ChipperF1
03-29-2002, 12:05 PM
First a congratulations and good luck to http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/ou.gif
You survive the most competitive season in Big 12 History.
It is very fitting that a team from the Original Big 8 is the first Big 12 team to step into the breach of the Final Four. GO BIG 8, BIG 8 IS GREAT!!!
Tonight against Duke, Oklahoma faces a severe test. Duke is thin with just 8 players, but their guard play has been sensational throughout the post season. They matchup well with Oklahoma's wishbone backcourt.
I think turnovers and inside play will be a key. Duke is a very oppotunistic team with a lot of talent. OU MUST TAKE OF THE BALL.
Inside play is OU's advantage in my mind. Hill and Tolbert are scrappers. Tillis, Whitley and Matyasovsky are more inclined to shy away from muck-and-grind down low. If OU can keep good tabs on Beard, Currie and Mosch, it makes the inside game more important and Oklahoma can win the game.
On the other side, as good a defender Beard is, her backcourt mates are not as good, even the opportunistic but mistake-prone Currrie.
Overall Outlook: Its a 40 minutes fight, but I'll take Sherri Switzer, J.C. Dales, Billy Caulfield, and Buster Ross.
Oklahoma 78, Duke 74
Oh, and look for a double-double game from Forrest Hill.
Game Two....Connecticut, Tennessee..UNO MAS!!!
Tennessee's been a wounded bear much of the second half, and they've found a way to win. Problem is, the same deficiencies that they'd shown all year will get them beat against a team that's locked in on it and UConn is locked on
Connecticut 73, Tennessee 65
National Championship...My heart wants Oklahoma.
But there are 5 reasons why the Sooner will not beat the Huskies.
1. Sue Bird. Sue can run the offense. Sue can penetrate well. Sue can pass well. Sue can got hot and score in bunches, and Sue is a No Pest Strip on-ball defense. Also she can move without the ball very well. Sue knows the floor, knows her team and knows her opposition.
Stacey Dales can everything Sue can do, but as not as well as Sue.
2. Diana Taurasi. She makes mistakes, but for every one mistake she makes two plays that make you saw "WOW!"
LaNeisha Caulfield can do much the same things, and she's a better defensive player than Taurasi, but overall DT is the better player.
3. Swin Cash
4. Tamika Williams
5. Ashja Jones
They don't have the supersize inside. They average 6-2, but all three can do something with the ball. Can get open, and they can stick the jumper or drive inside. Also all three hit those boards.
They overtax other teams, even taller teams with their athleticism. They are the next generation of inside players in the women's game. They have the height, and they have the fundamental skills. All three handle the ball better than a lot of guards. All three can defend the whole floor. All three can post up or set up outside.
Caton Hill? Jamie Tolbert? good kids, but this is a bridge too far.
The Sooners will need big games from their X-Factors. Players like Jackson and Ross. If an Oklahoma Hero comes out to win this game, it won't be the people UConn knows, it'll be someone like a Rosalind Ross. A fly in the ointment. And I see her having a monster game. Include a dribble-drive in traffic with :03 that ties the game in regulation.
In the first overtime, Oklahoma will fight UConn tooth and nail, including Caton Hill stretching out to block a Taurasi chance to win the game with :04.
The second overtime, OU will break down as Stacey Dales collects her fifth foul with 1:33 to go, despite a furious effort to shot down Sue Bird. Bird takes advantage of the matchup against a game, but outgunned Dionnah Jackson, and UConn closes the show with late fury.
Connecticut 93, Oklahoma 88 (2OT)
You survive the most competitive season in Big 12 History.
It is very fitting that a team from the Original Big 8 is the first Big 12 team to step into the breach of the Final Four. GO BIG 8, BIG 8 IS GREAT!!!
Tonight against Duke, Oklahoma faces a severe test. Duke is thin with just 8 players, but their guard play has been sensational throughout the post season. They matchup well with Oklahoma's wishbone backcourt.
I think turnovers and inside play will be a key. Duke is a very oppotunistic team with a lot of talent. OU MUST TAKE OF THE BALL.
Inside play is OU's advantage in my mind. Hill and Tolbert are scrappers. Tillis, Whitley and Matyasovsky are more inclined to shy away from muck-and-grind down low. If OU can keep good tabs on Beard, Currie and Mosch, it makes the inside game more important and Oklahoma can win the game.
On the other side, as good a defender Beard is, her backcourt mates are not as good, even the opportunistic but mistake-prone Currrie.
Overall Outlook: Its a 40 minutes fight, but I'll take Sherri Switzer, J.C. Dales, Billy Caulfield, and Buster Ross.
Oklahoma 78, Duke 74
Oh, and look for a double-double game from Forrest Hill.
Game Two....Connecticut, Tennessee..UNO MAS!!!
Tennessee's been a wounded bear much of the second half, and they've found a way to win. Problem is, the same deficiencies that they'd shown all year will get them beat against a team that's locked in on it and UConn is locked on
Connecticut 73, Tennessee 65
National Championship...My heart wants Oklahoma.
But there are 5 reasons why the Sooner will not beat the Huskies.
1. Sue Bird. Sue can run the offense. Sue can penetrate well. Sue can pass well. Sue can got hot and score in bunches, and Sue is a No Pest Strip on-ball defense. Also she can move without the ball very well. Sue knows the floor, knows her team and knows her opposition.
Stacey Dales can everything Sue can do, but as not as well as Sue.
2. Diana Taurasi. She makes mistakes, but for every one mistake she makes two plays that make you saw "WOW!"
LaNeisha Caulfield can do much the same things, and she's a better defensive player than Taurasi, but overall DT is the better player.
3. Swin Cash
4. Tamika Williams
5. Ashja Jones
They don't have the supersize inside. They average 6-2, but all three can do something with the ball. Can get open, and they can stick the jumper or drive inside. Also all three hit those boards.
They overtax other teams, even taller teams with their athleticism. They are the next generation of inside players in the women's game. They have the height, and they have the fundamental skills. All three handle the ball better than a lot of guards. All three can defend the whole floor. All three can post up or set up outside.
Caton Hill? Jamie Tolbert? good kids, but this is a bridge too far.
The Sooners will need big games from their X-Factors. Players like Jackson and Ross. If an Oklahoma Hero comes out to win this game, it won't be the people UConn knows, it'll be someone like a Rosalind Ross. A fly in the ointment. And I see her having a monster game. Include a dribble-drive in traffic with :03 that ties the game in regulation.
In the first overtime, Oklahoma will fight UConn tooth and nail, including Caton Hill stretching out to block a Taurasi chance to win the game with :04.
The second overtime, OU will break down as Stacey Dales collects her fifth foul with 1:33 to go, despite a furious effort to shot down Sue Bird. Bird takes advantage of the matchup against a game, but outgunned Dionnah Jackson, and UConn closes the show with late fury.
Connecticut 93, Oklahoma 88 (2OT)