Thursday, December 8, 2016

John Wooden Award preseason top 30

Check the list:

Lindsay Allen, Notre Dame

Kristine Anigwe, California

Jordin Canada, UCLA

Alaina Coates, South Carolina

Nia Coffey, Northwestern

Nina Davis, Baylor

Diamond DeShields, Tennessee

Asia Durr, Louisville

Makayla Epps, Kentucky

Katelynn Flaherty, Michigan

Rebecca Greenwell, Duke

Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville

Jessica January, DePaul

Alexis Jones, Baylor

Brionna Jones, Maryland

Erica McCall, Stanford

Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State

Mariya Moore, Louisville

Adrienne Motley, Miami

Kia Nurse, Connecticut

Alexis Peterson, Syracuse

Kelsey Plum, Washington

Leticia Romero, Florida State

Katie Lou Samuelson, Connecticut

Shakayla Thomas, Florida State

Brianna Turner, Notre Dame

Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Maryland

Sydney Weise, Oregon State

A'ja Wilson, South Carolina

Myself and other voting members will soon vote on a midseason list.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Some milestones and big wins

The Big Game:

Connecticut pulled away from Notre Dame for a 72-61 win.

As I tweeted after the win, I suppose now the "don't hate, just get better" and "if you don't like UConn, you don't like basketball" chatter will begin again soon. Words can't express how bored I am with that line of thinking and all the yammering that goes with it.

In the meantime, UConn coach Geno Auriemma apparently said in the post-game press conference that they had to "knock the California out of Katie Lou Samuelson" to get her to play their way. And UConn fans wonder why Auriemma offends so many people.

I'm glad that Washington coach Mike Neighbors didn't try to knock the California out of Kelsey Plum, because she's the nation's leading scorer. Again.

More results, including some milestones:

In #12 Ohio State's 108-73 rout of Southern, Kelsey Mitchell became the fastest player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 career points.

A big fourth quarter gave Kansas State it's 900th win, as they beat UT-Arlington, 62-49. The Wildcats are 9-0.

#25 Virginia Tech is 9-0 after downing Central Connecticut, 81-47.

It was Iowa's turn to rule at home, as they beat Iowa State, 88-76.

#20 Syracuse 76, Coppin State 30.

Texas Tech 84, Houston 60

BYU 73, Weber State 64

North Carolina 75, Marshall 53

La Salle 58, Penn 56

St. John's 65, Rutgers 39

American 66, George Washington 61

All scores.

Tomorrow's schedule.

College team news:

Vanderbilt has something brewing.

Nebraska is trying to stay upbeat as their losing streak has hit five.

Georgetown captured five wins on an extended road trip.

Success for Seton Hall relies on resiliency.

Tennessee has their first 2018 commit.

College player news:

The NCAA's starting five for the week.

Rising Erica McCall is ready to finish strong for Stanford.

College coach news:

Coach JR Payne has #18 Colorado on track and undefeated.

WNBA player news:

Cappie Pondexter pushes for a title on court, and citywide healing in Chicago off court.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

More story lines of intrigue

Today's results:

#3 Baylor 90, Texas State 24

#4 Maryland 97, Towson 63

#14 Miami 81, Loyola Chicago 43

Purdue 62, Central Michigan 51

Minnesota 69, New Mexico 65

Green Bay 78, Marquette 63

Utah 80, Nevada 50

Indiana 94, North Texas 64

Charlotte 77, Duquesne 63

Pitt 76, Bryant 60

Michigan State 71, Quinnipiac 54

Drake 84, Nebraska 70

Idaho State 42, Wisconsin 35

South Dakota State 83, North Dakota 72

All scores.

Tomorrow's schedule.

College team news:

Depth is a luxury for Baylor.

Post play is driving Penn's success.

College player news:

Washington guard Kelsey Plum is on the verge of breaking the Pac-12 all-time scoring record.

Why has Ally Disterhoft been flying under the radar? She's chasing Iowa's all-time leading scorer mark.

A long-ago connection for Arizona freshman Bria Rice has lead her to where she is today.

Teniya Page is pacing Penn State's offense in close match ups.

Steady progression defines Hannah Gilbert's journey at Cal Poly.

Temple senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald wants people to remember her name.

College coach news:

Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie will face her own daughter Thursday when the Blue Devils play Elon.

With a lull in their schedule, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff has a chance to tinker with the line up.

Notre Dame vs. UConn tomorrow:

The series has had plenty of memorable moments.

Skylar Diggins shares her thoughts on the match up.

Such a difference between polls.....

This week's USA Today top 25 coaches poll doesn't look much like the AP poll:

1. Notre Dame
2. Connecticut
3. Baylor
4. Maryland
5. Mississippi State
6. South Carolina
7. Florida State
8. Louisville
9. UCLA
10. Stanford
11. Washington
12. Ohio State
13. Miami
14. West Virginia
15. DePaul
16. Oregon State
17. Texas
18. Kentucky
19. Syracuse
20. Oklahoma
21. Duke
22. South Florida
23. Arizona State
24. California
25. Florida

Monday, December 5, 2016

That slow down time in December

Today's results:

With their 74-63 win over Tulane, Vanderbilt is 8-1 under first-year coach Stephanie White.

SMU edged Texas A&M, 54-53, after the Aggies fell from the rankings today.

#25 Virginia Tech routed Gardner-Webb, 76-42.

Xavier is 6-0 after squeaking by Michigan, 60-58.

Georgia nipped Furman, 67-62.

James Madison 82, Rutgers 76.

All scores.

Tomorrow's schedule.

Remember that the next two weeks are finals weeks at colleges, so some of your favorite teams may be on break.

College team news:

Notre Dame and UConn renew their rivalry Wednesday. Woo!!

Oregon is on the cusp of being ranked.

Michigan State is still finding itself on the court.

College player news:

Katie Lou Samuelson is playing a big role in UConn's great start.

Some changes in AP top 25 poll

As predicted, this week's AP top 25 poll has many changes:

1. Connecticut
2. Notre Dame
3. Baylor
4. Maryland
5. Mississippi State
6. South Carolina
7. Florida State
8. Louisville
9. UCLA
10. Stanford
11. Washington
12. Ohio State
13. West Virginia
14. Miami
15. Kentucky
16. DePaul
17. Texas
18. Colorado
19. Oklahoma
20. Syracuse
21. Duke
22. South Florida
23. Florida
24. Oregon State
25. Virginia Tech

Wow!

Tennessee, Auburn and Texas A&M out.....Duke (told ya so), South Florida and Virginia Tech in.

Oregon missed the rankings by one measly vote.

Pac-12 teams make up 20 percent of the list.

Coach’s Chair: Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga University

Lisa Fortier is in the Coach's Chair this week. I respect how she balances a high-pressure job and motherhood.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Duke-South Carolina post-game quotes

Post-game statements from the coaches and players of both teams.

Season already full of twists and turns

Department of WHOA!:

Duke upset #3 South Carolina, 74-63, behind 29 points from Rebecca Greenwell. It's the first loss of the year for the Gamecocks.

(Check out the great headline on this story, and press conference)

Oral Roberts stunned #12 Oklahoma, 74-67, with a late 18-0 run.

#13 Washington turned on the gas late to rout Fresno State, 85-54. Kelsey Plum had 30 points and Chantel Osahor, 22 rebounds.

#7 Louisville hung on to edge #17 Kentucky, 69-67 in OT.

Cal 86, Nebraska 65....the Bears have matched their best start in program history.

Northwestern 75, Chicago State 42....and Nia Coffey broke the Wildcat program rebounding record, formerly held by NCAA executive Anucha Browne.

IUPUI 73, Missouri 45 (what?) IUPUI is 6-1, and marked their first defeat of an SEC opponent.

More results:

#1 Notre Dame 114, Valparaiso 54

#2 Connecticut 72, #14 Texas 54

#4 Baylor 88, #22 Tennessee 66

#6 Maryland 92, UMBC 42

#8 Florida State 90, Western Carolina 41

#9 Ohio State 80, Cincinnati 38

#10 UCLA 72, Hawaii 49

#11 Stanford 68, UC Davis 42

#16 West Virginia 66, Ole Miss 61

#18 Miami 66, Old Dominion 56

#20 Syracuse 95, Central Connecticut 63

Alabama 71, Kansas 66....and the Tide is 7-0

Arizona State 69, Florida State 63

George Washington 72, Illinois 56

LSU 67, TCU 61

Arizona 74, New Mexico State 63

Seton Hall 70, Wake Forest 63

Charlotte 70, Pitt 63

Virginia 67, Bowling Green 47

Boise State 77, Washington State 73

North Carolina 78, Elon 73

Iowa 88, Northern Iowa 39

Purdue 71, Colgate 51

Wyoming 69, South Dakota 62

Oregon 95, Vanguard 55

Iowa State 100, New Orleans 63

Wisconsin 64, Illinois State 46

Louisiana Tech 66, McNeese State 56

All scores.

Tomorrow's schedule.

College team news:

The Syracuse back court may be the best in the country.

The Lady Vols are unhappy with their effort after the Baylor loss.

College player news:

USC senior guard Jordan Adams has torn her ACL and is out for the season.

Officials news:

Collected wisdom: NCAA basketball official Dee Kantner.

WNBA team news:

There's no easy fix for the Sun after Chiney Ogwumike's Achilles rupture.

WNBA player news:

Sun forward Morgan Tuck is working her way back from a knee injury.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

No upsets, but lots of intrigue

#6 Mississippi State held on to edge Iowa State in overtime, 85-81. The Bulldogs are 8-0 and it was the first loss of the year for the Cyclones.

#19 Florida romped past Long Beach State, 83-53.

#21 Colorado took care of Idaho State, 85-56.

Middle Tennessee edged Tulane, 62-59, for a big home win.

Arkansas is 8-0 after getting by Texas Tech, 66-60.

Ohio is 6-0 after trouncing Duquesne, 64-46.

Vanderbilt took care of SIUE, 73-63, to win the Air Force Classic. The Commodores are 7-1.

Rutgers notched their second win of the season by holding off Bucknell, 57-53.

New Mexico snapped a four-game losing streak with a 64-49 win over SMU.

Oklahoma State routed Georgia, 71-51.

USC and Sacramento State still batting at this hour, and Oregon State and BYU coming up in 15 minutes.

All scores so far.

College team news:

The Lady Vols are familiar with the challenge presented by Baylor.

Kentucky looks to grab win six in a row tomorrow against Louisville.

College player news:

South Carolina's freshman are disrupting their opponent's best players.

Iowa State's Seanna Johnson bears the joys and burdens of her family's basketball bond.

Iman Lathan's hustle is igniting Cal State Fullerton.

Gym rat Hannah Whitish is helping Nebraska early in her college career.

College coach news:

Should free throw rules be changed? Some coaches say yes.

Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff says improvement is needed in all areas.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma isn't sure which one of his teams will show up for the upcoming game against Texas.