WNIT results

[BeBe]

First 3 games this evening:

Villanova 53 - American 52

Our honorary sistern Iona 71 Quinnipiac 59, played at Quinnipiac

Middle Tennessee State currently routing Western Carolina

[Dale8R]

MTSU should have been one of the teams drawing a bye, but they didn't ask me.

[swok34]

Go Gaels!!!!

[tx4OU]

Go Gaels!!!!
Maybe I just need to go to bed, but when I read your post swok, I thought of a nice old southern genteel lady yelling a generic cheer for her 'girl's' team in full accent:).

[DblT81]

In the first round, Cynthia Cooper's Prairie View A&M team went on the road to San Marcos, Texas and gave the Texas State Bobcats all they could handle. PVAMU led by double digits most of the first half. TSU put on a charge in the second half but PVAMU held them off until late in the game. PV missed a couple of free throws and that left the game at 83-81, PV leading with about 14 seconds left. Texas State hit a 3 pointer with less than 2 seconds to go for the win: 84-83.

Clay Kallum (http://fullcourt.scout.com/2/738913.html) can say in his summary of the WNIT that it is not a very good event. He can say that Prairie View A&M University and Texas State University are not good teams and won't provide a very good win if Texas Tech beats one of them in the second round. He can down grade their ability to provide a competitive and intense game. And he can dismiss the regional basis of the early rounds of the WNIT.

But that was a heck of game to listen to on the radio. The young men who were doing the play by play and analysis for Texas State's radio network will probably long remember this game. They were so excited for a Texas State victory in their first appearance in the WNIT. And they were very happy at the opportunity for the Bobcats to continue playing in Lubbock this weekend. After the game, TSU's coach was appreciative of the university's athletic department for providing the "investment", the financial commitment to bid to host that game. I'm sure it was played at a cost to Texas State.

Both Texas State and Prairie View A&M won their respective Southland Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season titles. Both had what the news stories refer to as "heartbreaking" losses in their conference tournaments which knocked them out of the NCAA tournament.

As a basketball fan, it was great entertainment to listen. Without the WNIT, it would never have taken place. Those young radio guys wouldn't have the opportunity for the experience to call another game this season. Those young players at Texas State wouldn't have the chance for a few more practices and a chance to make some plays they will remember and carry into their summer workouts and fall practices for next season. Whether they can provide a competive and intense game on Saturday is not the only benefit from this tournament.

Kallum laments that the WNIT is stacked to benefit the BCS conf schools. If there was unlimited money, I'm sure the organizers would love to try to seed the tournament and get the best possible balance and fairness. But there is not unlimited money. The costs for travel to balance the competitiveness and make for neutral sites cannot possibly be covered. The NCAA has multiples of more funds available and they can't get a perfect competitive/neutral balance in the "real" tournament either.

Regarding the criticism of the BCS schools who stumbled to poor finishes - they had a reason for doing so. They faced tough competition in their conferences. They aren't bad teams. Just not as good as the best teams in their conference. Otherwise, they wouldn't dominate the WNIT as Kallum expects them to do. Many of the BCS schools in the WNIT are certainly among the best 64 wcbb teams in the NCAA. But the NCAA doesn't take the best 64 teams.

I don't think anyone should tell those participants, players, coaches, fans, radio announcers, and game officials who were at Strahan Coliseum last night until that last 14 seconds was played that the WNIT is not a good event. Two teams that had devastating ends to otherwise bright seasons had their hearts pumping and the adrenaline flowing.

The WNIT post season tournament may have many flaws, it may not be the real tournament. but there are 48 teams who should be happy to have another opportunity. I know I am happy they do.

Kallam got something right, ... once in the WNIT, most teams make the most of it. It’s an opportunity for young teams to gain experience, a chance for small schools to rise up and beat the local powers that won’t schedule them, and, as mentioned, a window on a lot of teams with a lot of wins that normally fly well under the radar. ...that’s why they play the games, and the WNIT should have plenty of good ones.

Last night in San Marcos, they did.







PS I give kudos to Clay Kallum for writing his article and metioning the many teams who had a lot of wins but who fly well under the radar... even if I have issues with some of the negative portions.

[TTU79]

Great post, DblT. Is Noel Johnson one of the coaches for Texas State?

[DblT81]

After many years at TSU, Noel took an assistants job at North Texas for this season.

[Scamp]

Sometimes I wonder why Clay Kallam writes about women's basketball, since he is so contemptuous of much of the sport. His periodic rants against those of us who root for "our girls" (his phrase, not mine, for a favorite team) make me grind my teeth. :mad:

[SAXkid1407]

the texas state vs. prarie view was a great game! whoever said these two teams weren't at all any good should have been watching. prarie view's freshman starter scored 41 points. thankfully, our senior decided to take the game into her own hands and lift us over prarie view. i don't think that these two teams aren't half bad. cooper has done a great job coaching and recruiting. she even "raised the roof" and winked at us in the student section!! texas state can run the floor and hit 3's with someone in their face. maybe one day we'll be able to play with the likes of baylor or texas. but for right now we're just taking it one step at a time.

oh, in case it hasn't gotten out yet, tsu football is going to be able to play fbs football. our athletics is slowly getting into the spotlight! watch out for the bobcats we're flying under the radar!

eat 'em up cats!

[Bball Girl]

Thanks Dblt - you're on target. Maybe the WNIT isn't what it could be someday, but it's better than it was.

I still remember listening to a San Diego radio call of the Tech game - the young women were absolutely stunned with our team and with Jia - their awe and enthusiasm is something I'll never forget or take for granted.

The NIT is a great chance for these teams to play outside of their boundaries to experience post season play and who knows - to build the stepping stones to a NCAA appearance. While some of these teams may not be as "good" as the teams we are used to - many of them are well coached, they have solid fundamentals and they play with heart and determination. Just watching Belmont almost take down Duke yesterday was fabulous.

[Guns Up!]

If it weren't for the "automatic bid" BS of the NCAA tourney, possibly two to three more teams from the Big 12 (or other conferences) would have gotten it. Fact remains, there are some teams in the WNIT that are better than some in the NCAA.

i.e. Florida State...:rotflol::rotflol:

[40ishHorn]

DblT, you OP was excellent and on point. Thanks for expressing the excitement and passion from the TSU/PV matchup that the world missed out on.

I wonder what Noel Johnson's future holds at UNT since they let the head coach go at the end of this season?

[DblT81]

Kallum doesn't say this so I'm not charging him with my assertion here-


It seems that some critics of the post season tournaments have two issues.

1. That games in the two big post season tournaments are not more competitive from the first rounds.

2. That the smaller conference schools are not given a fighting chance due to location of the games or other built in biases.

The result is few of the Belmont-Duke type games in the women's tournaments.

Again, the biggest deterrent to a perfect world is money. Without the money, the only way I see to address 1. & 2. is to split the two tournaments. Make one tournament for major conference schools only. Make a second for those other conferences - mid majors, FCS, wherever you want to divide the two.

That way Texas State and Marist have a chance to play more than one or two games in tournament 2. The games would be more competitive. You would still have the regional basis of matchups to contend with because the costly travel and that might result in some mismatches from a seeding standpoint.

In tournament one, you would have the top 64 (or 48 or 32) major conference teams. The games would be more competitive. The pretenders exposed at an early round. You won't have a cinderlla story of Harvard beating Stanford but you might have more upsets overall.


Oh! but nobody will pay attention to Tournament 2 with a bunch of small schools!
Does anyone pay attention to the WNIT right now? Kallum says that all the games fly under the radar until the semifinals. Perhaps if most of the games are competitive barn burners like Prairie View/Texas State, more WILL pay attention.

Oh! but that is unfair to schools in small conferences who might develop a very competitive program. They won't have a chance to become a La Tech.
Seriously, does anyone think in today's big money sports environment that a La Tech can develop and sustain a top competitive program at the highest levels?

How many upsets are there in the women's NCAA tournament? Would UCSB who generally has a quality program but is in a crummy conference be left behind in such a system? Yes, but then, they might have a chance to be national champions every year too.

Many states have 5 or more divisions of high school sports based on size and have state tournaments for each division.

This solution just expands on the divisions that already exist in college sports- separate tournaments for Div III, Div II, FCS and FBS.

Now am I really advocating for this to happen? No, I just wanted to propose a solution for those who think that there is unfairness in the system for small schools and that there are not more competitive games. If this isn't the answer, stop complaining that Kansas gets to host a smaller school in the WNIT.

[Jimi]

Doesn't he know the whole reason the WNIT was invented was to create another scam so that the flyover country league (B-12) can get to claim they hosted a million fans again.. :D

[SAXkid1407]

I agree DBlT it's really all about money. whenever we had to vote at tx state to move up to fbs we were agreeing to allow our tuition to go up as well. we would be goin up to $20 a credit hour for athletics to help pay for all the costs it takes to build up to fbs standings. course i don't even want to imagine how much it is at a big 12 school. we get in to games for free with our student id...the wnit tourny ticket only cost $5. when tx state played baylor i got a group of tickets cheap...at $30 each. it's all about money to be a top contender.

[BeBe]

What is 'fbs' ?

[Jimi]

What is 'fbs' ?
That's a "Freshman Bake Sale". :D

I'm guessing he means "Football School", but it might be a Christian "Fundamental Back Slider" for all I really know. Just trying to help. ;)

[DblT81]

What is 'fbs' ?

Long version:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I

Short version:

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS, (formerly known as NCAA Division I-A) college football is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine its champion.

Schools in Division I FBS compete in post-season bowl games, with the champions of six conferences receiving automatic bids to the highly lucrative Bowl Championship Series to determine a national champion. This is due to many factors, including tradition and certain legal decisions against the NCAA, especially with regard to the sale of television rights.

The remaining five conferences, often referred to as "Mid-Majors", do not receive automatic bids but their conference champions are eligible for one of the four remaining "at-large" spots.

The Division I Football Championship Subdivision, FCS, (formerly known as I-AA) determines its champion in a 16-team, single-elimination tournament. The champions of eight conferences receive automatic bids to this tournament. However, teams from other conferences are still eligible for one of the eight remaining "at-large" spots.

In 2007, there were 119 full members of Division I FBS.

That would mean that there are over 200 Division I schools in FCS

[Jimi]

Long version:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I

Short version:

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS, (formerly known as NCAA Division I-A) college football is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine its champion.

Schools in Division I FBS compete in post-season bowl games, with the champions of six conferences receiving automatic bids to the highly lucrative Bowl Championship Series to determine a national champion. This is due to many factors, including tradition and certain legal decisions against the NCAA, especially with regard to the sale of television rights.

The remaining five conferences, often referred to as "Mid-Majors", do not receive automatic bids but their conference champions are eligible for one of the four remaining "at-large" spots.

The Division I Football Championship Subdivision, FCS, (formerly known as I-AA) determines its champion in a 16-team, single-elimination tournament. The champions of eight conferences receive automatic bids to this tournament. However, teams from other conferences are still eligible for one of the eight remaining "at-large" spots.

In 2007, there were 119 full members of Division I FBS.

That would mean that there are over 200 Division I schools in FCS
Wow. Thanks DblT81. The short version is most helpful.

Ahh well, I so hoped it was a bake sale but your answer makes a lot more sense.

[BeBe]

Thanks DblT81. The 'really really short' version (fbs = the artist formerly known as Division 1-A) would have worked. But your explanation provided a bunch of good info.

[Bball Girl]

TCU beat Boise State 85-56

If not for UNM winning the MWC tourney, TCU would have been in the NCAAs and UNM would have been in the WNIT. TCU's got an excellent team although Ross has not been as dominant as in other years. Tech's got their work cut out.


If I forget tomorrow -

GO :CU: :KU:

[DblT81]

I see where the bracket says that if Kansas wins their second round game, they must travel to Michigan State for the third round on Thursday.

[swok34]

I'm afraid our little Iona has fallen tonite :(

[Bball Girl]

I'm afraid our little Iona has fallen tonite :(

Darn...no Marist no Iona :(