Taking on the Women's Bracket
March 13, 2007— -- UConn fans are studying maps to find out where this mysterious outpost called "Fresno" is located (um, you'll have to look past the Mississippi River … and the Rocky Mountains). Of course, the loudest Chicken Littles in Huskies Nation started screaming, "People! Do I have to remind you we lost at the Hartford Civic Center last week?! We might not even make it to Fresno!"
Duke's bus drivers are wondering if they could drive to Raleigh, and then possibly Greensboro, literally in their sleep. Blue Devil guard Lindsey Harding probably figures she'll just ride a bike over to Raleigh. It'll be a good workout.
North Carolina guard Ivory Latta is practicing her Texas two-step, getting ready for the Dallas Regional.
Then you have the top four seeds in the Death, er, Destruction, er, Doom, er, Damned, er, Dayton Regional.
So we asked NCAA selection committee chair Judy Southard about it all.
"Principles and procedures," Southard said.
Top-seeded Tennessee, 2-seed Maryland, third-seeded Oklahoma and No. 4 seed Ohio State have this to say about potentially meeting in Dayton: "GR%#@$! M%#$&! F@@%$&$!"
Well, maybe not publicly. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has passed on the message to coaches to clam up no matter how ticked off they are, lest the selection committee get so offended it decides to hold the NCAA Tournament on another planet. (Memo to committee: Just in case the "principles and procedures" haven't been updated with this, Pluto is technically not a planet anymore.)
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt can pretty much say whatever she wants, though. Last year she was in the Group of Death at the Cleveland Regional, and now this one in Dayton looks like it might even be deadlier.
"Last year, we obviously gave them some options. We didn't run the table in the SEC by any means. I think this year's different," Summitt said of Tennessee going undefeated in its regular-season league play before falling to LSU in the league tournament.
"I thought Oklahoma was a No. 2 seed, I think Maryland's a No. 2 seed, I think Ohio State's a No. 3 seed. That's my opinion, and it really doesn't matter. I can't imagine the other teams being very thrilled about it, either. If I'm Ohio State, I'm like, 'A 4-seed?' Oklahoma, a 3-seed? Both of those surprise me."
