SF Husky
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I Root For: UCONN
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UCONN players cheering for BE teams...even RU
Fresh from ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/ncaatourne...dish080325
Quote:Sweet 16 full of Big East flavor
Maya Moore, far right, helped UConn reach the regional semifinals for the 15th consecutive season.
Big East's success not exactly a surprise
By Mechelle Voepel
ESPN.com
There wasn't any drama during top-seeded Connecticut's 89-55 demolition of Texas on Tuesday night. But it did get pretty exciting in the Huskies' locker room afterward.
That's because the Notre Dame-Oklahoma overtime epic was on television, and the UConn players were keeping an eye on the tube and cheering for the Irish while doing their postgame interviews.
"Oh, my goodness," UConn guard Renee Montgomery said, interrupting herself while answering a question. "Notre Dame is going to win this game!"
The Irish's 79-75 victory was the second fantastic finish of the night, after ODU beat Virginia 88-85 in overtime. Notre Dame's win meant the Big East has five teams in the Sweet 16, the most of any conference since the Big 12 had that many in 2002.
And the Big East's success this year came at the expense of the Big 12. The two leagues both got eight teams in the NCAA tournament, but then the Big East went 5-0 in head-to-head matchups with the Big 12 in the second round.
I've lived and worked in Big 12 territory for 12 years now -- and grew up there, too -- so I usually feel pretty plugged in on the Jumbo Dozen. Let's put it this way: I have absolutely no excuse not to be plugged in. And I can honestly say -- not trying to sound like some know-it-all -- that I'm not surprised at what has happened.
Gosh, I even have "documented evidence" for a change -- I said in an ESPN.com chat in January that I thought the Big East was the best league. Um, now don't go holding me to everything I say in those chats … just the stuff that proves right.
It's not like success is new to the Big East, because UConn has five NCAA titles among its eight trips to the Final Four; Notre Dame has one title and an additional trip to the Final Four; and Rutgers has been to the Final Four twice. But with teams such as Pittsburgh and Louisville making their first Sweet 16 appearances in program history, this is a landmark season for the Big East.
The Big 12 was a good league this season with exceptional parity, but a lot of teams were young and/or had holes that were bound to show up in NCAA tournament play. Two of the Big 12 teams that made the field, Texas and Iowa State, were both 7-9 in the league. I thought both deserved to get in, but that neither would last past the first round.
League regular-season champion Kansas State was a gritty team that really got the most out its ability, but then lost leading scorer Kimberly Dietz to a knee injury in the Big 12 tournament. I don't think the Wildcats would have been able to beat Louisville, though, even with a healthy Dietz. Louisville was too quick, too big, too athletic, too smart and too versatile for K-State to upset the Cardinals, who won 80-63.
The other Big East wins against the Big 12 were Pittsburgh over Baylor and Rutgers over Iowa State.
Notre Dame beating Oklahoma is an upset in terms of seeding, a No. 5 over a No. 4. But considering how much the Sooners struggled at the end of this season -- they lost four of their last five -- this was hardly unpredictable. And once OU lost to 12th-seeded Missouri in the Big 12 tournament, the Sooners' NCAA prospects were in question.
But … that's not to take away from Notre Dame's victory. The Irish really have a thing about beating up on the Big 12 in the NCAA tournament, by the way. The first year of the Big 12, 1997, No. 6 seed Notre Dame beat third-seeded Texas. The next year, the No. 9 Irish shocked top-seeded Texas Tech. And in 2003, No. 11 Notre Dame beat No. 3 Kansas State. All of those Irish victories happened on the Big 12 team's home court.
On Tuesday, the UConn players were sending their Irish "sisters" good vibes in West Lafayette, Ind. Montgomery said she was rooting for all the Big East schools in the tournament.
"There is a bond after you've played against somebody for a long time," said Montgomery, a junior guard. "Even if you don't really know the players on the other team. That's what it is right now -- I just want everyone in the Big East to win. Including Rutgers, if you were wondering that. They're still in the Big East, so I'm still cheering for Rutgers."
The Scarlet Knights, of course, are the Huskies' most contentious rival now in the Big East, and they could meet in the regional final at Greensboro. But until then … the Huskies are saying, "Go Rutgers!"
UConn coach Geno Auriemma grinned when asked about the Big East's success.
"We knew going in that we had some really good teams in our league," he said. "Then you hope that it plays out in the tournament. I just think our style of play in this league is good enough that it prepares you because of the diversity and variety of styles that you have to face.
"The kind of athletes that we have … if you haven't played against [Louisville's] Angel McCoughtry, you're going to have a problem with her. Same with [Pittsburgh's] Marcedes Walker and [Notre Dame's] Charel Allen. And, obviously, the Rutgers kids."
It goes without saying that his own kids, led by Maya Moore, are great, too.
"We have been saying all along that it's the best league in the country, and what do we have -- five teams in the regionals?" Auriemma said. "Man, that's a lot, huh? Woo-hoo!"
(This post was last modified: 03-26-2008 02:45 PM by SF Husky.)
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