculous tip time for the men's championship.
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on April 09, 2025, 10:02:02 AMThat 2022 game was broadcast in prime time (tip off at 8 pm EST), so maybe not.
Apples to oranges.
The 2022 game was aired on cable, not ABC. It did well, having the highest ratings in two decades. This was before Clark too. ESPN began airing all 63 tourney games nationally in 2021, and both semifinal games were on ESPN.
Then the ratings exploded as the game was moved to ABC in 2023. ratings doubled. The ratings doubled again on ABC in 2024. This year's ratings were similar to 2023. This year's Elite 8 was the 2nd most watched Elite 8 ever.
ESPN started airing all 63 Women's Tourney games in 2021.
The afternoon Sunday time has worked well. Ratings would be even higher with an ABC Sunday prime time tip time.
Just relayed what it said in The Athletic. It doesn't matter to me - I'd watch it whether it airs in the afternoon or evening. But it probably would get higher ratings at night, if that matters.
Fulwiley has a do not contact tag. One question is how much does it matter to her to go to an Under Armour school. She has a Curry Brand NIL deal. That would be possibly Notre Dame or Maryland. Otherwise, Ole Miss, Clemson, Louisville and a few others have been linked with her previously.
Villanova's Maddie Webber, 13pts a game as a Sophomore, 2nd Team All Big East, committed to Illinois this weekend. Illinois also received a commitment from Aaliyah Guyton from Iowa.
A local portal commit:
Jordana Reisma transferred from Cleveland State to Missouri and Kellie Harper. She Played high school ball at Brown Deer, and she played travel ball with Wisconsin Shooters.
A 6'3 Forward, Reisma had a strong season, averaging 15 & 7. She was 2nd team All Horizon League. She has one year remaining. She also received interest from several other SEC and Big 12 schools.
Some Big East:
Georgetown has added a lot of 5'10/5'11 guards.
They added the Davis twins from Georgia today. 5'10 guards. Both were Michigan Gatorade players of the year in back to back years in 2023 and 2024. They also recently picked up Laila Jewett, another 5'10 guard from UCF. And they picked up 5'11 guard Destiny Agubata from West Virginia. Khia Miller is another 5'10 guard addition from East Carolina. Georgetown previously picked up 6'4 forward Cristen acsrter from Butler.
Last week Villanova picked up 6'4 Forward Kylee Watson from Notre Dame.
Butler added 6'2 forward Caroline Dotsey from Maine. And they added 6'2 forward Gabby Wilke from South Dakota.
Creighton added 6'1 forward Grace Boffeli from N Iowa.
Seton Hall added 6'2 FSU Forward Mariana Valenzuela.
Providence added Payton Dunbar, a 5'11 guard from Syracuse.