sweet 16 games

#76
#76
Geno will beat Pat's tourney win record on Monday. It was inevitable... but it's still sad to see another one of her records fall.
 
#77
#77
Every record is meant to be broken. But how you are remembered is what counts. Pat will always be the greatest and a trailblazer for women's sports.
 
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#79
#79
in the second game against MSU, we didn't need MR to be the offense, not with the Jamie & Diamond show running at full throttle. Russell took care of both MSU bigs and negated their inside advantage which is what they used so well in beating Washington.

ps: in the 1st UT/MSU game, Russell outscored both MSU's bigs, had more rebounds than both and did that with Nared , Meme Jackson, Nunn and Middleton playing totally like crap.


ps: in 55 minutes total in playing time against Russell, McCowan had a total of 15 points and 14 rebounds to Russell's 80 minutes, 26 points and 24 rebounds. MSu's Okorie didn't score and had 5 rebounds total in 23 minutes.
 
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#80
#80
Yeah I think MR did well against Bigs this yr. Her problem was stopping slashing guards going to the rim and sneaking in go get rebounds against the tall gal.
 
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#81
#81
Watching the Stanford and Notre Dame game and I'm just hoping that our guard play is just a percentage of what I'm seeing. Neither team's guards are very athletic or quick, but they make it up with high basketball IQ and can make shots. What a weapon the 3 ball can be.
 
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#82
#82
Attendance at ND/Stanford in Lexington today was an "announced" 2,527... and it didn't seem like that many were actually in the venue.

Bridgeport and Oklahoma City should do fine... but Stockton could be a disaster with Oregon State out. Not sure there are many SC or Florida State fans there.

If attendance is going to be a priority, competitive balance and not putting too many conference teams in the same region will have to be sacrificed. Don't you think that the folks in Stockton wish that either Stanford or Oregon would be playing their games there this weekend?
 
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#83
#83
ocoandasoc said:
Attendance at ND/Stanford in Lexington today was an "announced" 2,527... and it didn't seem like that many were actually in the venue.

Bridgeport and Oklahoma City should do fine... but Stockton could be a disaster with Oregon State out. Not sure there are many SC or Florida State fans there.

If attendance is going to be a priority, competitive balance and not putting too many conference teams in the same region will have to be sacrificed. Don't you think that the folks in Stockton wish that either Stanford or Oregon would be playing their games there this weekend?
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OKC was a disaster as well at just over 3000. Bridgeport is the only regional site that has performed - sold out at 8830 for each day. Probably a few empty seats for the departed teams tomorrow but for all the attempt to rearrange seedings to put 'driving distance' teams into regionals, those teams have not come through.
 
#84
#84
UCMiami said:
OKC was a disaster as well at just over 3000. Bridgeport is the only regional site that has performed - sold out at 8830 for each day. Probably a few empty seats for the departed teams tomorrow but for all the attempt to rearrange seedings to put 'driving distance' teams into regionals, those teams have not come through.
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Maybe if they cut it down to 2 regions instead of four. One somewhere from Nashville to Indy and the other one around Salt Lake City. They could have a Region A and Region B at both locations. Winners of each region go to Final Four in another location. More teams at each location would hopefully raise attendance.
 
#85
#85
maxvolfan said:
Yeah I think MR did well against Bigs this yr. Her problem was stopping slashing guards going to the rim and sneaking in go get rebounds against the tall gal.
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It's the guards primary job to stop penetration and block out the opposing guards - not Russell's.
 
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#86
#86
Decker Moss said:
Maybe if they cut it down to 2 regions instead of four. One somewhere from Nashville to Indy and the other one around Salt Lake City. They could have a Region A and Region B at both locations. Winners of each region go to Final Four in another location. More teams at each location would hopefully raise attendance.
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Whatever happened to the idea of having the entire tournament - all 64 teams - at the same venue over a couple weekends?
 
#88
#88
LVJeff said:
Whatever happened to the idea of having the entire tournament - all 64 teams - at the same venue over a couple weekends?
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One venue, with one court, you mean? You'd have to play one game after another--24/7--for a couple of weeks. 3:00 tip off! Shame on Lexington--a basketball town--and OKC for such poor crowds. Stanford-ND should be an attraction--I've go watch them play.

Defensively, Russell's biggest problem is that she doesn't stay in the paint. She apparently hasn't been told that she shouldn't chase the opposition big out to the top of the key. She leaves the paint, leaving it open for guards/forwards to slash to the basket. They key to really good man defense is ball and court awareness--and other players picking up an opponent who has beat her defender on the dribble. We do not do this well enough. You don't just stare at your mark. You've got an eye on your mark and also know where the ball is and are ready to step over and pick up someone slashing to the basket.

It's all pointless, I'm afraid--we will never win anything until we get a new coach. That's the bottom line.
 
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#90
#90
Whenever I watch WCBB on TV, house guests always comment at how empty the venues are and how it suggests low interest for the sport.

The solution, particularly during the tournament, is for regionals to be held at smaller venues. Geno has suggested this also, and I agree.

I believe venue sizes should seat up to 10,000.

The Bridgeport site seats 10,000 and the Stockton site about 12,000.

Rupp Arena in Lexington seats 23,500 and the Oklahoma City arena seats 18,000. Those venues are too large to host WCBB regionals.

The change to smaller venues in women's basketball has had success at the high school level. In Wisconsin, the high school state tournment was moved in 2013 from the 17,000-seat Kohl Center in Madison to the 10,000-seat Resch Center in Green Bay. Fans and players immediately commented that the venue change led to higher energy and a better overall sporting environment.

The change to smaller venues for regionals will likely do the same and look better on TV.

Why is our sport so resistant to change?
 
#91
#91
NoBackBoard said:
Whenever I watch WCBB on TV, house guests always comment at how empty the venues are and how it suggests low interest for the sport.

The solution, particularly during the tournament, is for regionals to be held at smaller venues. Geno has suggested this also, and I agree.

I believe venue sizes should seat up to 10,000.

The Bridgeport site seats 10,000 and the Stockton site about 12,000.

Rupp Arena in Lexington seats 23,500 and the Oklahoma City arena seats 18,000. Those venues are too large to host WCBB regionals.

The change to smaller venues in women's basketball has had success at the high school level. In Wisconsin, the high school state tournment was moved in 2013 from the 17,000-seat Kohl Center in Madison to the 10,000-seat Resch Center in Green Bay. Fans and players immediately commented that the venue change led to higher energy and a better overall sporting environment.

The change to smaller venues for regionals will likely do the same and look better on TV.

Why is our sport so resistant to change?
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Why is the sport so resistant to change you ask? I would argue that it's not, because change in order to increase attendance has been tried. The NCAA has tried neutral sites, they've tried home sites, and they tried the pod concept with eight teams at one location. As far as smaller venues are concerned, it may lead to a less empty looking arena. But when there are only two or three thousand fans in the stands, where do you suggest they play to make it look full? A grade school gymnasium?

What will ultimately lead to more people in the stands is a better product on the floor. When more women's teams start playing at a higher level maybe more people will buy tickets and come to watch. Mississippi State is a good example of that. They were a doormat for years until Vic Schaefer took over, and now they got 10,000 people in the stands for senior night.

What is really a tough nut to crack however, is how to attract the casual fan. Women's sports across-the-board struggle with attracting the casual fan that has no vested interest in the school, or an interest in one of the players on the teams. I don't have an answer for that one either.
 
#92
#92
Taking that into account, it still doesn't make much sense to hold an event at a venue with thousands of empty seats. Why not hold it somewhere that can comfortably fit the number of expected fans?

I don't know any sports fan who wants to watch a game in a stadium of empty seats. It's a drain for fans and players.
 
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#93
#93
NoBackBoard said:
Taking that into account, it still doesn't make much sense to hold an event at a venue with thousands of empty seats. Why not hold it somewhere that can comfortably fit the number of expected fans?

I don't know any sports fan who wants to watch a game in a stadium of empty seats. It's a drain for fans and players.
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I have no objection to playing in a 10,000 seat arena as opposed to a 23,000 seat arena. Personally, I don't think the smaller arena looks any "less empty" when there are only 2 or 3,000 fans attending.

As far as it being a drain watching a game in an empty stadium - I agree. I just think the root problem is the lack of fans not the size of the arena. If you have a solution for increasing attendance, let's hear it.
 
#94
#94
nothing like sitting on the couch watching the games right ?
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#95
#95
LVJeff said:
I have no objection to playing in a 10,000 seat arena as opposed to a 23,000 seat arena. Personally, I don't think the smaller arena looks any "less empty" when there are only 2 or 3,000 fans attending.

As far as it being a drain watching a game in an empty stadium - I agree. I just think the root problem is the lack of fans not the size of the arena. If you have a solution for increasing attendance, let's hear it.
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I think the NCAA and the coaches have to focus on growing the game. Building storylines and highlighting entertaining players. The NFL is great at this. I'm not a football fan, but if turn to CBS or Fox on a Sunday, I stay tuned because of the storytelling.

There's no reason for USC failing to schedule Baylor the past three seasons or Plum's Washington not facing Mitchell's OSU.

There has to be more pressure placed on coaches to schedule premier matchups. And the press has to find more interesting stories than UConn's streak.

The first step is acknowledging we need to grow the game. Next step, ensuring the most entertaining players face off in the regular season.
 
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