Women's NCAA Tournament Raleigh 1st Round Breakdowns
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 16 Liberty (2:30 p.m. Sunday at Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana)
Well, someone has to play the number one team, right? The honor of drawing the top seed goes to Liberty as Big East meets Big South in one of eight Raleigh games. Notre Dame (30-3) had to make the tournament as an at-large (as if there were any doubt) following a 63-54 loss to Connecticut in the Big East tournament finals. The Fighting Irish average 79.6 points per game behind the triple-pronged attack of Skylar Diggins, Natalie Dovosel and Devereaux Peters. Diggins leads the team in scoring at 17 points per game and Peters averages 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds a contest. Liberty (24-8) won the Big South and topped High Point 81-73 in the Big South finals. Liberty has only won two tournament games in 13 appearances but comes in having won nine of its last ten games regular season games. Although the Flames average 71.2 points per game behind Devon Brown’s 16.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, Notre Dame should have no problem moving on to second-round action.
No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 15 Navy (11:15 a.m. Saturday at Comcast Center in College Park, Maryland)
The Terrapins have the honor of playing the first game of the regional, but the basketball-mad populace won’t mind one bit. Maryland (28-4), which tied Georgia Tech for third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is led by Alyssa Thomas’s 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and Tianna Hawkins’ 9.3 boards a contest. Maryland’s four losses have all come against ACC teams, twice to Miami and once to Virginia Tech and Duke. The Virginia Tech loss, considering that team finished 7-23, is scary, but Maryland should still have little problem handing Navy a first-round exit. Navy (18-13), which took third in the Patriot League, dropped three of its first four games, had a four-game losing streak in December, and suffered another three-game slump in February. Navy averages just 55.7 points per game, close to 24 points below what Maryland puts up in a game.
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Albany (6:30 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas)
Another of the nation’s top teams gets the honor of playing at least one home game as the Big 12 goes up against the America East Conference. Texas A&M (22-10) finished a distant second behind Baylor in the Big 12, but three of its losses came against Baylor and one apiece came against Purdue and Connecticut. Texas A&M is led by Tyra White (13.5 points) and Kelsey Bone (12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds) and has a 15-7 record in eight tournament appearances. Albany (23-9) took second in the America East but won the conference tournament with a 69-61 victory over UMBC (University Maryland Baltimore County). Ebone Henry leads Albany with 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Texas A&M outscores Albany on average 67.8-58.4, and the Great Danes just aren’t a high-scoring team. This game, like the first two, should be no contest.
No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 13 Marist (12:05 p.m. Sunday at Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida)
This game is played in friendly Southeastern Conference territory as Georgia travels over the border to take on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season champion. Georgia (24-8) saw most of its regular-season losses come at the hands of ranked teams like Georgetown, Gonzaga, Tennessee (twice) and Kentucky. Georgia was upset by South Carolina in the SEC tournament but qualified as an at-large team. The Bulldogs average 68.4 points per game under the leadership of Jasmine Hassell (13.2 points, 5.7 rebounds per game). Marist (25-7) started the season 5-6 but has won 20 of 21 games since as Corielle Yarde’s 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game led the way. Georgia has reached the regional semifinals in the last two seasons, but this game could be an upset special. Marist actually has a better perimeter game than Georgia (32 percent to 31.4 percent) and Marist’s scoring average is only 3.6 points below the Bulldogs. Georgia should win, but it is better than 50-50 your bracket could be spoiled by Marist.
No. 5 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (2:30 p.m. Sunday at Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida)
The second game of the doubleheader puts the Atlantic-10 up against the Atlantic Sun in what could be a rollicking good matchup. St. Bonaventure (29-3) lost to Delaware and Villanova during the regular season but saw its 18-game winning streak snapped against Dayton, 56-53, in the A-10 tournament finals. The Bonnies average 64.4 points per game and shoot 37.1 percent from 3-point range, one of the higher percentages in this region. Jessica Jenkins (14.3 points) and Megan Van Tatenhove (13.4 points, 6.0 rebounds) lead the way. Florida Gulf Coast (29-2) knocked off Stetson 67-39 in the Atlantic Sun finals and has losses to Seton Hall by six points and North Carolina State by five. Sarah Hansen leads FGCU at 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Eagles shoot 37.3 percent from 3-point range and average 74.7 points per game. This is a game where a 12 could easily beat a five seed, so mark this game with extreme caution. Do not be the least bit surprised if Florida Gulf Coast wins this contest.
No. 6 Arkansas vs. No. 11 Dayton (4:05 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas)
Another SEC team goes up against an Atlantic-10 opponent in neutral territory. Arkansas (23-8) tied South Carolina and LSU for fourth place in the league behind Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. Arkansas dropped its season opener, dropped the first four games of 2012 and fell twice to LSU and once to South Carolina in the closing games of the season. The Razorbacks have not been to the NCAA tournament in nine years but got there thanks to a 61.9 scoring average. C’eira Ricketts leads the team at 11.3 points per game and Ashley Daniels pulls down 6.3 rebounds per contest. Arkansas shoots just 28.6 percent from 3-point range. Dayton (23-6) finished third in the A-10 but knocked off St. Bonaventure in the conference championship game. The Flyers were blown out by Connecticut… but what team wasn’t… and were very competitive in losses to Cincinnati, Gonzaga and Temple. Dayton averages 70.7 points per game with Justine Raterman (14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds) leading the way. Dayton’s team shoots better from 3-point range as well (30.7 percent). Keep an eye on this game as a possible upset, as Dayton certainly has the goods.
No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Michigan State (1:30 p.m. Saturday at Comcast Center in College Park, Maryland)
Big East faces Big Ten in ACC territory as the Cardinals travel to the east coast for NCAA play. Louisville (22-9) tied Rutgers for sixth in the Big East, and its losses are to some of the nation’s best teams (Texas A&M, Kentucky, Rutgers, Connecticut, DePaul and Notre Dame). Is it any coincidence four of these teams reside in the Big East along with Louisville? Shoni Schimmel leads the way at 14.3 points a game and the Cardinals average 68.9 points a contest. The big thing to watch is the assist-turnover ratio (12.5 to 18.2), which suggests Louisville has a major case of dropsy when it comes to taking care of the ball. Louisville shoots 32.5 percent from 3-point range. Michigan State (20-11) finished in a second-place logjam with Ohio State, Purdue and Iowa, and its losses are to teams like Miami, Texas and Ohio State. Porsche Poole is Michigan State’s scoring leader (13.5) and the Spartans average 67.4 as a team and shoot 32.6 percent from 3-point range. This could be an even contest, but the edge goes to Louisville thanks to having more battle scars in a tougher conference.
No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Iowa (12:10 p.m. Sunday at Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana)
The Pac-12 and Big Ten face off in the last of the eight games. California (24-9) has to feel slightly robbed thanks to getting the eighth seed. Yes, the Golden Bears lost three times to Stanford, but the first game was an overtime loss by three points. Rutgers, Texas and Ohio State have also beaten California. California doesn’t score a high amount of points (69.7) but it sure can pull down the basketball (45.9 per game). Gennifer Brandon averages 9.9 rebounds a contest, which more than helps an offensive attack led by Layshia Clarendon’s 12.6 points per game. Iowa (19-11) has had several losses in Big Ten play to talented teams like Ohio State, Purdue, Nebraska and Penn State. The Hawkeyes average 71.3 points per game as a team but their leading scorer, Jamie Printy, went to the sidelines thanks to a torn ACL. Iowa averages 40 rebounds per game. This contest will come down to which team crashes the boards most often and most successfully. California may have a chip on its shoulder, making what should be a flip-flop 8-9 matchup into a more one-sided contest.
