The Guru Report: Impressive History Goes to LSU and UConn With Their 1-2 Rankings in the AP Women’s Poll

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Just two days after historic women’s basketball numbers were produced in gate receipts off the sellout crowd of 17,000 for WNBA Finals Game 3 in Brooklyn and the 55,000 in Iowa’s football stadium for a preseason game with DePaul, the Associated Press’ 48^th preseason poll was released Tuesday afternoon offering its on major historical notes.

 

Always targeted since the end of the Women’s Final Four that champion LSU and heavyweight UConn would be a powerful 1-2 punch at the outset of NCAA competition for 2023-24 that gets under way November 6^th, the duo’s rankings of first for the Tigers from the Bayou State and second for Geno Auriemma’s Huskies head a top five of the 25 that earned milestone moments.

 

In week 844 of the rankings that began in The Philadelphia Inquirer in the bicentennial year of November, 1976, under the headline “Move Over Guys Here Comes Another Poll,” though fate caused UConn to end incredible streaks, one has gone on through good and bad times.

 

This is the Huskies’ 545^th straight appearance, a streak that began in the preseason vote of 1993-94 and has continued 30 seasons and the first week of 31.

 

Having arrived on the scene, a decade and a half behind the powerhouse Tennessee program built by the late Pat Summitt, the Huskies have caught the Lady Vols and in a few weeks after the next poll they will own the achievement themselves and will keep extending it every week of voting for the foreseeable future.

 

This timeline has seen the accumulation of 11 NCAA titles and a slew of other achievements.

 

Meanwhile, with LSU’s No. 1 ranking, a first in the preseason vote for the Tigers, coach Kim Mulkey, at the outset of her third season since returning to her home state to revive the program becomes the first coach to have two No. 1 squads overall and in the preseason category, the other being Baylor.

 

This is Mulkey’s 399^th appearance with a team while off previous past stewardships led by the late Sue Gunter and Van Chancellor this is LSU’s 398^th appearance which is 15^th on the all-time list.

 

“Wow!” Mulkey texted back after sending her the news.

 

Mulkey is 7^th on the overall list and third on the active while Auriemma with 598 appearances third overall and second on the active behind Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, who is at 634. 

 

When Summitt retired to battle Alzheimer’s disease she finished at 618 missing only 14 rankings in the entire poll history at that point.

 

Stanford, normally a top 10 operation, many times top 5, is starting at 15, lowest since 15 in the final poll of 2018.

 

Should the Cardinal not perform well, Auriemma, with 1,180 wins, trails VanDerveer’s record total of 1,186 by six so he could easily catch her and then the two will just keep overriding each other.

 

Third in the preseason poll is Big Ten favorite Iowa, runnerup to LSU in the title game and returning national player of the year Caitlin Clark.

 

Fourth and fifth from the PAC-12, whose demise lies at the end of the season, are UCLA and with its highest ranking —mUtah, which visits Saint Joseph’s here in Philadelphia early in the season, though the conference coaches reversed the two in their league forecasts.

 

The rest of the top 10 portion of the 25 are led by No. 6 South Carolina, which went No. 1 in the voting wire to wire last season but then was upset by Iowa in the national semifinals. Ohio State is seventh, national semifinalist Virginia Tech is eighth, Indiana is ninth and Notre Dame tenth.

 

The top 15 are rounded out by Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas, Maryland and Stanford while the next five to make it 20 are North Carolina, Louisville, Florida State, Baylor and Colorado.

 

Southern Cal, Creighton, Illinois, Washington State, and Mississippi State complete the Top 25.

 

For the first time since early last season, the power 5 leagues with the Big East monopolize the poll and if this was next season after realignment, it would be the Power Four.

 

UCLA and Southern Cal are Big Ten bound, Utah and Colorado go to the Big 12, Texas is headed to the SEC and Washington State’s fate is unknown.

 

For now the PAC-12 leads all with six reps - UCLA, Utah, Stanford, Colorado, USC and Washington State.

 

Five each are from the Big Ten (Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland and Illinois), ACC (Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Louisville, and Florida State), and SEC (LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State) while Texas and Baylor are a duo from the Big 12, the Big East has UConn and Creighton).

 

Eight teams are gone from the final poll of 2023 – Villanova T-10^th, Duke 13, Oklahoma 16, Iowa State 17, Michigan 18, Gonzaga 19, UNLV 22, and Arizona.

 

UNLV is picked to win the Mountain West, likewise Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.

 

Some traditional teams who fell out return among the eight replacements — Ole Miss – 12 and a first ranking for coach Yolet McPhee-McCuin, Louisville – 17, Florida State 18, Baylor 19, Southern Cal 21, Creighton 22, Illinois 24, and Mississippi State, giving Sam Purcell his first ranking.

 

Tennessee, which had streaks of 82 – missing just the first ever poll, and 43, had a ten-week gap before launching the run on Feb. 17^th and lasting until Feb. 15^th, 2016, across 32 seasons. 

 

UConn has done it in 31 because there were more weeks in polling seasons at times. The record would have happened earlier had not 2020-21 started late after Covid and thus was just 17 weeks of polls.

 

After Baylor fell out last year Maryland took over second on current streaks and this is the Terrapins’ 250^th  week across 11 seasons, followed by South Carolina at 207 across nine seasonsand Stanford at 103 across four.

 

Then a big drop to Indiana at 75, Notre Dame at 36 returning after losing a long one several years ago, and LSU at 35.

 

Tennessee still leads most Top 10s at 627 to 547 off its history jump start followed by Stanford at 483 and for not much longer Summitt has the most overall rankings at one school at 618 but VanDerveer (606), who previously had coached at Ohio State, and Auriemma are closing in quickly.

 

Thanks to Michelle Watsky on the NCAA WBB communications staff of Rick Nixon, who can really handle the excel program, the Guru now has a streak index file for overall, preseason, and final polls showing each team’s best, current, top 10, top 5, and no. 1 in each category.

 

Tennessee at 45 of 48 has missed only three preseasons but two are recent and the Lady Vols missed the very first one.

 

Texas is next at 38, followed by Maryland and Stanford at 36; Connecticut at 34, and Georgia at 33, Louisiana Tech from glory days at 27, then a three-way tie of 25 among NC State, Penn State and Rutgers.

 

The current preseason poll streak leaders are Connecticut (34), Stanford (24), Baylor (20), Maryland (14), Louisville (12), and South Carolina (11).

 

Connecticut dwarfs everyone with a current preseason top 10 streak of 30.

 

Back with more notes in the next several days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru Report: A Save The Date Local Guide for Key Area and Regional Women’s Division I Games for 2023-24

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Don’t think you can afford to make it to Cleveland next spring for the Women’s Final Four?

 

Or even a week earlier might even be a stretch getting up to Albany where under the second year of the new format, two sets of four teams will make up half of the Sweet 16 round sending two teams forward in successive days.

 

Don’t fret. The group of what the Guru calls his 13 local division I teams besides what they offer of themselves will be playing schedules consisting of much talent from the opposition.

 

So, consider this first step into looking ahead to the collegiate winter a planning guide of choices, and some nights some will be tough when two or more are playing the same time.

 

Geographically speaking, the 13 include the Big Five; the duo of Drexel and Delaware out of renamed Costal Athletic Association, keeping the CAA but dropping the original Colonial in the conference name; up north the Patriot League duo of Lehigh and Lafayette; the trio out of New Jersey — Rider of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; Princeton, the powerhouse rival of Penn in the Ivy League; and Rutgers, one of two entries in the Big Ten, the other and last of this notation in Penn State.

 

Down below this written overture are groupings of selected games from the Guru’s annual local/national composite schedule that serves as a guide of where to go and what has to go into the overnight report.

 

The first segment is the complete composite Big Five schedule. Unlike their male counterparts, the women won’t go into the tournament format until next season, but Drexel will still play its ongoing slate against La Salle and Saint Joseph’s.

 

Maddy Siegrist, who turned into a player for the ages last season for Villanova and had the option of playing a fifth year is back, just not in uniform. Following a summer playing for the fourth place Dallas Wings, getting to the playoffs, Siegrist will be working for the program behind the scenes, whose duties we’ll describe in the near future.

 

Her influence, though, is already showing because the Wildcats’ season sales are already over 1,000 purchases.

 

Penn’s former star guard Kayla Padilla, who under Ivy rules couldn’t stay on for year five, is now near her home with two other Ivy stalwarts on what will be Southern Cal’s nationally ranked squad along with the nation’s top recruit in JuJu Watkins.

 

Keishana Washington has graduated Drexel, but the Dragons are bolstered with Brooke Mullin for her fifth year her transferring across town from Villanova.

 

Saint Joseph’s has its core back led by junior Talya Brugler, while La Salle returns the nation’s tunover/assist leader at point in Molly Masciantonio and is excited over incoming freshman Nicole Melious.

 

Temple, following a brutal first season under Diana Richardson brought about by injuries and player dismissals limiting the roster, is in much better shape and has Aleah Nelson still around to lead the backcourt.

 

So that’s just a taste.

 

Other games between locals and listed has Rider at Saint Joseph’s, Princeton at Villanova and Rutgers at Princeton, while Delaware will be at Temple.

 

Team by team, America East contender visits La Salle, so does ACC-member Virginia while inside the Atlantic 10 not counting the Hawks rivalry, big games in the Atlantic 10 will be here hosting Rhode Island and defending champion Saint Louis and visiting Duquesne.

 

As for Saint Joseph’s, the Hawks visit Patriot contender Boston U, and get this, on a night that will be not be conflicted by other games on Dec. 7, Utah, the defending PAC-12 champs, and a Final Four contender, will be visiting Hagan Arena after opening the season among the five top nationally ranked teams.

 

Saint Joseph’s in its Hawk Classic hosts New Hampshire, with Wagner and UAB on the other side of the bracket. Key game in the Atlantic 10 has home-and-home tilts with Rhode Island and Duquesne, and a trip to Saint Louis.

 

Penn visits Big East power Maquette, also hosts Maine, travels west to play UC San Diego and San Diego State, while in the Ivies, home-and-home slates with Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia, which hosts this season’s conference tourney, are the big games but Yale can’t be overlooked.

 

Temple visits nationally ranked Ole Miss, hosts the Big Ten’s Northwestern, whose coach Joe McKeown was a long timer at George Washington and is a Father Judge grad, inside the American Athletic Confeence, overwhelming favorite South Florida is here as is defending conference tourney champion East Carolina, and road trips to new member Rice.

 

Villanova, by virtue of the Big East, has a lot on its plate, headed by the home-and-home with returned to health Uconn.

 

They open the season in the Northwest visiting Portland and Oregon State, the latter which is one of two teams not yet knowing what conference they’ll land.

 

Pat contender visits, whole the ‘Cats visit Ivy power Columbia, and in the conference on Dec. 6 on a day with not other events happening in our world they will play Saint John’s in Madison Square Garden.

 

Had this been done a year ago, it likely would have become Maddy Square Garden with the entire town of Poughkeepsie descending down to Manhattan.

 

Drexel hosts Mid-American contender Buffalo and Atlantic Coast Conference stalwart Florida State and plays a holiday tourney meeting host Florida Gulf Coast and Cleveland State, the two teams Villanova beat on the Main Line in the NCAA to advance to the Sweet 16.

 

Delaware also plays Florida Gulf Coast in another tourney in the Sunshine State on Thanksgiving in a field that includes America East contender Vermont, and North Carolina, a nationally ranked team out of the ACC coached by former Princeton mentor Courtney Banghart.

 

The picks come out Thursday in the CAA but the big rivals for Delaware and Drexel are said to be Stony Brook, Northeastern, and Towson. The CAA tourney this year is in Washington at the home of the WNBA Mystics.

 

The Princeton schedule is like an in-season NCAA tourney. Besides the front-running contenders for the Ivy title, the home slate features Duquesne and Seton Hall but on the road stops include UCLA, playing  Oklahoma in a tourney in Fort Myers, Fla., followed by Big Ten contender Indiana in the same event. There are also visits to America East contender Vermont and Atlantic 10 contender Rhode Island.

 

Rider visits Virginia and hosts Boston U, while big MAAC threats are said to be Niagara, Marist, Fairfield, and Quinnipiac.

 

Rutgers will be playing a preseason game at South Carolina this Sunday in support of the memory by former Tennessee star Nikki McCray Penson, who served on both staffs and recently succumbed to cancer.

 

The Knights see Texas Tech and Boise State in Las Vegas and host Final Four contender Virginia Tech, while Big Ten rival Penn State sees Oklahoma State and Southern Cal in a tourney in the Bahamas.

 

Within the conference, a motherlode of huge games exist off Iowa with national player of the year Caitlin Clark, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State and Illinois, while Michigan and Purdue can’t be ignored.

 

In the Patriot League, Lehigh out of conference visits Pittsburgh while Lafayette will be going to Notre Dame, making up for a game that got postponed a year ago. Inside the Patriot, the 1-2 favorites are Holy Cross and Boston U.

 

All that said here’s the listings to save the dates.

 

Women’s Big 5 Slate

 

Nov. 14 Tuesday 6 p.m. Saint Joseph’s at Penn ESPN+

Nov. 19 Sunday 2 p.m. Temple at Villanova FloHoops

Nov. 22 Wednesday 6 p.m. Saint Joseph’s at Temple ESPN+

Nov. 29 Wednesday 6 p.m. La Salle at Penn ESPN+

Dec. 5 Tuesday 7 p.m. Penn at Villanova FloHoops

Dec. 9 Saturday 2 p.m. Villanova at Saint Joseph’s ESPN+

Dec. 10 Sunday 2 p.m. Penn at Temple ESPN+

Dec. 17 Sunday 1 p.m. Temple at LaSalle ESPN+

Dec. 21 Thursday 12 p.m. Villanova at LaSalle ESPN+

Jan. 15 Monday 12 p.m. La Salle at Saint Joseph’s CBSSN

 

Non Big 5

 

Nov. 15 Wednesday 6 p.m. La Salle at Drexel FloHoops

Nov. 19 Sunday 4:30 p.m. Saint Joseph’s at Drexel FloHoops

Feb. 18 Sunday 2 p.m. Saint Joseph’s at LaSalle ESPN+ - 2^ND A-10

 

Other Intra-Local

(Broken Down by Month)

 

Nov. 6 Monday 4 p.m. Delaware State at Temple ESPN+ - NCF

Nov. 7 Tuesday 7 p.m. Rider at Saint Joseph’s ESPN+ - NCF

Nov. 10 Friday 5 p.m. Drexel at Delaware State – NCF

Nov. 14 Tuesday 7 p.m. Lehigh at Delaware – NCF

Nov. 21 Tuesday 7 p.m. La Salle at Rider ESPN+ - NCF

Nov. 28 Tuesday 6 p.m.Drexel at Lehigh ESPN+ - NCF

 

Dec. 1 Friday 7 p.m. Lafayette at Rutgers B1G+ - NCF

Dec. 5 Tuesday 7 p.m. La Salle at Rutgers B1G+ - NCF

Dec. 7 Thursday 7 p.m. La Salle at Lehigh ESPN+ - NCF

Dec. 11 Monday 7 p.m. Princeton at Villanova FloHoops – NCF

Dec. 13 Wednesday 7 p.m. Rutgers at Princeton ESPN+ — NCF

Dec. 14 Thursday 7 p.m. Delaware at Temple ESPN+ — NCF

Dec. 29 Friday 2 p.m. Arcadia at Drexel FloHoops — NCF

Dec. 30 Saturday 2 p.m. Rider at Lehigh ESPN+ — NCF

Dec. 31 Sunday 1 p.m. Gwynedd Mercy at Penn ESPN+ — NCF

 

Jan. 14 Sunday 2 p.m. Penn State at Rutgers B1G+ — Big Ten

Feb. 2 Friday 6 p.m. Delaware at Drexel FloHoops — CAA

Feb. 10 Saturday 2 p.m. Princeton at Penn ESPN+ — IVY

Feb.10 Saturday 2 p.m. Lehigh at Lafayette ESPN+ — PAT

Feb. 18 Sunday 2 p.m. Drexel at Delaware FloHoops — CAA

Feb. 24 Saturday 7:30 p.m. Lafayette at Lehigh ESPN+ — PAT

Mar. 9 Saturday 2 p.m. Penn at Princeton ESPN+ —IVY

 

By Team: Highlight Other Games With Notes

 

La Salle

 

Nov. 9 Thu 4:30 p.m. Maine – America East Contender

Dec. 3 Sun 1 p.m. Virginia – Trying to restore glory days

Jan. 24 Wed 11 a.m. Rhode Island – A-10 contender

Feb. 10 Sat 2 p.m. at Duquesne – Key A-10 game

Feb. 28 Wed 6:30 p.m. Saint Louis – A-10 front Runner

 

Penn

 

Dec. 3 Sun 2 p.m. at Marquette – BEC power

Dec. 30 Sat 1 p.m. Maine – America East Contender

Jan. 6 Sat 2 p.m. at Columbia – Key Ivy

Jan. 20 Sat 2 p.m. at Harvard – Key Ivy

Jan. 27 Sat 2 p.m. Columbia – Key Ivy

Feb. 10 Sat 2 p.m. Princeton – Key Ivy

Mar. 2 Sat 4 p.m. Harvard — Key Ivy

Mar. 9 Sat 2 p.m. at Princeton — Key Ivy

 

Saint Joseph’s

 

Dec. 5 Tues. 6 p.m. at Boston U. – Patriot contender

Dec. 7 Thurs 7 p.m. Utah – Pac-12 Pick Final Four Contender

Dec. 20 Wed. 11 a.m. Hawk Classic vs. New Hampshire plus UAB/Wagner

Dec. 21 Thu. 1 p.m. Hawk Classic second day

Jan. 9 Tues 8 p.m. at Saint Louis – A-10 favorite

Jan. 13 Sat TBA Duquesne – A-10 contender

Jan. 21 Sun 12 p.m. at Rhode Island – A-10 contender

Feb. 24 Sat 2 p.m. Rhode Island – A-10 contender

Mar. 2 Sat 2 p.m. at Duquesne – A-10 contender

 

Temple

 

Nov. 15 Wed 7:30 p.m. at Ole Miss — SEC power

Dec. 21 Thur 11 a.m. Northwestern – Father Judge grad Joe McKeown

Feb. 10 Sat 3 p.m. South Florida – AAC Overwhelming pick

Feb. 25 Sun 2 p.m. at Rice – AAC Contender

Mar. 3 Sun 2 p.m. at East Carolina – AAC Contender

 

Villanova

 

 Nov. 12 Sun 4 p.m. at Oregon State – PAC-12 survivor for now

Nov. 21 Tuesday 7 p.m. vs. Holy Cross – PAT Favorite

Dec. 3 Sun 2 p.m. at Columbia Ivy contender

Dec. 16 Sat 6 p.m. at St. John’s in Madison Square Garden – BEC showcase battle

Jan. 3 Wed TBA at Seton Hall – Key Big East

Jan. 17 Wed 7 p.m. Marquette – Key Big East

Jan. 21 Sun 12 p.m. Creighton — Key Big East

Jan. 28 Sun 2 p.m. at DePaul — Key Big East

Jan. 31 Wed 6:30 p.m. Connecticut – Speaks for itself

Feb. 3 Sat 2 p.m. Seton Hall — Key Big East

Feb. 10 Sat 3 p.m. at Marquette – Key Big East

Feb. 24 Sat 12 p.m.at Creighton — Key Big East

Feb. 28 Wed 7 p.m. at Connecticut – Storrs —Key Big East

Mar. 3 Sun 5 p.m. DePaul – Key Big East

Drexel

 

Dec. 9 Sat 2 p.m. Buffalo – Mid-American Contender

Dec. 17 Sun 2 p.m. Florida State — ACC power

Dec. 20 Wed 7 p.m. vs. Fla. Gulf Coast at Ft. Myers, Fla. – ASUN pick – played Nova here in NCAA

Dec. 21 Thur 3:30 p.m. vs. Cleveland State at Ft. Myers, Fla. – Horizon pick – Same as above

Jan. 7 Sun 2 p.m. Northeastern – Key CAA game

Jan. 28 Sun TBA at Stony Brook – Key CAA game

Feb. 16 Fri 7 p.m. at Towson – Key CAA game

Mar. 1 Fri 6 p.m. Stony Brook – Key CAA game

 

Delaware

 

Nov. 24 Fri 5 p.m. Fla. Gulf Coast at Gulf Showcase Estero, Fla. – ASUN pick

Nov. 25 Sat Iowa or Purdue-Ft. Wayne – in either semi or consolation

Nov. 26 Sun Either Vermont, Kansas State, North Carolina, W. Ky

Dec. 3 Sun 2 p.m. Duquesne A-10 contender

Dec. 7 Thur 7 p.m. Old Dominion — Sun Belt contender

Dec. 31 Sun 2 p.m. Harvard – Ivy Contender

Jan. 5 Fri 7 p.m at Northeastern - Key CAA

Jan. 14 Sun 2 Stony Brook - Key CAA

Jan. 26 Fri 7 p.m. Northeastern - Key CAA

Jan. 28 Sun 2 p.m. Towson - Key CAA

Feb. 25 Sun 2 p.m. at Towson - Key CAA

 

Princeton

 

Nov. 6 Monday 7 p.m. Duquesne – A-10 contender

Nov. 12 Sun 1 p.m. at Middle Tennessee – C-USA contender

Nov. 17 Fri 2:30 p.m. at UCLA – Picked second in Pac-12;  F4 contender

Nov. 23 Thu 3 p.m. Oklahoma at Ft. Myers Tip-Off – Big 12 contender

Nov. 25 Sat 11 a.m. Indiana at Ft. Myers Tip-Off – Big Ten contender

Nov. 29 Wed 7 p.m. Seton Hall – Key Big East opponent

Dec. 3 Sun 1 p.m. at Rhode Island – A-10 contender

Dec. 29 Fri 1 p.m. at Vermont – Amer East contender

Jan. 13 Sat 2 p.m. at Harvard — Key Ivy game

Jan. 20 Sat 2 p.m. Columbia — Key Ivy game

Feb. 24 Sat 2 p.m. at Columbia – Key Ivy Game

 

Rider

 

Nov. 18 Sat 2 p.m. Boston U. – Patriot contender

Dec. 6 Wed 7 p.m. at Virginia — ACC member

Dec. 18 Mon 7 p.m. Quinnipiac — MAAC 

Jan. 4 Thurs 7 p.m. Iona — MAAC

Jan. 25 Thurs 7 p.m. Niagara — MAAC

Feb. 1 Thurs 7 p.m. Fairfield  — MAAC

Feb. 3 Sat 1 p.m. at Quinnipiac — MAAC

Feb. 15 Thurs 7 p.m. at Iona — MAAC

Feb. 29 Thurs 7 p.m. at Niagara — MAAC

Mar. 9 Sat 2 p.m. at Fairfield — MAAC

 

Rutgers

 

Oct. 22 Sun 1 p.m. at South Carolina — Exhibition

Nov. 15 Wed 7 p.m. at Seton Hall – Jersey rivalry

Nov. 20 Mon 7 p.m. Fairfield — MAAC contender

Nov. 24-25 Fri-Sat 9:30 p.m. both Texas Tech Boise State at Las Vegas

Dec. 9 Sat 4 p.m. Indiana B-10 contender F4 contender

Dec. 17 Sun. 5:30 p.m. Virginia Tech ACC F4 contender

Jan. 5 Fri 6 p.m. Iowa B-10 F4 contender

Jan. 11 Thurs 6 p.m. at Ohio State B-10 F4 contender

Feb. 6 Tues 8:30 p.m. Maryland B-10 F4 contender

Feb 21 Wed 7 p.m. at Maryland B-10 F4 contender

 

Penn State

 

Nov. 13 Mon 6 p.m. Kansas B-12 power

Nov. 16 Thurs 7 p.m. at St. John’s Big East elite

Nov. 20 Mon 6 p.m. vs. Oklahoma State – Nassau, Bahamas – B-12 power

Nov. 22 Wed. 9 p.m. vs. Southern Cal — Nassau, Bahamas — PAC-12 power

Dec. 4 Mon 6 p.m. at West Virginia B-12 power

Dec. 10 Sun 1 p.m. at Ohio State B-10 F4 contender

Jan. 10 Wed 7 p.m at Indiana B-10 F4 contender

Jan. 28 Sun 1 p.m. Maryland B-10 F4 contender

Feb. 8 Thurs 9 p.m. at Iowa 

Feb. 15 Thurs. 6 p.m. Illinois B-10 contender

Feb. 18 Sun 1 p.m. at Maryland B-10 F4 contender

Feb. 22 Thurs 6 p.m. Ohio State B-10 F4 contender

 

Lehigh

 

Dec. 10 Wed 2 p.m. Pittsburgh – ACC member

Jan. 13 Sat 2 p.m. at Holy Cross PAT favorite

Jan. 27 Sat 2 p.m. Holy Cross Pat favorite

Feb. 3 Saturday TBA Boston U PAT contender

Feb. 28 Wed 6 p.m. at Boston U PAT contender

 

Lafayette

 

Dec. 6 Wed 7 p.m. at Notre Dame ACC Contender

Jan 6 Sat 2 p.m. Boston U. PAT Contender

Jan. 17 Wed 6 p.m. Holy Cross PAT Favorite

Jan. 27 Sat 2 p.m. at Boston U PAT Contender

Mar. 6 Wed TBA at Holy Cross PAT Favorite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Appreciation at Barclays

Leading the ‘Break

🏀 with Andy Lipton

My Favorite Celebrity at Barclays Sunday Night

Yes, Barclays was brimming with celebs Sunday night from the entertainment industry (including sports) that added to the excitement of a do or die game for the New York Liberty.

A number of former New York Liberty players were there to lend support.  

And the Liberty did not disappoint.  

They made a stand, defeating the Las Vegas Aces and showing why they are legitimate contenders for a WNBA Championship.

The creator of the most iconic moment in Liberty and perhaps WNBA history was there, the newly hired Chicago Sky Coach, Teresa Weatherspoon.

  Spoon hit a shot from beyond half-court as time ran out to win Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals against the Houston Comets in Texas. 

And the leader of that team Coach Richie Adubato was in the house Sunday, too.

Under Coach Adubato, the New York Liberty won the Eastern Conference Title three times, making it to the WNBA Finals three out of his first four seasons with them in 1999, 2000, and 2002.

Before this season, 2002 was the last time the Liberty had made it to the WNBA Finals.

Current Atlanta Dream Assistant Coach Vickie Johnson was in the house. 

She played for Coach Adubato during his entire tenure in New York. 

Johnson loved playing for Adubato.  She credited him with teaching her a great deal.

She said he treated the team as professional basketball players, not women.

 He had the players extremely well prepared as he was very detailed and organized.

Sue Wicks, another former New York Liberty player - also in the house.  She was quoted in the NY Post in 2000 saying Adubato was a very good coach, citing his ability to make adjustments mid-stream.

Former Liberty players who played under Adubato, Crystal Robinson and Mactabene Amachree - well you guessed it - in the house also here.

And lest I forget, something of which Coach Adubato is very proud.

 Coach Adubato brought in the undrafted Becky Hammon out of Colorado State University for a tryout with the Liberty in 1999.  She made the team and the rest is history. 

You may have noticed Coach Hammon was also at Barclays Sunday - patrolling the sidelines as she coached her defending WNBA champions the Las Vegas Aces.

The Guru Report: The New York Liberty Averts WNBA Finals Sweep By Las Vegas Extending The Aces to Game Four

By Mel Greenberg @Womhoopsguru

NEW YORK — Thanks to a myriad of lead-up factors, two women’s basketball events that tipped off Sunday afternoon at the same moment here on national broadcast network ABC and out in the Midwest on a major collegiate conference network, both the near future of the WNBA and it’s not far down the road future were both on display.

The near future was provided by the New York Liberty who enabled the ongoing best-of-five finals to still have one to the delight of an energetic 17,143 sellout crowd in the Barclays Center by finally getting competitive with an 87-73 triumph over the Las Vegas Aces, depriving the defending champions of a 3-0 sweep and at least temporarily the first back-to-back trophy achievers since 2002.

Meanwhile a record crowd of 55,646 for an NCAA women’s basketball game, this one an exhibition, filled Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, to see last spring’s national runnerup Hawkeyes beat DePaul 94-72.

The game was the idea of Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, encouraged by the crowd that came out in support of the Hawkeyes’ return home after the title game loss to LSU.

On display for the home team was reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark, who could be arriving in the WNBA as early as next March, potentially as the overall No. 1 draft pick.

Clark hasn’t lost a step, based on Sunday, scoring triple double number with 34 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds.

There will be anticipation Monday on the TV numbers on both events, especially here with a TV Rights deal coming up in 2025 not soon after the next NCAA negotiations, which has picked up momentum after the near 10 million viewing the title game. Furthermore, once taboo as something to avoid, Sunday’s games were competing right in middle of another heavy NFL slate, though that already happened once this season, and the league held its own.

League commissioner Cathy Engelbert has called the next rights deal a key to solving financing such things as teams’ desires to fly charter.

In recent years Engelbert kept repulsing desires for expansion, saying “when the time is right,” which she finally pronounced it is so with the recent announcement awarding NBA Golden State Warriors the newest team to start in 2025. One owner was involved in the start-up of the former American Basketball League, which landed a team in Philadelphia, while he also owned the San. Jose Lasers.

A second new WNBA team is expected to be named, Portland now being said to be the frontrunner, especially after Toronto bidders fell apart.

As for the immediate future, on Sunday here it was all about the Jones girl, as in Jonquel Jones, whose guardian is Temple second-year coach Diane Richardson, who was here in a VIP section.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was also here to cheer on her former collegiate super star A’ja Wilson on the Aces. Retired Rutgers Hall of Fame coach C. Vivan Stringer was reported to be coming support of he former standout Betnijah Laney, who plays for the Liberty.

Jones had her best number of this postseason, yet, scoring 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds, as New York awoke from the opening two game thrashing back in Sin City to embrace the vibe and harness the acquired home crowd advantage here in the East, winning for the first time at home in a finals.

“I was doing whatever I can to get this team a win,” Jones said.

Former UConn star Breanna Stewart has never lost in any finals in her entire basketball career and in this game for the Liberty, the 2023 MVP voted by a national media panel scored 20 points with 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

Jones, a former Connecticut Sun star and a previous league MVP arrived in the offseason as the first of several blockbuster signings enabling the New Yorkers to break a 21-year finals hiatus.

“She was huge for us,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said of Jones, who had four of the Liberty’s 13 three-pointers. “Those 3’s changed the moment of the game a bit. The ball went in. Other games the ball weren’t going in for us. We got back to our identity. Proud of the effort and commitment and connection we had. Now we’ve got to do it again.”

That attempt comes Wednesday night at 8 p.m. as either Las Vegas finishes off what it’s pursuing or the Liberty tie the series and sends it back too Las Vegas for an penultimate game five.

New York hadn’t won a finals game since the famed Teresa Weatherspoon half-court shot in 1999 at the end of regulation at Houston to tie the series 1-1 before the former Comets came back the next day to win the then best-of-three competition.

Weatherspoon, hired a few days ago as the new coach of the Chicago Sky, was in the building yesterday with other Liberty greats of the past as Rutgers’ Sue Wicks.

Associated Press national women’s writer Doug Feinberg noted in his postgame report, since the ‘Spoon Shot no New York area men’s or women’s pro team has made it that far since.

The scene here was akin to the glory era when celebrities regularly attended games when the Liberty played in Madison Square Garden under previous ownership.

Robin Roberts of ABC’s morning news show was here as was rocker Joan Jett, a regular attendee those early years for both the league and the Liberty, one of the original eight charter teams. Actor Jason Sudelkis also was among the crowd as was NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, local great and UConn standout Sue Bird, who retired after last season, playing her entire pro career with the Seattle Storm, which won several titles. Big East commissioner. Val Ackerman, the first WNBA president, was on the list of notables at the game sent by the league as was actress Aubrey Plaza, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma. 

Despite the differential at the finish, the game did not become that way until the near the end of the fourth quarter.

New York was up 43-40 at the half, got it to double digits at 61-50 after the third and then just when it looked like Las Vegas was on the way to spoiling the afternoon, cutting its deficit to six on the play of Wilson, also a past MVP, Stewie scored, as did Laney on a layup following her steal of Jackie Young.

The Aces are owned by NFL Raiders owner Mark Davis, and recently former quarterback great Tom Brady bought into Las Vegas.

One former New York member in the building was on the other team’s bench. That would be Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, once favored to be the first female NBA coach after her long stint on the staff at San Antonio until hired last season by Las Vegas to return to the WNBA, the first to win a title in her initial year coaching in the league.

The Aces had won their first seven games in the playoffs this season until Sunday.

Here in the Barkley’s Center for Las Vegas, former University of Washington star Kelsey Plum scored 29 points, Wilson had a double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but concern on the opposition arose during the press conference after point guard Chelsea Gray left the game in the middle of the fourth quarter with a foot injury and later seen off a video camera moving with crutches.

“I can’t give you an update,” Hammon said immediately after. “I’ll let you know when we know.”

If Gray can’t go Wednesday, Hammon said the Aces would fill the duties “by committee.”

Prior to the game,  the WNBA announced the results of the national media voting to determine the first and second all league squads.

The first team consisted of three unanimous picks who were in the MVP race most of the season in Stewart, Wilson, and the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas,  a former Maryland star.  The Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, who starred at UConn, and the Dallas Wings’ Satou Sabally completed the first five.

The second team consists of the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike, the Aces’ Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, the Seattle Storm’s Jewel Loyd, and New York’s Sabrina Ionescu.

Coming Next: The Lead-Up to the Collegiate Season begins.

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New York Liberty Ends 21-Year WNBA Finals Drought Slipping Past Connecticut Sun to Set Up Super Powers Battle Against Defending Champion Las Vegas Aces

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The offseason stunning transactions concocted by WNBA New York general manager Jonathan Kolb bore fruit here Sunday afternoon as a recipe for success in a tightly-fought game four semifinals battle in which the Connecticut Sun got bedeviled by the visitors’ main ingredients for an 87-84 victory in the Mohegan Sun Arena that completed a three-game run following a home loss in the opener.

The outcome ended a 21-year finals drought for the second-seeded Liberty making the preseason forecasts of a battle of super teams a reality that begins Sunday when the New Yorkers open the best-of-five series out West against the top-seed and defending champion Las Vegas Aces at 3 p.m. on ABC.

The timing is right on the money for the New York women who take the local and national stage at a time when traditional Metro sports teams such as baseball’s Yankees and Mets and football’s Jets and Giants are either off the competitive radar or heading there quickly.

“The fact that the Liberty haven’t been to a final since 2002 is wild, and to be able to have that and know that we have the entire city behind us is something that’s really, really special,” said Breanna Stewart, the first MVP in New York’s history, but not her first, who had 27 points and combined with former Sun and George Washington star Jonquel Jones, who combined with Stewie for of the 20 of the Liberty’s fourth quarter points.

Philadelphia may not have a WNBA team nor likely to be a recipient in the coming league expansion but there is a stake on New York with Temple coach Diane Richardson being Jone’s guardian and Betnijah Laney, who previously was on the front end of the Liberty rebuild, being a former Rutgers star and the daughter of former Cheyney standout Yolanda Laney, a multi hall of famer.

Laney in this one had 21 points and seven rebounds and has been a force in the playoffs.

“We’re not satisfied with everything, but I am happy, especially from where we started,” Laney said. “Being knocked out in the first round every time and now we’re here with everyone and we’re in the finals.”

Still, it was Jones with an overall 25 points, four blocks, and 15 rebounds who down the stretch deprived her former team from winning and forcing a game five back in New York.

Jones, who got 20 of her 25 points and 8 of her 15 points after the half, in the final minute with the Sun in their fifth straight semifinals keeping their fans’ hopes alive, was 5-for-6 from the line. And also  had two rebounds off Sun missed shots and with the Liberty up by just three points stole a Connecticut inbound pass and got to the line right after to sink a pair of free throws.

Jones has six double doubles in the playoffs, tying her for the most.

She’s been to three finals in the past five years, including a year ago on the losing Sun, who fell here to Las Vegas, which won its first title.

The ACES eliminated the Dallas Wings Friday night in a sweep sending rookie Maddy Siegrist off the her alma mater at Villanova, where she will work in marketing this winter following setting every local and by extension Wildcats record imaginable resulting in being the overall No. 3 pick last April by Dallas.

“I just remember a lot of emotions,” Jones said of her last game a year ago in a Sun uniform. “Obviously disappointment and all of that. And I think it’s a blessing of sports to be able to win with this team and be able to be going into Finals, and having the opportunity again.”

Besides Laney, having also previously gained Sabrina Ionescu out of Oregon as the top overall draft pick, the first big move in February for the Liberty was acquiring Jones in a trade and then gaining Stewart, who was part of the Seattle powerhouse that won the 2020 title, as a free agent, brining her home to her native state having grown up in Syracuse.

She was also the four-time MVP of the NCAA Final Four leading UConn to those run of titles and was twice named WNBA Finals MVP on Seattle champions.

New York also picked up Chicago point guard assists ace Courtney Vandersloop.

“I think it’s going to be a really competitive series and hopefully more and more people turn their eyes into the game and we can continue to grow it,” looking to the Vegas series said New York coach Sandy Brondello, who won titles with the Phoenix Mercury. 

Brondello is a former WNBA player as is Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, who Brondello also coached. The Aces have their own former MVP in A’ja Wilson, the former South Carolina great, who was again in the hunt this year. Both Wilson and Stewart were overall No. 1 picks.

Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum are also former number one picks.

New York and Las Vegas split the season series, the Liberty gaining more confidence with wins in August, including the Commissioner’s Cup, which does not count in the standings.

It was a tough day for Connecticut, who brought in Stephanie White after Curt Miller left a long run and ultimately was hired by the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Sun,  picked seventh in the preseason in places, had a double digit lead early in the game but Stewart’s shot as time expired gave New York a one-point lead at the half.

After New York seemed to take control Connecticut rallied and held a brief one-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Tiffany Hayes had 15 points, off the bench DiJonai Carrington had 14 points, Tyasha Harris had 10 points, while among the starters, Tiffany Hayes had 15 points, DeWanna Bonner had 12, while Natisha Hiedman, who in the offseason heads to Penn State as an assistant coach, had 7.

But it was exceptionally bittersweet for former Maryland star Alyssa Thomas, who after having a record six triple doubles in the season, had her seventh with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists.

“I had a season that you’ve never seen in this league and probably won’t see again unless I do it,” said Thomas, a native of Harrisburg.

“Let’s be reasonable. Triple doubles, the most double doubles in league history. We’re talking about league records.; So for me, I have a lot to be proud of.”