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Reaction: Upsets Users predict three seed will provide upsetsPosted: Wednesday March 22, 2000 04:58 PM
CNNSI.com asked users to submit their thoughts on which teams will provide the upsets in the tournament. Many fans favor three seeds Iowa State and Mississippi State and fourth-seeded Purdue to surprise the top seeds. A collection of some of the most interesting responses follows:
East
Everyone is being played for a fool again this year. Once again the Boilermakers of Purdue will surprise everyone. I believe that they have to ability to beat Connecticut. Connecticut is clearly the most well balanced and talented team, but they got an answer for Katie Douglas. What Purdue has is far beyond talent and depth. They got HEART! No one plays as a team better than Purdue and they know how to win. Plus they have far more tournament experience than Connecticut. UConn couldn't handle the pressure last year and they won't this year either. I sense a repeat coming on.
The Xavier Lady Musketeers are one of the most underrated teams in the country. Their starting front court of Taru Tunkannen and Jennifer Phllips can hold their own against anybody in the country. Freshman point guard Amy Waugh plays like a seasoned veteran and the gritty/gutty play of Nicole Levandusky along with her 3-point shooting and steals a game average will make Xavier a tough team to beat and a surprise team in the tournament. They opened a lot of eyes last year with their quality loss against UCONN and with all returning starters back except one, they definitely know what they must do to get over that hump.
The Ladyjacks from Stephen F. Austin State University are gonna be the surprising team in this bracket. I attend school at SFA and have witnessed the power of these women first hand. They have been denied the credit they deserve because they play in the Southland Conference, which undoubtedly lacks strength. The Ladyjacks may play in a weak conference, but they destroyed every opponent they faced. They only lost 3 games all season and had an average margin of victory well over 15 points per win. All I have to say is watch out Xavier because they Ladyjacks are on fire.
Watch for Purdue to give UConn a very close game. If Purdue can control the tempo, don't count on UConn making it to Philly.
I believe UConn is prime for being bounced in the regional final by LSU. My reason, LSU played in a much more demanding conference and has played solid ball all year. While UConn has also played a very solid year, I believe they will fall prey to the hype of a possible rematch with Tennessee and let their "guard" down. They should forget about playing Tennessee because I believe they will fall in the regionals, if they don't the Lady Techsters will beat them in the semis!
Clemson has by far the most underrated team in the lower end of the East bracket. With stellar wins over UNC and NC State, look for Clemson to eliminate Drake and give homestanding UConn a run for their money.
Mideast
Watch out for the Golden Eaglettes of Tennessee Tech! They should have upset No. 1 seed Georgia. They are tournament tested (knocked off Oklahoma earlier this year) and had late leads against Western Kentucky and Arizona. GO TTU!
Arizona will be a surprise to everyone east of the Pecos. I am already surprised at the poor treatment of the Pac-10. How our conference champion, Oregon, can be seeded No. 6, and how Arizona, with its best record ever, can be a No. 8 seed is hard to figure.
Look out for the Huskers! All year they had been strugling to play up to their potential, but the past couple weeks they've come together and are playing so good ball. Now that they've got in, I guarantee they upset Boston College and I'd really look out for them when they meet Virginia in the second round.
Midwest
I think that Illinois is a team that may be overlooked in this bracket. Tauja Catchings is a great player who can come through in the big games. Susan Blauser is also a force inside. I think Illinois quickness can take them a long way, especially if they get the right breaks.
University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. They have a good strong team with NCAA experience. They have played some strong teams early in the season and know what to expect. They also have been playing great basketball as of late and are going into the tourney with a lot of positives.
After losing two games in a row a month ago, Iowa State has been dominant and is gelling at the right time! You would have thought after surprising so many people last year, they would have got more respect. After winning the regular season and tournament title in the second toughest league (to the SEC), is disrespectful to Iowa State and the Big 12 Conference for Iowa State to get a No. 3 seed as the best in the conference. They will prove it on the court. Just wait and see. The Final Four is looming!
Illinois will make a run in the Midwest Region. They are very quick and match up well against Utah and Iowa St. After they upset Penn State in the Sweet 16, they will make a run at Louisiana Tech. Aggressiveness, speed, shooting, and steals will make them the Cinderella team to watch.
West
I think North Carolina will come out of this region. With Nikki Teasley back, they are close to unbeatable and will give Georgia a lot of trouble.
I won't go so far as to predict the following upset, but in my mind -- it could very easily happen: watch for the Stanford Cardinal to make it out of Athens -- leaving Georgia wondering what happened to their No. 1 seed. This year's Cardinal squad are without a doubt the most inconsistent team in the field of 64. Carrying a 4-1 record against Top 25 teams into the tournament (with the only loss being a nailbiter against Tennessee), the Cardinal also have managed to lose to teams such as UMass and Washington. The big question is which team will show up on Saturday... if the "real" Cardinal show up, Michigan will be shown the door and Stanford will be ready to give Georgia a run for their money.
Mississippi State -- they are probably the most underrated team in America. And if they could have held off Tennessee in the SEC title game, that might not have been the case. You ask how could a No. 3 seed be underrated? Well the Bulldogs have quietly creeped onto the national scene over the past two years and will be a huge surprise in the NCAA tourney this year when they are in the Final Four. With quite possibly the best freshman in the game this year, the Bulldogs are going to be around for a while.
UAB Lady Blazers. Upstart team. Unknown. Will be able to sneak up on some teams. Lost to Georgia by one point, five come from behinds victories after being down double-digits. Deanna Jackson is a star in the making. Only two seniors on team. Will be taking lightly. Roderick Turner, Birmingham, Alabama
Oregon will upset all in the West Region and go to the Final Four. They will prove everybody wrong. They are on a role right now with one of the best point guards in the nation and a great two guard in Lindsey Dion and an underrated post player in Angelina Wolvert. Ducks will go to the Final Four after upsetting Georgia and then will play Tennessee in the Final Four. Oregon is mad for being shipped around the country for the NCAA the last couple of years and this year they will show why they are a great team.
I'm going with the Lady Bulldogs of Miss State.
They have been overlooked the whole year but
I still believe they will come out of the West.
They already beat La. Tech, Georgia, Auburn (twice)
and played Tennessee very closed in the two games they
meet. If they play as a team as they did against
Tennessee on their home court, they have all the things
it takes to beat any team in the country.
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