WBB NCAA
- Thread starter Rich Lewis
- Start date
I really thought we earned a 5-seed and glad to see it come through. If we can get our first Tournament win, I really think we can compete well with Villanova. Good team of course and on their homecourt, but we should matchup pretty well.
Thanks Rich. Cougs are kind of on a roll. Baseball winning the series at OSU, women's BB getting this seeding. Good times.
I thought that they were one of the top 20 teams in the country when CL-W was playing. It is nice to know that the committee agreed. Both teams, FGCU and Villanova are going to be tough. But the Cougars have shown they can play with just about anyone, and they have shown they can play on the road.
Florida Gulf Coast is a powerhouse women's program. They're 32-3 and ranked #23 in the Nation. This is more like an 8/9 matchup.
I won't take them lightly, but a look at their schedule this year appears to show a lot of wins against sub-par competition– at least not at the same level as Pac-12 teams. FGC did beat Kentucky, but the women Wildcats were 12-19 this year. FGC's 3 losses included lopsided defeats against Duke & Stanford, and an OT loss to Liberty. Bottom line, I'm sure they are good and I expect a tough game, but FGC didn't have to play a lot of top 25 teams this year like WSU did and they didn't have any top 25 wins like the Cougars did. I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like a 8/9 matchup to me.
Glad Cougar
What do you think their NET ranking would be had they played in the Pac-12 instead of the Atlantic Sun Conference?
I expect a tough game and it's very possible WSU loses, but I think the seeding for both schools is appropriate.
Glad Cougar
Not sure. They played at Stanford early in the season and were down 4 at halftime at 8 after 3 quarters before getting beaten by 20. That's not any worse than we've done vs. Stanford over the past 75 meetings.
They won at Hawaii by 20. They beat San Diego by 10. They won at Kentucky.
They won all of their conference tourney games by an average of 20 points. Their average margin of victory in regular season conference games was over 25 points/game.
It doesn't really matter. We have to play teams like this if we want to advance, but this looks to be a like a Gonzaga/St Mary's men's type team. Plays in a smaller conference but absolutely dominates them and performs well in non-league games. Cougs have to be ready and not allow them to go on a 3-pt barrage to start the game.
Also noticed they have a guard on their team from Vancouver, WA and a transfer from Montana.
They have a lot of transfers. Providence, Mississippi State, Montana, St. Mary's, Vandy, Western Nebraska CC (is their leading scorer).
They have a lot of transfers. Providence, Mississippi State, Montana, St. Mary's, Vandy, Western Nebraska CC (is their leading scorer).
I'm not big on the women's NET, but the ASUN conference is #22 (Pac 12 is #1 this year). For comparison, the WCC's the #8 NET conference. The next 3 after FGCU: Liberty 108, Austin Peay 167, Jacksonville St. 203. They beat Kentucky, but Kentucky finished second to last in the SEC. Basically, they probably didn't really beat anyone that good even though they only lost 3 times.
With that said, FGCU is a tough 1st round opponent. They play fast, have a bunch of players that can hit 3s and they are get right up in your face as a team defensively. Their point guard is a handful. Very active on both ends, distributes, shoots long range 3s, and at 5'3" can finish at the basket. Whoever draws her throughout the game will have their hand full.
The Athletics Chantel Jennings has us going to the Sweet 16. She acknowledges FGCU isn't going to be easy but feels a full week to prepare will be the difference. I have to say, this team always appears prepared. I also may have said it in another post, but the 3rd quarter has to be the quarter with the biggest pllus differential for us. We always seem to makeup deficits or increase leads.
• Florida Gulf Coast will be a popular upset pick this March thanks to the fact that (1) they’re a No. 12 seed and people always want to pick a 12 seed upset and (2) Karl Smesko believes a good shot can be taken from anywhere on the floor, and on a short turnaround, that’s tough to guard against. But Washington State has a full week to prepare for FGCU’s offense, so when it comes to the Cougs, I’m riding with momentum and Shania Twain. Let’s go, girls.
Hoping Jennings is the better prognosticator here.
$ article
Women's NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket picks from Chantel Jennings: Why South Carolina will win it all
Jennings breaks down each region of the women's NCAA Tournament and makes her picks.
theathletic.com
I'm concerned about this game for a variety of reasons outside of the head-to-head talent matchup.
- We're traveling back East which is never easy.
- Florida Gulf Coast is sleepy good program.
- Most importantly, we're coming off of a historic P12 tournament championship run. So often you see teams let down after something like that.
FGCU is under seeded similar to South Florida a couple years ago. We need to score. We have a tendency to get off to slow starts on the offensive end. One thing I'm hoping goes in our favor is playing at Villanova's arena. It's not a big venue seating 6,500. Hopefully a good place to shoot.
We have been off for over a week and have a lot of experience. I don't see a letdown, but I guess you never know. It seems pretty important to this team to win a Tournament game. Year 1 we were burned out and South Florida really took it to us. Year 2 we came out asleep, burned out, and couldn't handle their big in the 2nd half. Hopefully those experiences help us get ready for what's ahead. No question FGCU is going to try to smack us in the mouth from the start.
EDIT: By the way, they probably are already in the air this year. Ethridge said they get to Philly at 6pm. She said she preferred going tomorrow, but this should give them time to acclimate to the time change.
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