ChooseORLose
Call me Calos
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
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Went 2-0 yesterday on the women's sides and 3-1 including the second half picks. Hope tonight brings the same luck. So far I have only one play. I'm still looking at some things for the other game.
Tennessee -6.5
Two of the nation's best women's coaches face off tonight in Tennessee's Pat Summit and Rutger's Vivian Stringer. Both coaches have over 700 wins to their name but one thing Stringer has over Summit this year is a regular season victory. Back on 12/29 the Scarlet Knights blew out the Lady Vols 65-51. That game was played at Rutgers and a lot has changed since. Tennessee in particular has gone through a total makeover. When they lost to Rutgers they were in the mist of losing 3 of 8, which doesn't happen often to a power like this. Tennessee was trying to find itself, you could say, as they had no offensive identity. The freshmen who were suppose to carry this team were injury plagued. Three young studs, Candace Parker, Alex Fuller, and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, were lost for the season. Also, Sr point Guard Loree Moore (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3.4 apg) was out vs Rutgers, as she missed six games recovering from a tonscillectomy. Due to the key losses, particularly Parker, Tennessee was forced to make adjustments and were still transitioning when they met Rutgers. If you look at the box score, you'll notice that Coach Summit began substituting liberally. With the game out of hand, she basically used it as an opportunity to try different line ups and give her troops more playing time. One of the biggest changes late in the season, came in the frontcourt as Sr Shyra Ely moved from the 3 to the 4, which is a more natural spot for her. This seems to be working and she now leads the team in ppg (14.7) and rpg (7.0). Now one thing to note about Rutgers is their star guard Cappie Pondexter. The 5'9 senior played only 15 minutes against Tenn and scored only one point, as this was her first game back after missing the first 8 games of the season. She has turned around since then to lead her team in ppg with 14.3. Thus far in the tournament she is averaging 23.7 ppg. You know she'll be looking to redeem herself. After all said in done, Tennessee's depth will be the difference here tonight. They have eight players who average more than 18 minutes per game compared to Rutgers who run six and they average more than 26 minutes. Also Rutgers runs primarily smaller, with a lot of guards and small forwards, an advantage to Tenn, especially on the boards. 6'5" Jr Tye'sha Fluker and 6'4" Fr Nicky Anosike are both averaging over 5 boards per game for Tennessee. Rutgers' Michelle Campbell is their tallest starter at 6'2" and she averages 30.2 mpg. Next on the list in height is 6'4 Sr Rebecca Richman (12.8 mpg) and 6'2 Jr Mariota Theodoris (11.6 mpg). I like Ely to have a big game as they don't have anyone to matchup well against, and I look forward to seeing how the guards play, particularly Moore and Pondexter. Tennessee is just too deep, and they are on fire. They should win this one by double digits.
Tennessee -6.5
Two of the nation's best women's coaches face off tonight in Tennessee's Pat Summit and Rutger's Vivian Stringer. Both coaches have over 700 wins to their name but one thing Stringer has over Summit this year is a regular season victory. Back on 12/29 the Scarlet Knights blew out the Lady Vols 65-51. That game was played at Rutgers and a lot has changed since. Tennessee in particular has gone through a total makeover. When they lost to Rutgers they were in the mist of losing 3 of 8, which doesn't happen often to a power like this. Tennessee was trying to find itself, you could say, as they had no offensive identity. The freshmen who were suppose to carry this team were injury plagued. Three young studs, Candace Parker, Alex Fuller, and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, were lost for the season. Also, Sr point Guard Loree Moore (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3.4 apg) was out vs Rutgers, as she missed six games recovering from a tonscillectomy. Due to the key losses, particularly Parker, Tennessee was forced to make adjustments and were still transitioning when they met Rutgers. If you look at the box score, you'll notice that Coach Summit began substituting liberally. With the game out of hand, she basically used it as an opportunity to try different line ups and give her troops more playing time. One of the biggest changes late in the season, came in the frontcourt as Sr Shyra Ely moved from the 3 to the 4, which is a more natural spot for her. This seems to be working and she now leads the team in ppg (14.7) and rpg (7.0). Now one thing to note about Rutgers is their star guard Cappie Pondexter. The 5'9 senior played only 15 minutes against Tenn and scored only one point, as this was her first game back after missing the first 8 games of the season. She has turned around since then to lead her team in ppg with 14.3. Thus far in the tournament she is averaging 23.7 ppg. You know she'll be looking to redeem herself. After all said in done, Tennessee's depth will be the difference here tonight. They have eight players who average more than 18 minutes per game compared to Rutgers who run six and they average more than 26 minutes. Also Rutgers runs primarily smaller, with a lot of guards and small forwards, an advantage to Tenn, especially on the boards. 6'5" Jr Tye'sha Fluker and 6'4" Fr Nicky Anosike are both averaging over 5 boards per game for Tennessee. Rutgers' Michelle Campbell is their tallest starter at 6'2" and she averages 30.2 mpg. Next on the list in height is 6'4 Sr Rebecca Richman (12.8 mpg) and 6'2 Jr Mariota Theodoris (11.6 mpg). I like Ely to have a big game as they don't have anyone to matchup well against, and I look forward to seeing how the guards play, particularly Moore and Pondexter. Tennessee is just too deep, and they are on fire. They should win this one by double digits.
