12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Injuries to perennial powers cause parity for women
jgi n sscaJU4L rress
As the No. 1 overall seed in the
NCAA women's basketball tournament,
Tennessee, in theory, should have the
easiest draw.
Of course, Tennessee coach Pat
Summitt knows how much theory means
in March.
Absolutely nothing.
"There's no easy brackets," Summitt
said. "I think that women's basketball, if
you watched it this year, you know
there's very few easy games. I don't
think you can afford to say, 'Hey, this is
an easy bracket or an easy road."'
Tennessee, seeded No. 1 in the
Mideast, will begin pursuit if its seventh
national championship without Tamika
Catchings, twice a first-team All-
American. Catchings has been out since
tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in
her right knee on Jan. 15.
But the Lady Vols' loss was just half
that of defending national champion
Connecticut, the top-seeded team in the
East. The Huskies are missing two first-
team All-Americans from last season,
Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph.
Ralph blew out the ACL in her left
knee in Connecticut's victory over Notre
Dame in the championship game of the
Big East tournament.
"All we've been preaching isjust go
out and play like you normally play,"
said Connecticut coach Geno
Auriemma, whose team has been
unbeaten since Abrosimova got hurt. .
Notre Dame was made the I seed.
in the Midwest aud Duke tops t. brack-
et in the West.
In ranking the No. 1 seeds, the selec-t
tion committee had Tennessee first,
Notre Dame second, Connect' ut third
and Duke fourth. Duke edged Georgia surprise everybody in this room"
for the final No. I spot. Tennessee got the top seed overall
"Those No. 1 seeds need to be ready despite losing to Vanderbilt in the semi-
to play, because there are good teams finals of the SEC tournament. The Lady
right under them and they are going to Vols won the regular-season title with a
come right at them," said Maryalyce 14-0 record. After Catchings went down,
Jeremiah, who chairs the selection com- they won their next 13 games.
mittee. Jeremiah said the late injury to Ralph,
Connecticut has Georgia, winner of the MVP of last year's Final Four, did not
the Southeastern Conference tourna- affect Connecticut's seeding.
ment, as the No. 2 in its region and "I think UConn showed they didn't
Louisiana Tech, with 10 Final Four deserve to be moved," Jeremiah said.
appearances, at No. 3. "They played without her and won with-
"Even though there are those four out her, and I'm sure they'll win again.
number one seeds out there, there are They're that good of a team."
more than four teams that could win the Duke got the edge over Georgia as
national championship;' Jeremiah said. No. I seed because it won the Atlantic
"If everything we did in seeding this tour- Coast Conference regular-season and
nament comes out as seeded, it's going to tournament championship. Though
Georgia won the SEC tournament, the
Lady Bulldogs finished three games
behind Tennessee in the regular season.
"I'm actually disappointed," Georgia
guard Coco Miller said. "I kind of felt
like we had played a tough schedule and
had some good wins. After winning the
SEC tournament, I definitely thought we
deserved a No. 1 seed."
Then again, the Lady Bulldogs - or
anyone else - can make the seedings
moot. All they have to do is win the
national championship.
f .
s -- 1 -
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Women's tournament
tickets now available
Tickets are now available for the first
and second round of the NCAA
Tournament regional to be held at Notre
Dame on March 17 and 19. Interested
fans should contact the Michigan Ticket
Office at 764-0247 to purchase.
Each all-session ticket is $15 and is*
valid for all games. Individual sessions
are available for $10 for adults and $6
for students and children.
In the first round, Michigan will take
on Virginia at 11 a.m. on Saturday and
Notre Dame will face Alcorn State 30
minutes after the conclusion of the first
game.
The winners of game one and game
two will play at 7 p.m. on Monday.
A bus trip will also be available for
the price of $23 per person. The bus will
leave from Crisler Arena at 6:30 a.m. on@
Saturday. Reservations must be made by
Thursday.
SP)ORTS BRIEFS-
UMass' Flint resigns
after late-season run
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) -
Massachusetts coach James "Bruiser
Flint resigned yesterday, hours after
meeting with school officials to discuss
his future with the team.
The team was 15-15 this season and
failed to make the NCAA or NIT post-
season tournaments.
"I appreciate coach Flint's 12 years of
service to the university. He played a key
role in one of the great turnarounds in
college basketball," UMass athletic
director Bob Marcum said in a news
released posted on the school's Web site
Flint, 35, has a career record of 86-72.
He has one year remaining on his con-
tract. According to published reports,
the school will owe him about $150,000
for the remaining year.
The Minutemen overcame a 2-9 start
this season to finish 15-15 overall and
11-5 in the Atlantic-10 Conference.
Alumni and fans had been openly
critical of Flint, pointing to the team'.
lackluster record and sagging atten-
dance. The men's basketball team is
considered the highest-profile sport on
campus.
Flint, an assistant under John Calipari
for seven seasons at UMass, became
coach on June 8, 1996, days after
Calipari's departure for the NBA's New
Jersey Nets. It was Flint's first head
coaching job.
Folger is done at
South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South
Carolina's Eddie Fogler wanted to leave
the Gamecocks and his college coaching
career a winner. He thinks he's done
that.
Athletics director Mike McGee said
Fogler agreed to leave when the univer-
sity would not extend his contract. "Ha
was not fired," McGee said.
The move came a day after South
Carolina was selected for the NIT - its
first-round game is tomorrow at
Connecticut. McGee said Fogler will
finish the season.
Fogler wanted a "stronger commit-
ment" from the school. He said without
that, "it would become increasingly
more difficult to recruit, coach and
maintain the present level of the pro-
gram at best."
"Never say never," he said whe4
asked about another coaching job, but
then added, "I have no plans to be a col-
lege coach again."
Mourning added to
Miami's playoff roster
MIAMI (AP) - Alonzo Mourning
will have a spot on the Miami Heat
playoff roster, even though he's still n*
expected to play this season.
Coach Pat Riley said he would make
the move as a precaution because he
has been burned before by the NBA
freeze on postseason rosters. Mourning
is being treated for a kidney ailment
discovered last October.
NCAA men
Today's games (NIT)
Seton Hall at Alabama, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Utah, 9 p.m.
Today's game (NCAA)
Winthrop vs. Northwestern State,
NBA
Yesterday's results
CHARuD)rE 104, Chicago 92
MINNESOTA 94, Miami 77
SAN ANToI'J099, LA Clippers 81
Denver 84, GOLDEN STATE 79
Today's games
Milwaukee at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Orlando, 8 p.m.
New Jersev at Dallas. 8:30 o.m.
9