UConn is top seed despite uncertainty
Connecticut is in its normal spot with a No. 1 seed for the women’s NCAA Tournament. Familiar territory for Stanford and South Carolina, too.
It’s a brand-new day for North Carolina State. And the Huskies, while used to their position in the bracket, are facing some uncertainty after Coach Geno Auriemma tested positive for covid-19.
N.C. State is a No. 1 seed for the first time, joining Stanford, South Carolina and UConn on the top lines for the San Antonio-themed regions for the women’s tourney. The Cardinal earned the overall No. 1 when the field was revealed Monday night.
“The No. 1 seed is a great honor, obviously,” N.C. State Coach Wes Moore said. “Y’all know me, I’d rather just stayed a No. 2 and laid low.”
Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer downplayed being the top choice.
“What I really tell our team is seeds do not matter,” she said. “It’s not like you get any extra points when you show up at the gym.”
VanDerveer said being healthy and excited to play are most important. Teams basically will be locked down in hotels except to head to practice or games as part of the stringent covid-19 safety protocols.
Auriemma’s Texas arrival will be delayed. He will remain in isolation for 10 days and can rejoin the team March 24. The other members of UConn’s travel party have tested negative.
Auriemma will miss the Huskies’ opening game against High Point — one of four first-timers in the tournament — and a potential second-round matchup against either Syracuse or South Dakota State.
“I’m an innocent bystander right now. I’m going to sit back and watch them do their thing,” he said.
Stanford, which will open against Utah Valley, had quite the odyssey this season because of covid-19. It had to play on the road for nine weeks after Santa Clara County health officials announced they were prohibiting all contact sports in late November.
The Cardinal, who are looking for their third national championship, are the top seed in the Alamo region. The Hemisfair, Mercado and River Walk are the other region names.
For the past few years, earning one of the top 16 seeds would put a team at home in the tournament’s first two rounds, but that’s not the case this March. Every game will be played in the San Antonio area because of the pandemic, with the last four rounds tipping off at the Alamodome.
This could be one of the most wide-open tournaments, with a dozen teams capable of winning the title. There were five No. 1 teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll this year, including the Huskies, who finished the season at No. 1.
The national semifinals take place on April 2, and the championship game will be held April 4.
Tennessee continued its streak of making the NCAA Tournament all 39 years. Joining High Point as NCAA rookies are Stony Brook, Utah Valley and Bradley.
Notre Dame’s run of 24 consecutive NCAA appearances came to an end. The Irish were one of the first four teams out of the tournament. They were joined just outside the field by Houston, DePaul and Oklahoma.
Even without Notre Dame, the ACC is well represented with eight teams. The SEC and the Big Ten each had seven schools. The Pac-12 had six, and the Big 12 had five.
With no tournament played last season because of the virus, Baylor is still the defending champion. Coach Kim Mulkey’s team is very different from the one that won the title, but still is quite talented, winning the Big 12 regular-season and conference tournaments.
The Lady Bears are a No. 2 seed in UConn’s region.
Like Baylor, the other three two seeds — Louisville, Texas A&M and Maryland — at some point were in consideration for the one line.
“We did have a lot of teams, a lot of discussion around who are the four who were just right for the one line,” NCAA selection committee Chairwoman Nina King said.
JONESBORO 58, LR PARKVIEW 40
HOT SPRINGS — Jonesboro senior Keyln McBride had as good of a seat to the Hurricane’s 2018 championship run as anyone.
Then a freshman, McBride spent much of that season on the bench as Tony Hutson and Desi Sills led Jonesboro to the program’s 13th state title.
The past two years, McBride watched as the energy that carried the Hurricane to back-to-back Class 6A crowns slowly faded.
“We lost our winning culture,” McBride said of seasons that ended in first-round and quarterfinal exits, respectively. “Just what it means to win and be tough and grind out games.
“This year, me and a couple of the other seniors, we owed it to ourselves. We said, ‘Look, we’re not going to let our team not be tough and do everything it takes to win.’ ”
Twenty-six games later, Jonesboro (23-3) is on the verge of yet another state crown after blowing past Little Rock Parkview 58-40 on Monday afternoon at Trojan Arena. McBride knocked down 3 second-half three-pointers on his way to a game-high 19 points. The Hurricane also turned in a remarkable defensive performance, forcing the Patriots into 11 first-half turnovers and 35.3% shooting as a team.
Parkview (14-4) made just one field goal in the first half and trailed 25-7 at the break.
“That’s probably one of the most impressive defensive performances I’ve seen in 27 years of coaching,” said Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift, whose team reached a state title game for the fourth time in six seasons. “We knew their pressure was coming and we probably wouldn’t play a super clean game, but that cushion really helped.”
The Patriots did cause havoc for Jonesboro at times, forcing 17 turnovers. Yet, once Jonesboro stretched its lead past 20, Parkview didn’t get any closer until the game’s final margin.
“I don’t know if our guys were really ready for the moment,” Patriots Coach Scotty Thurman said. “We just didn’t get stops like we needed to early on. We got in a hole real deep, and if you get in a hole against a team like that — one that’s disciplined and is going to take care of the basketball — it’s hard to climb out.”
One of the Hurricane’s main goals was to limit Parkview junior Cameron Wallace, who scored 30 in the Patriots’ quarterfinal win against Lake Hamilton. Monday, Wallace got only four field-goal attempts in the first three quarters with just two points coming at the freethrow line. He added nine in the final stanza for 11 total. No other Parkview player scored more than seven.
Kavon Pointer chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Hurricane, and three others added 9 points.
“In Jonesboro, the expectations are always really high,” said Swift, whose team is seeking its 20th win in a row Saturday. “In Central Arkansas, people think those are the teams to beat — and they’ve kind of earned that. But if you’re taking anybody in the East for granted, you’re making a huge mistake.”
MAUMELLE 70, SYLVAN HILLS 64
Several Maumelle Hornets recalled at dinner Sunday night the feeling of losing in the state quarterfinals two years ago. They remembered losing in the semifinals last year.
They told one another they weren’t going to let it happen again.
Coach Michael Shook then challenged each one of his players in the locker room before Monday’s game.
“What are you willing to do to make sure we win this game?” Shook asked his team.
Maumelle answered that question Monday, winning for the third time in five days to advance to the Class 5A boys state final, the Hornets’ first title game appearance since 2016. Maumelle (20-5) saw all five of its starters score in double figures, led by junior Carl Daugherty’s 18 points.
The victory avenged the Hornets’ 7361 regular-season loss to the Bears, but it didn’t come easy as Sylvan Hills (244) charged from as many as 15 down to pull within five on three occasions in the game’s final 2:15.
A big reason for the comeback was junior Nick Smith, who scored 28 of his game-high 30 points after halftime. Classmate Corey Washington had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“We knew he was going to go on a run eventually,” Daugherty said of Smith. “In the second half, he was hitting his shots, so we knew we had to come back with more energy and try to contain him.”
Once Smith got going, Shook decided it would be best to let him get his points and make sure the rest of the Bears couldn’t find a rhythm.
That wasn’t the case in the first half. Not only did Maumelle limit Smith to 1-of-10 shooting, but the Hornets were rolling on the offensive end. They made 4 of 7 three-pointers in the first quarter, racing out to a 22-10 lead.
“[Maumelle] really found the bottom of the basket from all over the floor,” Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said. “That ball seemed to go in for them quite a bit, we struggled a little bit to find our range, and that was pretty much the tale of the game.”
Although the Bears’ press forced five turnovers and limited Maumelle from putting the game on ice, the Hornets never relinquished their advantage.
It was a win that literally brought Shook to his knees. While Maumelle raced onto the floor, its coach dropped down, overwhelmed by the emotion and opportunity to bring back his school’s first state title come Saturday.
“This group is the total package,” Shook said. “They love each other. We’ve had our struggles throughout the year, a little selfishness here and there. But when it’s mattered most, they’ve bought into playing as a team.”