Nina's Sports Bad Boys Blog World: Connecticut, Tennessee, Baylor and Stanford are No. 1 seeds

Monday, March 14, 2011

Connecticut, Tennessee, Baylor and Stanford are No. 1 seeds

The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament has been more of a coronation than a competition the last two years as Connecticut rolled through back-to-back unbeaten seasons to win its sixth and seventh titles.

By Grant Halverson, US Presswire

Tennessee guard Meighan Simmons leads the No. 1-seeded Lady Vols.

By Grant Halverson, US Presswire

Tennessee guard Meighan Simmons leads the No. 1-seeded Lady Vols.

UConn again was anointed with the overall No. 1 seed when the field of 64 teams was announced Monday. But this year there are a handful of challengers confident they can finally wrest the crown from the Huskies.

?Stanford handed Connecticut its only loss this season and enters the postseason on a 23-game winning streak.

?Baylor lost by a point at UConn early in the season and has the nation's most dominant inside player in 6-8 sophomore Brittney Griner.

?Tennessee has not lost since mid-December.

UConn beat Baylor, which beat Tennessee, which beat Stanford, which beat Connecticut. The list of schools outside this circle who have beaten one of the Big Four is short: Georgetown defeated Tennessee;Texas Tech defeated Baylor, and DePaul defeated Stanford.

"I'm going to be prejudiced when I say I think there is a little separation at the top," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. "Just look at the head-to-head records."

That said, Connecticut still has won 110 of its last 111 games. The Huskies might be dangerously thin in numbers, but they still have two-time national player of the year Maya Moore.

"Until somebody takes that national championship away from them, they're still the team to beat," Mulkey said. "A bunch of us believe we have a great shot, but that doesn't mean UConn won't do it again."

Philadelphia Regional

Connecticut will play the opening weekend at home, beginning with a game against Hartford, coached by former Huskies star Jen Rizzotti. Duke is the No. 2 seed and still has senior guard Jasmine Thomas, but the Blue Devils lost to UConn by 36 during the regular season and split two games with fourth seed Maryland.

Look out for No. 3 seed DePaul, which lost three of its last five but has wins against Stanford and Notre Dame. An intriguing possible second-round game would be a rematch between neighbors Maryland and Georgetown, a game the Hoyas won in November.

And a shout-out to No. 15 Tennessee-Martin and No. 14 Navy, both making their NCAA tournament debuts.

Dayton Regional

Tennessee also will open at home but the Lady Vols are stuck in the toughest region. No. 2 seed Notre Dame gave UConn fits before fading in the Big East tournament title game.

The region's dark horse is fourth seed Ohio State, which finished strong after staggering through the middle of the season. The Buckeyes have a dangerous inside-outside combo in center Jantel Lavender and guard Samantha Prahalis.

Eleventh seed James Madison has the region's feel-good story in senior guard Dawn Evans, who has led the Dukes back to the tournament despite battling a serious kidney disease.

Spokane Regional

Stanford, which has reached three consecutive Final Fours, plays the first two rounds at home where it has won 61 in a row. But No. 2 seed Xavier is itching to avenge a last-second loss to the Cardinal in last year's regional final and has a pair of talented seniors in Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips.

No. 3 seed UCLA is dangerous but was 0-3 against Stanford this year. No. 4 Kentucky reached the regional final last year behind forward Victoria Dunlap.

A dark horse is 11th seed Gonzaga, led by point guard Courtney Vandersloot, which has a chance to play four rounds without ever leaving Spokane.

Dallas Regional

Baylor has Griner, freshman guard Odyssey Sims and is the fourth No. 1 seed with the benefit of playing the opening two games at home in Waco, Texas.

But No. 2 seed Texas A&M has three veterans in Kyra White, Danielle Adams and Sydney Colson. The Aggies went 0-3 against the Lady Bears but have a chance to win each game.

Wisconsin-Green Bay is a dangerous fifth seed, riding a 23-game winning streak. Middle Tennessee earned the 11th seed following the death of junior guard Tina Stewart, allegedly stabbed by roommate Shanterrica Madden.

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