Women's Basketball Update
Following last night's tough loss, Crisler will again be the scene of an important game tonight as the women's basketball team hosts Minnesota at 7:00. This is Senior Night, and Veronica Hicks is the lone honoree. Tickets are only $3, parking at Crisler is free, and it's another Fan Appreciation Night, so please consider coming out to support the team tonight if you're in the area.
Compared to the men's team, the women's team has a much clearer path to the NCAA tournament. Right now, they're in great shape, thanks to their victory over Wisconsin on Sunday, which put them in position to secure the #3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. If they can beat Minnesota tonight and Illinois on the road on Sunday, they'll finish no worse than tied for third with Wisconsin with a conference mark of 11-5. Michigan holds the tiebreaker over Wisconsin, having swept the Badgers this year. An overall record of 18-10, a third-place finish in the Big Ten, a record of 8-8 vs. the top 50 teams (per Jeff Sagarin's ratings), and a strength of schedule right around 10th in the country seems like enough to secure a bid regardless of what happens in the BTT.
Following the Wisconsin victory, Charlie Creme (ESPN's women's basketball bracketologist) moved Michigan up from a #9 seed to #6. That seems a bit high to me given Michigan's current RPI in the 31 to 40 range, but at least he now has them seeded higher than Ohio State (#7 seed), which lost twice to Michigan.
Other coverage of the team:
- Michigan Daily article on the matchup with Minnesota (which it should be noted beat Michigan earlier in the season 60-50 in Minneapolis) and Hicks's Senior Night
- Free Press article, which provides Kevin Borseth's view that Michigan needs more wins to secure an NCAA berth because he believes the selection committee values wins over RPI and strength of schedule
- Annarbor.com feature on Courtney Boylan, who secured the Wisconsin victory by making three clutch baskets in the final 81 seconds
February 24th, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
I've been tracking the women's team's performance all year, and they have really impressed. A trip to the Big Dance would be a great capstone on an excellent season, and a great way for Ronnie Hicks to go out in style. The future is bright, as well, because as you noted, she's the only one we're graduating this year (although she will be a big loss). Hope the team can make a strong stretch run!
February 24th, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
...triple to send the game into OT, but Michigan wasn't able to pull out the victory, falling 82-78 in 2OT. Another disappointing loss for one of Michigan's basketball teams.
February 24th, 2011 at 9:54 PM ^
one senior, and a few good juniors. the reast are solid young players with a bright future. jenny ryan is the real deal. i thought boylan was the best guard they had, but ryan is betteer and a year younger. she really impressed tonight.
February 24th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^
Back-to-back gut-wrenching losses at Crisler. The game at Illinois on Sunday is now certainly a must-win for the women's team. They can't afford another loss to a team outside the RPI top 100. Michigan beat Illinois at home earlier in the year 69-59. The Illini lost to Iowa tonight and have lost 11 straight.
The Michigan women still have a chance to be tied for third place in the Big Ten, but they'll need to beat Illinois plus Wisconsin will have to lose to OSU on Sunday in a game in Columbus. Those results plus an Iowa victory over Indiana on Sunday would result in a four-way tie for third at 10-6 between U-M, OSU, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Michigan is 5-0 against those teams, so the tiebreaker and the #3 seed would go to them.
If Penn State loses to Northwestern on Sunday, then PSU would also finish at 10-6, and there's a chance Michigan could emerge with the #2 seed.
Edit: Annarbor.com story on the loss: Veronica Hicks hits another improbable buzzer beater at Crisler Arena, but Michigan women's basketball team loses to Minnesota
February 25th, 2011 at 2:25 AM ^
Just like the men's game, we couldn't hit the free throws that we should have. Crisler went insane when Roni hit the buzzer beater, it sucks so much that we couldn't pull it off.
Oh well, I think we're poised to make a nice run in the Big Ten Tournament and have a good chance for an NCAA berth.