[MV72018]

Preview:

I will return and keep editing this initial post to expand the preview as I learn more, but thought we should get the thread started for our first game in the NCAAs.

Two 16 seeds play each other on Wednesday at Maples, 6pm Pacific, for the privilege of playing Stanford on Friday, 4:30.  So we will have a couple of days to get ready for the winner.

Question for anyone who knows:  will the tickets we are purchasing to attend the first two rounds also admit us to this play-in round on Wednesday?  I will post the answer here once I know.

Sacred Heart is 18-13 overall and is getting back to the NCAAs for the first time in 11 years.  They play in the Northeast conference and beat Farleigh Dickinson, which had a much better record, in their tournament.    They are 258 in NET.

Southern is 18-14 overall.   They play in the Southwestern Conference, and were 4th in their regular season before winning their tournament.  Just like the Pac-12, neither of their league's two best teams competed to represent their league, and Southern actually beat a team with a losing record in the finals.  Southern is 257 in NET, so theoretically they are perfectly matched with Sacred Heart.

These two teams are, frankly, mediocre even in their own leagues before their league tournaments vaulted them over teams with much better records.  They are among the weakest teams in the tournament, and weaker than many many teams that did not make it to the tournament.  Neither of them could hold a candle to the infamous Harvard team of 1998, and worries about another 1/16 upset should be quashed.

So what kind of game could either of these two give us on Friday?  A lot will depend on what kinds of changes Tara has implemented in the wake of our dismal performance against UCLA, and how many of those changes she will be willing to show in what amounts to an exhibition game.  I don't expect to see anything new on Friday, and I do expect to see lots and lots of bench players contributing.  Come Sunday we will get a much better idea of whether, or how, Tara has reacted to our late season woes.

"...in what amounts to an exhibition game..."   Two words for you: "REMEMBER HARVARD!"

[MV72018]

Preview:

I will return and keep editing this initial post to expand the preview as I learn more, but thought we should get the thread started for our first game in the NCAAs.

Two 16 seeds play each other on Wednesday at Maples, 6pm Pacific, for the privilege of playing Stanford on Friday, 4:30.  So we will have a couple of days to get ready for the winner.

Question for anyone who knows:  will the tickets we are purchasing to attend the first two rounds also admit us to this play-in round on Wednesday?  I will post the answer here once I know.

Sacred Heart is 18-13 overall and is getting back to the NCAAs for the first time in 11 years.  They play in the Northeast conference and beat Farleigh Dickinson, which had a much better record, in their tournament.    They are 258 in NET.

Southern is 18-14 overall.   They play in the Southwestern Conference, and were 4th in their regular season before winning their tournament.  Just like the Pac-12, neither of their league's two best teams competed to represent their league, and Southern actually beat a team with a losing record in the finals.  Southern is 257 in NET, so theoretically they are perfectly matched with Sacred Heart.

These two teams are, frankly, mediocre even in their own leagues before their league tournaments vaulted them over teams with much better records.  They are among the weakest teams in the tournament, and weaker than many many teams that did not make it to the tournament.  Neither of them could hold a candle to the infamous Harvard team of 1998, and worries about another 1/16 upset should be quashed.

So what kind of game could either of these two give us on Friday?  A lot will depend on what kinds of changes Tara has implemented in the wake of our dismal performance against UCLA, and how many of those changes she will be willing to show in what amounts to an exhibition game.  I don't expect to see anything new on Friday, and I do expect to see lots and lots of bench players contributing.  Come Sunday we will get a much better idea of whether, or how, Tara has reacted to our late season woes.

"...in what amounts to an exhibition game..."   Two words for you: "REMEMBER HARVARD!"