NCAA Tournament, week 1 of 3

[southie]

I get that homers want to home, but I just think you're misattributing causality here. Wilson was tentative on offense shooting poorly the entire early part of this season. Wilson's two makes vs. Harmon and her 6 pts vs. Harmon were actually the most baskets and most points she scored in a single game through the first eleven games of the season. So if anything, Harmon apparently did a worse job guarding Wilson than the guards for Morgan St. (1 basket, 3 points), Portland (1 basket, 2 points), Gonzaga (0 baskets, 1 point), Pacific (1 basket, 3 points), and UC Davis (0 baskets, 0 points).

Wow. Let's give Wilson kudos for scoring a whopping 6 points since it was her season high through 11 games. SMH. Two can play at that game. Rori's 21 points scored against Wilson were her season high until the March 12, 2022 game against Iowa State; that was the 31st game of Texas' season (and it was the semi-finals of the Big 12 tourney).

I think you're being the homer. You seem to want to give Wilson a pass for atrocious defense against a true freshman playing in only her second collegiate game. That awful defense pretty much validates my "schooled" description.

 

[nwhoopfan]

As a real fan of the game I would rather see mid majors get in than p5 bottom feeders.

No bottom feeders get in. Middle of the pack teams do. That is a big difference.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Wow. Let's give Wilson kudos for scoring a whopping 6 points since it was her season high through 11 games. SMH. Two can play at that game. Rori's 21 points scored against Wilson were her season high until the March 12, 2022 game against Iowa State; that was the 31st game of Texas' season (and it was the semi-finals of the Big 12 tourney).

I think you're being the homer. You seem to want to give Wilson a pass for atrocious defense against a true freshman playing in only her second collegiate game. That awful defense pretty much validates my "schooled" description.

Yup, reigning PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year plays "atrocious" and "awful" defense. I don't know what tell you, bud, but even Texas's own highlight real doesn't seem to support your version: the two shots they showed of Harmon scoring, Jordan Hamilton was guarding her on the first one (at 0:07), and Lexie Hull on the second (at 0:31). So at least 1/4 of her scoring came at the hands of other Stanford defenders. Meanwhile, the highlight reel shows Wilson guarding Matharu at 0:34.

Harmon had a great game, all credit to her. And it's definitely easier to do so when there's almost no tape to scout her on - it was, as you note, her second college game. But I don't know why you want to bash Wilson as if she was the sole reason we lost.

 

[DefenseBB]

So, for those keeping score at home, I know myself and @Nick Pignatello are, here is the 1st two rounds of the NCAAT at the 8 sites completed. Overall, pretty good attendance. If UConn is truly a sellout tonight like being reported by the school, the 5,073+10,167 = 15,240

School	2nd Rd	1st Rd	Total
Iowa	14,382	14,382	28,764
Louisville	10,414	8,407	18,821
South Car	9,817	8,478	18,295
Iowa St	6,283	5,546	11,829
Texas	4,960	3,822	8,782
Maryland	4,575	4,776	9,351
Stanford	4,189	3,648	7,837
Baylor	3,684	3,855	7,539

 

[TheFarmFan]

From the looks of things, the potential Texas–Stanford rematch in the Elite Eight will elicit plenty of pointed commentary

I'll defend my team against baseless, overheated rhetorical attacks regardless of where they come from. I have a lot of respect for Vic and the way he trains up merciless defenses, and there's no question his style of defense is a weak spot for Tara's teams. And candidly, in one of my brackets I have Texas going to the final four over Stanford, because I really do think we match up poorly against them.

 

[jchusky]

Wow. Let's give Wilson kudos for scoring a whopping 6 points since it was her season high through 11 games. SMH. Two can play at that game. Rori's 21 points scored against Wilson were her season high until the March 12, 2022 game against Iowa State; that was the 31st game of Texas' season (and it was the semi-finals of the Big 12 tourney).

I think you're being the homer. You seem to want to give Wilson a pass for atrocious defense against a true freshman playing in only her second collegiate game. That awful defense pretty much validates my "schooled" description.

Wilson is not a scorer, she's a defensive wizard tho. Would take her on my team.

 

[southie]

Yup, reigning PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year plays "atrocious" and "awful" defense. I don't know what tell you, bud, but even Texas's own highlight real doesn't seem to support your version: the two shots they showed of Harmon scoring, Jordan Hamilton was guarding her on the first one (at 0:07), and Lexie Hull on the second (at 0:31). So at least 1/4 of her scoring came at the hands of other Stanford defenders. Meanwhile, the highlight reel shows Wilson guarding Matharu at 0:34.

Harmon had a great game, all credit to her. And it's definitely easier to do so when there's almost no tape to scout her on - it was, as you note, her second college game. But I don't know why you want to bash Wilson as if she was the sole reason we lost.

You totally invented that in your head. I am positive I never assigned blame to one player for the loss.

If Wilson guarded Matharu some of the time in addition to guarding Harmon, then that would explain why Matharu only scored 17 points . . .

 

[nwhoopfan]

So, for those keeping score at home, I know myself and @Nick Pignatello are, here is the 1st two rounds of the NCAAT at the 8 sites completed. Overall, pretty good attendance. If UConn is truly a sellout tonight like being reported by the school, the 5,073+10,167 = 15,240

School	2nd Rd	1st Rd	Total
Iowa	14,382	14,382	28,764
Louisville	10,414	8,407	18,821
South Car	9,817	8,478	18,295
Iowa St	6,283	5,546	11,829
Texas	4,960	3,822	8,782
Maryland	4,575	4,776	9,351
Stanford	4,189	3,648	7,837
Baylor	3,684	3,855	7,539

What's up w/ South Carolina? That attendance is good, but not really up to their standards. I thought they led the nation in attendance for multiple years, at like 11,000 or something. Why would they be skipping Tourney games? Kudos to Iowa fans.

 

[TheFarmFan]

You totally invented that in your head. I am positive I never assigned blame to one player for the loss.

Well, you didn't note that the player who actually spends the most time running the point for us, Lacie Hull, went 1-7 and 0-5 from outside, or that Jones, our other main ball handler, had 5 TOs (several of which were very much due to Texas's press defense), or acknowledge that Wilson was only responsible for 1 of our 20 TOs. The takeaway seemed very much to suggest our ball handling and PG existential crisis was Wilson's fault:

It wasn't just before the season. After Texas freshman PG, Rori Harmon schooled Stanford senior PG Anna Wilson early in the season at Stanford, there was plenty of doubt how PG duties for Stanford would evolve moving forward. Seems like Wilson improved enough throughout the season to remain the starter.

My point is that that crisis was before, during, and after the Texas game, and shouldn't be laid solely on Wilson, because I actually think she handled the ball better against Texas than either Lacie (2 TOs) or Jones did.

 

[DefenseBB]

Hey @southie what is the truth behind the rumblings that Vic is frustrated about the lack of attendance at his games in Austin? I know he built a huge following in Starkville but to be fair, there is simply more to do in Austin than Starkville. Still, only 4,300+ fans for the 2 NCAAT games is disappointing as is his 17 home games and 3,617 average. Adding insult to injury, in 2019 Under the Karen Aston reign, the had 4,035 average for 16 games....OUCH....

In 2019, MSU had 17 home dates for 8,446 and in 2020, 14 home dates for 7,689. Vic better start "pressing the flesh" so to say to help offset that very lofty salary of his...

 

[dabears17]

Wow. Let's give Wilson kudos for scoring a whopping 6 points since it was her season high through 11 games. SMH. Two can play at that game. Rori's 21 points scored against Wilson were her season high until the March 12, 2022 game against Iowa State; that was the 31st game of Texas' season (and it was the semi-finals of the Big 12 tourney).

I think you're being the homer. You seem to want to give Wilson a pass for atrocious defense against a true freshman playing in only her second collegiate game. That awful defense pretty much validates my "schooled" description.

I'm nervous for any game past the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. Vic Schaefer schemes well for defense-- Stanford's loss (62-63) against Texas A&M in Indianapolis in 2011 still hurts. Texas is 6-8 against Stanford all time.

The difference IMO was Aliyah Matharu going off for 17 points in this season's game during the last 7 minutes of the 4th quarter. 7 of those points were while Anna Wilson was on the bench. Only 1 3 pointer was with Wilson guarding her.

The game was Aliyah going 4 for 4 from three, and Stanford going 4 for 27 from three. Stanford is vulnerable when they struggle from three.

Stanford set a record for made three pointers in the tournament last year (56), which is a big part of why they won.

Stanford was still figuring out their point guard situation for the first month of this season. Last year Anna Wilson was a defensive specialist who averaged 4.6 points a game, but averaged 45pct from 3 when she shot it.

Stanford has played in Austin 4 times in the last 10 years, and Texas upset Stanford in Austin in 2019 when Stanford was ranked #1.

 

[LoTrader]

From the looks of things, the potential Texas–Stanford rematch in the Elite Eight will elicit plenty of pointed commentary

I am hoping for this Elite Eight matchup!

 

[southie]

Hey @southie what is the truth behind the rumblings that Vic is frustrated about the lack of attendance at his games in Austin? I know he built a huge following in Starkville but to be fair, there is simply more to do in Austin than Starkville. Still, only 4,300+ fans for the 2 NCAAT games is disappointing as is his 17 home games and 3,617 average. Adding insult to injury, in 2019 Under the Karen Aston reign, the had 4,035 average for 16 games....OUCH....

In 2019, MSU had 17 home dates for 8,446 and in 2020, 14 home dates for 7,689. Vic better start "pressing the flesh" so to say to help offset that very lofty salary of his...

Eh. He went public in a presser about 3 weeks ago that he wasn't happy about Texas' fans not turning out for the women's games. He said he's heard the excuses, and doesn't buy any of them.

Yet, before the schedule was released last summer, he made a comment that he was having trouble scheduling home games against elite competition because nobody wanted to come to Austin to play Texas based on our style of play; well, that sounds like an excuse to me. There was not a single P5 school on Texas' home non-conference schedule, let alone at Top 25 opponent. Sorry, but fans aren't gonna buy season tickets in droves unless at least a handful of the opponents are pre-season Top 25 quality. Maybe Vic should have considered not postponing the series with UConn 2 seasons in a row; we'd have hosted UConn this season, and that would have increased season ticket sales, and attendance for that game without a doubt.

And, yes, Vic keeps bringing up the attendance at MSU (in his later seasons). But, he doesn't mention the attendance the first 2 seasons in Starkville. It takes time to grow a fan base that had dwindled over the last couple of seasons prior to Vic's arrival at Texas; his first season at Texas had the COVID restrictions, so that for sure didn't help springboard his program to the fans.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I'm nervous for any game past the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. Vic Schaefer schemes well for defense-- Stanford's loss (62-63) against Texas A&M in Indianapolis in 2011 still hurts. Texas is 6-8 against Stanford all time.

The difference IMO was Aliyah Matharu going off for 17 points in this season's game during the last 7 minutes of the 4th quarter. 7 of those points were while Anna Wilson was on the bench. Only 1 3 pointer was with Wilson guarding her.

The game was Aliyah going 4 for 4 from three, and Stanford going 4 for 27 from three. Stanford is vulnerable when they struggle from three.

Stanford set a record for made three pointers in the tournament last year (56), which is a big part of why they won.

Stanford was still figuring out their point guard situation for the first month of this season. Last year Anna Wilson was a defensive specialist who averaged 4.6 points a game, but averaged 45pct from 3 when she shot it.

Thank you. I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Stanford-Texas rematch would be intriguing...but Maryland is up next. Card beat the Terps handily earlier this season, but I would expect a much tougher game this time around. Texas will have a game as well against an opponent still to be determined.

 

[LoTrader]

Thank you. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Rory is an amazing player, especially as a freshman. Love watching her play. If Texas does end up playing Stanford, I think Tara will have an effective game plan vs Texas, and, especially the little engine that makes Texas go.

 

[southie]

The difference IMO was Aliyah Matharu going off for 17 points in this season's game during the last 7 minutes of the 4th quarter. 7 of those points were while Anna Wilson was on the bench. Only 1 3 pointer was with Wilson guarding her.

The game was Aliyah going 4 for 4 from three, and Stanford going 4 for 27 from three. Stanford is vulnerable when they struggle from three.

Stanford set a record for made three pointers in the tournament last year (56), which is a big part of why they won.

Stanford was still figuring out their point guard situation for the first month of this season. Last year Anna Wilson was a defensive specialist who averaged 4.6 points a game, but averaged 45pct from 3 when she shot it.

There are only 3 players (guards) for Texas who Wilson would have guarded while on the court (Harmon - 21 pts; Matharu - 17 pts; and Allen-Taylor - 6 pts). I remember at least two 3-pointers by Matharu when Haley Jones was guarding her.

And, why was the senior PG on the bench when Matharu started to heat up? Shouldn't the best defensive player on Stanford's team be on the court when Texas started making its run late in the game? Wilson only had 3 fouls in the game, and only played 27 minutes, so foul trouble or fatigue aren't reasons for her not being on the court during crunch time.

Just my opinion, but Wilson was struggling in that game; so, Tara had no choice but to have bigger players like Lexi and Haley try to guard Texas 5'6 and 5'7 guards as the smaller Stanford guards were ineffective defensively.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Stanford-Texas rematch would be intriguing...but Maryland is up next. Card beat the Terps handily earlier this season, but I would expect a much tougher game this time around. Texas will have a game as well against an opponent still to be determined.

Exactly. First we need to beat Maryland. I'd love to show Texas how hard it is to beat the same team twice in a season, but first Maryland is going to want to show us that. And they will have their whole team back, which they didn't in November. I'm obviously biased here, but I think Stanford had the hardest road back to the final four. (NC State is close, because they have UConn, but their Elite Eight matchup of Oklahoma or Notre Dame was much less threatening, to me, than Maryland.). Maryland and Texas are legitimately good teams and it will be very, very hard to beat them both back to back in 48 hours, especially when they have literally night-and-day opposite approaches to the game.

 

[cancontent]

So, for those keeping score at home, I know myself and @Nick Pignatello are, here is the 1st two rounds of the NCAAT at the 8 sites completed. Overall, pretty good attendance. If UConn is truly a sellout tonight like being reported by the school, the 5,073+10,167 = 15,240

School	2nd Rd	1st Rd	Total
Iowa	14,382	14,382	28,764
Louisville	10,414	8,407	18,821
South Car	9,817	8,478	18,295
Iowa St	6,283	5,546	11,829
Texas	4,960	3,822	8,782
Maryland	4,575	4,776	9,351
Stanford	4,189	3,648	7,837
Baylor	3,684	3,855	7,539

What's up w/ South Carolina? That attendance is good, but not really up to their standards. I thought they led the nation in attendance for multiple years, at like 11,000 or something. Why would they be skipping Tourney games? Kudos to Iowa fans.

I'll be interested in seeing what the numbers for todays games are like. Surprised Iowa State's weren't higher considering how much they talk about Hilton magic there.

I thought I just heard during the NC State game that it was Spring Break last week. It definitely sounds a lot louder for their game today than it did Saturday. Could that have some impact with these numbers at some of the host schools?

 

[southie]

Exactly. First we need to beat Maryland. I'd love to show Texas how hard it is to beat the same team twice in a season, but first Maryland is going to want to show us that. And they will have their whole team back, which they didn't in November. I'm obviously biased here, but I think Stanford had the hardest road back to the final four. (NC State is close, because they have UConn, but their Elite Eight matchup of Oklahoma or Notre Dame was much less threatening, to me, than Maryland.). Maryland and Texas are legitimately good teams and it will be very, very hard to beat them both back to back in 48 hours, especially when they have literally night-and-day opposite approaches to the game.

You are right. It's not just about the # of the seed you are matched up with each round. It's about how you match up against each team on the court, and how well each team is playing. And, as Stanford prepares for a team like Maryland whose emphasis is on offense, a victory would then potentially require them to prepare for a Texas team whose emphasis is on defense. I mean, are there two more opposite style of teams to prepare for back-to-back than Maryland and Texas?

 

[TC22]

And the 2022 NCAAT and the SEC own website will list the Champion as Kentucky (who lost in the 1st round of the NCAAT!). So @nwhoopfan was and is 100% correct.

The Website lists Kentucky as the Tournament Champion and SC as the regular season champion. But you go with whatever narrative you want to. The tournament champion is out. The regular season champion is still playing.

SEC Champions - Women's Basketball - Southeastern Conference

Comprehensive coverage of SEC football, basketball, baseball and more, including live games, scores, schedules, standings and news

www.secsports.com

 

[npignatjr]

No bottom feeders get in. Middle of the pack teams do. That is a big difference.

Ok I overstated the bottom feeder thing but teams at .500 or lower shouldn't get in

 

[shiverz45]

The Website lists Kentucky as the Tournament Champion and SC as the regular season champion. But you go with whatever narrative you want to. The tournament champion is out. The regular season champion is still playing.

SEC Champions - Women's Basketball - Southeastern Conference

Comprehensive coverage of SEC football, basketball, baseball and more, including live games, scores, schedules, standings and news

www.secsports.com

Multiple post has been provided to him/her showing that the SEC regular season champion is recognized as the legit champion has been posted. He/she should be on board now.

 

[dabears17]

There are only 3 players (guards) for Texas who Wilson would have guarded while on the court (Harmon - 21 pts; Matharu - 17 pts; and Allen-Taylor - 6 pts). I remember at least two 3-pointers by Matharu when Haley Jones was guarding her.

And, why was the senior PG on the bench when Matharu started to heat up? Shouldn't the best defensive player on Stanford's team be on the court when Texas started making its run late in the game? Wilson only had 3 fouls in the game, and only played 27 minutes, so foul trouble or fatigue aren't reasons for her not being on the court during crunch time.

Just my opinion, but Wilson was struggling in that game; so, Tara had no choice but to have bigger players like Lexi and Haley try to guard Texas 5'6 and 5'7 guards as the smaller Stanford guards were ineffective defensively.

Stanford first has to worry about Maryland and if they beat Maryland, have ~48 hours to prepare for Texas.

It's about match-ups. Anna has struggled some against taller/faster guards. Vic Shaefer coached teams are a challenging match up for Stanford.

Stanford is a deep team with 15 healthy players. So far this season, no one has averaged more than 30 minutes a game. Cameron Brink, a 3rd team All American, has only averaged 22 minutes a game-- and only scored 7 against Texas. Their team leader is a 5th year senior who has only averaged 4 minutes a game this season.

Glancing at minutes, it looks like Lacie Hull and Anna Wilson split minutes. Over the season they both averaged ~25 minutes a game.

With 3.2 seconds left, it was a one possession game.

Why did Stanford's 3 point specialist Hannah Jump only play 9 minutes, going 0 for 1 from 3 point range?

It was the second game of the season, so Stanford coaching staff likely didn't have a lot of information to scheme defensively against Harmon. They have film now.

 

[LoTrader]

While my team is not playing in the NCAA Tournament this season, I am thankful for "The Boneyard". I thoroughly enjoy reading what all you WCBB Fans think, and there is nothing like the post season! Going to be a fun next few weeks.

 

[GoCardinal]

I could be wrong, but I do think Stanford will be fine against Maryland. I don’t think we’ll pummel them like before though. They will have their full team this time around but defense isn’t exactly their calling card. Reese could be an issue, but we have multiple bodies to throw out her if Cam gets in foul trouble. With Miller, I think the Hull sisters and Haley will be able to cover that task as well.

 

[Plebe]

NC State completely dominated K-State from start to finish. Cunane barely played, in the 1st half due to early foul trouble and in the 2nd half because by then it was basically garbage time.

What a great group this NC State senior class has been. And they appear to be peaking. A very difficult out for anyone.

Next up is either Oklahoma or a chance to avenge their loss to Notre Dame (which I have not forgiven them for).

 

[SECbbfan24]

What a great group this NC State senior class has been. And they appear to be peaking. A very difficult out for anyone.

Stanford and NC St (maybe throw in Texas potentially) are getting hot at the right time.

 

[shiverz45]

I could be wrong, but I do think Stanford will be fine against Maryland. I don’t think we’ll pummel them like before though. They will have their full team this time around but defense isn’t exactly their calling card. Reese could be an issue, but we have multiple bodies to throw out her if Cam gets in foul trouble. With Miller, I think the Hull sisters and Haley will be able to cover that task as well.

Potentially the best matchup of the sweet 16.

 

[Plebe]

I could be wrong, but I do think Stanford will be fine against Maryland. I don’t think we’ll pummel them like before though. They will have their full team this time around but defense isn’t exactly their calling card. Reese could be an issue, but we have multiple bodies to throw out her if Cam gets in foul trouble. With Miller, I think the Hull sisters and Haley will be able to cover that task as well.

I agree with you. Maryland IMO even when healthy doesn't match up well with Stanford. Too much depth and too much commitment to defense for the Terps to withstand over 40 minutes. Stylistically I see Texas as a much tougher matchup for Stanford.