Uconn vs UCF most viewed early round game since 2009 - Women's tournament viewership way up!

[EricLA]

I honestly don't understand the complaining that having the first two rounds at the higher seed's home court is unfair. I never heard an NFL team whine "It's so unfair to play in Boston just because the Pats had a better record."

I agree. The constant whining and complaining, both by fans and coaches, is ridiculous. If you really want to solve the problem, then make WCBB as popular AND profitable as MCBB - there's a reason the men don't do the home court thing in the first 2 rounds - because fans will come regardless of who is playing, and pay higher ticket prices.

I'm all for Title IX and equality in sports, but the fact remains that in general, men's college sports is way more profitable (and popular) than women's. Unless that ever changes, IMHO we will (and should) continue to see the games on the top 16 seeds home courts.

BTW in the WNIT, and early rounds of the NIT, both have games on the home court of the higher seed, but i don't see whining and complaining there. It's the benefit of the higher seed having earned the right to play those games at home.

And for the record, it's NOT unfair. Like I said above, it rewards the better teams for having great seasons and being a top 16 seed. You don't want to get sent to other team's home courts, then put more $ into WCBB, recruit better players, and become a top 16 team.

It's like saying UCONN being #1 is unfair. Or this year SC or last year Stanford. It is what it is. Those schools work hard to give WCBB resources, the coaches work hard to recruit top kids, and the teams are among the best in the nation. To reward them in the 1st 2 rounds when 99% (that's a guess on my part - not a fact) of the WCBB schools lose money is not unfair at all. It's life.

 

[cohenzone]

What a shame. The most watched game since 2009 and it's a disaster. Both teams shoot under 30%, more turnovers than you can shake a stick at, missed bunnies and more fouls than baskets. If only it could have been one of UCONN's better games of crisp passes, backdoor cuts and inside out basketball. If the women's game wants to really grow games like this have to be eliminated.

You can’t stop a team (in this case UCF) from playing a style the coach believes will help the team win and especially if it’s how they always play. They play a style intended to stop cutting and back doors and they came close to pulling it off. They aren’t required to please TV audiences.

 

[Plebe]

People keep misrepresenting her statements.

She never said it was "unfair" per se; she just didn't like the fact that they sent her team to play at UConn, where she felt like she'd already had her fair share of games, and she would've rather played someplace else where she hadn't already spent 5 consecutive years going to. There's a difference between disliking something and saying it's unfair.