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Teams Await Bracket Reveal For March Madness

March 17, 2024 by newhiphopnews

With a 68-60 win over Stony Brook, Drexel became the final women’s basketball team to secure an automatic berth to this year’s March Madness. It ends a semi-chaotic Championship Fortnight that saw a handful of major upsets. However, Portland was the only major “bid-stealer” in their upset of Gonzaga. Despite this, the 32 automatic berths include two first-time dancers and a handful of teams ending lengthy droughts. This includes Eastern Washington, who appear in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987. Later today, 36 teams will join the 32 conference champions.

Furthermore, the bracket reveal will answer several pressing questions. For example – who takes the final two No. 1 seeds? South Carolina and Iowa are locked in, which leaves USC, Stanford, and Texas all vying for the last two spots on the top line. ESPN currently favors the two Pac-12 schools despite Texas’ Big 12 title. Another question will surround which bubble teams make it and which miss the tournament. Will Columbia finally make March Madness before Abbey Hsu graduates? Or did losing to Princeton in the Ivy League title game seal their fate?

Oklahoma Could Miss Out On March Madness Hosting Duties Due To Scheduling Conflict

Meanwhile, an interesting situation surrounds Oklahoma. Oklahoma could be named as one of the top-16 seeds in the tournament, which would typically come with the right to host first- and second-round games. However, a scheduling conflict could mean that Oklahoma may miss out on that opportunity. The Big 12 gymnastics tournament is scheduled to be hosted at Oklahoma’s basketball arena on the same weekend as the opening rounds of March Madness.

ESPN currently has the Sooners as a five-seed in a quadrant hosted by Colorado in Boulder. However, the Sooners’ regular season title plus Gonzaga’s shock loss in the WCC title game could see Oklahoma move up to a four-seed. Due to rules about when teams from the same conference can play each other, that would see Oklahoma and Kansas State, the current five-seed in Gonzaga’s quadrant, swap places. However, due to Oklahoma’s scheduling conflict, Gonzaga would still have the option to host the games in Spokane.

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Kamilla Cardoso Sinks First-Ever Three-Pointer To Save South Carolina, Sports World Goes Wild

March 10, 2024 by newhiphopnews

South Carolina remained undefeated as senior Kamilla Cardoso hit her first career three-pointer to give the Gamecocks a 74-73 win over Tennessee in the SEC Conference Tournament semifinals. South Carolina had squandered a 13-point halftime lead and were staring down their first loss in almost a year when the Brazilian star hit her miraculous buzzer-beater. She was immediately mobbed by her teammates, disappearing under a pile of bodies. South Carolina will face Angel Reese and LSU later today in the tournament final.

The sports world was quick to react to Cardoso’s heroics. “Oh My God!!! What a game!!! #kamillacordoso with the game winning 3 with 1.1 seconds on the clock!! Wow!! What A Shot!!! This was awesome to watch!!!” wrote NFL legend Terrell Owens. “Kamilla you shoot now!? where was this in AAU,” wrote WNBA star and Cardoso’s former AAU teammate Rhyne Howard.

Kamilla Cardoso Three Headlines Wild Day Of Women’s Basketball

KAMILLA CARDOSO YOUVE GOTTA BE F*CKING KIDDING ME

OMG WHAT

GAMECOCKS STAY UNDEFEATED pic.twitter.com/3QNYhUhaTm

— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) March 9, 2024

However, Cardoso’s heroics were not the only big story of the day. Iowa State kept their postseason dreams alive as they took down No. 17 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. They will face conference regular-season champions Oklahoma on Monday. Meanwhile, High Point, a favorite to win the Big South, was stunned by Presbyterian, who had gone 8-8 in conference play. They will face Radford in the tournament final later today.

Today sees multiple automatic bids to March Madness locked up. Iowa looks to win their third consecutive tournament title as they take on Nebraska. Meanwhile, NC State and Notre Dame face off in the ACC. As mentioned, South Carolina and LSU battle it out for the SEC crown. Additionally, USC and Stanford play for the final Pac-12 crown. There are also automatic bids on the line in the Southern Conference and Atlantic 10. Conference tournaments continue through March 17. Later that same day, Selection Sunday will occur to announce the brackets for March Madness.

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Angel Reese Gets Auburn Revenge, Another Big 10 Top Seed Falls

March 9, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Maryland stunning Ohio State was just the first of several major storylines to dominate the first Friday of Championship Week in women’s basketball. After losing to Auburn earlier in the season, Angel Reese and LSU beat the Tigers by 30 to progress to the semifinals of the SEC tournament. Reese had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Flau’jae Johnson had a game-high 25 points. However, there was more drama in the Big Ten as Michigan felled tournament three-seed Indiana. Indiana had won five of their last six meetings with the Wolverines. Michigan will now play Caitlin Clark and Iowa for a place in Sunday’s final.

Meanwhile, Stanford reached the Pac-12 final with a comeback win against Oregon State. The Cardinal trailed by as much as nine in the first half. However, they rallied behind superstar senior Cameron Brink to win 66-57. They will face USC and freshman phenom JuJu Watkins on Sunday. Elsewhere, the Atlantic 10’s two-team bid hopes all but died as George Mason, VCU, and Saint Joseph’s all lost.

Angel Reese And LSU Stars Name Their All-Time Basketball Starting Lineups

Reese and LSU are hoping to repeat as NCAA champions. That hasn’t happened since the UConn four-peat between 2013 and 2016. Earlier in the season, Reese and several of her LSU teammates namely their all-time basketball starting lineups. Reese kicked things off with a twist. “I’m starting strong with Lisa Leslie,” Reese said before filling her lineup out with Cheryl Miller, Kobe, Shaq, and most surprisingly, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey. Mulkey was a national championship-winning point guard with LA Tech in the early 80s. Sophomore Flau’jae Johnson also named Mulkey to her lineup and also agreed with Reese on Shaq. However, Johnson also picked Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson.

Meanwhile, new transfer Hailey Van Lith went in a different direction entirely. After naming Kobe and the aforementioned Lisa Leslie, Van Lith also selected Becky Hammon, Kevin Garnett, and Micheal Jordan. “That’s a tough starting five, right there. Mad tough,” Van Lith said of her team. LSU faces Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals, with either South Carolina or Tennessee waiting in Sunday’s final.

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Kelsey Plum Prematurely Congratulates Caitlin Clark On Setting NCAA Scoring Record

February 11, 2024 by newhiphopnews

WNBA star Kelsey Plum had something of a social media gaffe when she congratulated Caitlin Clark for breaking her collegiate scoring record before Clark had actually set the record. “@CaitlinClark22 Congratulations on the record, and really your entire season! I appreciate what you do for the game, much respect and love! See you at the next level, hopefully sooner than later ,” Plum wrote on social media. Clark fell eight points short of the record despite opening Iowa’s game against Nebraska with 31 points through three quarters. However, Clark scored no points in the fourth as Iowa fell apart and allowed Nebraska to steal a shock victory against the Big Ten frontrunners. Plum later acknowledged her mistake, tweeting out “My bad, next game”.

However, this means that Clark will now likely set the record in front of a home crowd against Michigan on Thursday. Furthermore, Clark is now just 148 points shy of breaking the all-time NCAA record set by Pete Maravich at LSU in the late 1960s. With five games left in the Big Ten regular season, Clark’s 32.1 points a game could mean she breaks Maravich’s record in the season finale against Ohio State.

Caitlin Clark Still Coy About Draft Declaration

However, despite her historic season, no one is quite sure if Clark will be headed to the WNBA Draft this year. Clark is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the draft and would join former South Carolina standout Aliyah Boston in Indiana if chosen. However, before the season, Clark revealed that her mind wasn’t fully made up yet. “I’m going to know when I need to know. I think it’s very similar to my college decision. It’s like I’m in the recruiting process again. It’s really not something I think about every day or let weigh on me. I’m focused on helping this team be the best they can be. The biggest thing is I’m just going to trust my gut. I’m not going to do a lot of research on what’s better. I’m going to trust my gut and go with that,” Clark said.

Clark, who turns 22 in February 2024, is part of the final class of players who can declare for a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been one of the best, if not the best, players in women’s college basketball during her time at Iowa. She won National Player of the Year last year and was second in scoring average as well as first in assists and made threes. Players have until 48 hours after their final game of the season to declare for the draft.

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Caitlin Clark Closing In On NCAA History

February 4, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Caitlin Clark is on the precipice of history. The Iowa Hawkeyes senior is now just 66 points away from setting a new women’s NCAA record for career points. After dropping 38 against Maryland, Clark moved her tally to 3462 points. The current women’s NCAA record is held by former Washington Husky Kelsey Plum and sits at 3527. Earlier this week, Plum told reporters that she was “excited” to see Clark break the record that she set in 2017.

However, there are two more scoring records firmly within Clark’s reach. First is the women’s record for major college basketball. That mark stands at 3649 and dates back to the pre-NCAA days of the AIAW. Then there is the all-time NCAA record, held by LSU legend Pete Maravich. Pistol Pete’s mark sits at 3667. Clark is currently averaging 32.4 points per game. If Clark matches her average across Iowa’s final seven regular-season games, she will close out conference play with 3739 points. Once all postseason games are accounted for, Clark could set the record at close to 4000 points.

Clark Still Coy About Draft Declaration

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Angel Reese And Flau’jae Johnson’s Parents Feud Amid LSU Drama

November 18, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The parents of Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson have begun beefing online as drama grips the LSU women’s basketball team. “You definitely know about grammar errors when your daughter got a 2.0 or less GPA,” one post aimed at Reese read. Furthermore, graduated Tigers Alexis Morris and Jasmine Carson also weighed in on the current situation. Morris said that the team better not be “falling apart without her” after they “switched up to gang up on me”. Meanwhile, Carson warned “y’all better hope I don’t say nothing.”

Reese was completely absent from LSU’s road trip to Southeastern Louisiana, with head coach Kim Mulkey refusing to answer questions on where Reese was. The Tigers won out 73-50 over the Lions, who are ranked #168 in the nation according to the latest NET rankings. Johnson, playing off the bench, had a double-double with a game-high 17 points.

What Is Going On At LSU?

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LSU appeared to have buckled under the pressure that comes with being the defending national champions. They lost their season-opener to then #20 Colorado, one of the few truly competitive games on their non-conference slate. While they have quickly improved to 4-1 with wins over Queens, Mississippi Valley State, Kent State, and Southeastern Louisiana, all is not well within the Tigers camp.

However, head coach Kim Mulkey benched Reese for the entire second half against Kent State, calling it a “coach’s decision”. Then, just days later, Reese was off the team sheet entirely. As mentioned, Mulkey refused to say much about why Reese was away from the team. “Angel was not in uniform. Angel is a part of this basketball team, and we hope to see her sooner than later,” Mulkey said matter-of-factly. However, Reese wasn’t just out of uniform. It appeared that she had not made the 50-mile journey to Hammond at all. The Tigers return home on Monday to face Texas Southern. The game is the start of a six-game homestand that includes #9 Virginia Tech. It remains to be seen when Reese will return to the lineup.

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Iowa Stunned By Kansas State, Third Top-5 Team To Lose This Season

November 17, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The #2 Iowa Hawkeyes were stunned by unranked Kansas State for the second season in a row on Thursday night. The Wildcats, behind star senior Ayoka Lee, rode a massive fourth quarter to beat Caitlin Clarke and the Hawkeyes 65-58. Clark, the heart and soul of Iowa, had a terrible night, shooting 9-for-32 and just 2-for-16 from three. The result snapped Iowa’s three-game win streak to the season, which included a win over then #8 Virginia Tech. On the opposite side of the court, the win pushed Kansas State to their own 3-0 start.

However, Iowa’s win also marked the third loss by a top-five team in the first two weeks of the season. Last week, preseason #1 LSU was stunned by then #20 Colorado. Just a few days later, preseason #2 UConn was upset by then-unranked North Carolina State. Now Iowa, last season’s national runner-up, has joined the list of early upsets. They weren’t the only ranked team to lose, with #22 Creighton seeing a late rally fall short against Green Bay. Meanwhile, #1 South Carolina, who jumped to the top of the AP Poll after the LSU and UConn results, continued their strong roll, The Gamecocks dominated Clemson 109-40, marking South Carolina’s third consecutive 100-point game. Last season, the Gamecocks only hit triple digits twice in 37 games.

Clark Says “Lots Of Lessons” To Be Taken From Kansas State Loss

Clark was blunt about her performance after the game. “It’s certainly one we can learn from and probably taught us a lot of lessons of how we can get better. We need more people to be able to contribute, and that’s on me to get them involved in the game. Especially on nights where I might not shoot the ball as great. Rely on my teammates, get them open, get them a clean look,” Clark said.

Iowa will likely drop out of the top five come the next AP Poll on Monday – LSU and UConn dropped to #7 and #8 after their respective losses last week. The Hawkeyes have two more games this month, hosting Drake and Purdue Fort Wayne. Drake is ranked #51 in NET ranking, while Purdue Fort Wayne sits at #243. However, Iowa is unlikely to face another ranked team until they play Indiana on January 13. Indiana were #9 in the preseason poll but fell to #13 following a loss to Stanford.

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Haley Cavinder Reportedly Eyeing Return To College Basketball In 2024-25 Season

October 13, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Haley Cavinder has officially entered the transfer portal and announced her intention to play in the 2024-25 college season. Most considered the college career of the Cavinders to be over when they announced that they would be forgoing their fifth year of eligibility to pursue opportunities outside of college basketball. The pair signed a deal with the WWE in 2021 and were expecting to become full-time members of the promotion.

Furthermore, Haley will reportedly spend the next year training with her twin sister Hanna and pursuing their business ventures. After that, she alone will return to the NCAA for her fifth year. Cavinder stated that she would be open to returning to Miami but would also consider her options elsewhere. Previously, Haley had said that she didn’t want to continue her basketball journey without Hanna, who had expressed her desire to leave after her fourth year.

Angel Reese Insulted By Mock Draft Position

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 26: Haley Cavinder #14 of the Miami Hurricanes reacts after losing to the LSU Lady Tigers in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 26, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Cavinder was seen as a fringe prospect for the 2023 draft but ultimately chose to pursue the WWE instead. Meanwhile, it’s a 2024 draft prospect who has been making some noise about mock draft season. Recently, Kim Mulkey spoke on Reese’s reaction to ESPN projecting her to be drafted eighth in the 2024 WNBA Draft. “That was an insult to her. We talked about the things she needs to work on. Whether she gets picked higher than that or not, it still motivates her. She gets motivated in practice with someone going head-to-head with her or talking trash back at her. She’s a competitor,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said.

Reese’s tumble to the second half of the first round was perhaps the biggest surprise of M.A. Voepel’s first WNBA mock draft of the year. Furthermore, Voepel chose to project Paige Bueckers as the second pick. Bueckers hasn’t played a full season since her freshman year and missed all of last season with an ACL tear. While the 2024 draft class is one of the strongest and deepest in years, it’s hard to see many teams passing on Reese. She was top-five in both points and rebounds per game last season.

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Caitlin Clark Still Undecided About Declaring For WNBA Draft

October 4, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Presumptive #1 pick in next year’s WNBA Draft Caitlin Clark isn’t ready to confirm her place in the draft class just yet. “I’m going to know when I need to know. I think it’s very similar to my college decision. It’s like I’m in the recruiting process again. It’s really not something I think about every day or let weigh on me. I’m focused on helping this team be the best they can be. The biggest thing is I’m just going to trust my gut. I’m not going to do a lot of research on what’s better. I’m going to trust my gut and go with that,” Clark said this week.

Can Clark Finish With A Championship?

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark said she is “going to treat this year like this is my last year.”

Clark can use a fifth year in 2024-25 or go to the WNBA.

“I’m going to trust my gut and go with that.” pic.twitter.com/NWr8X7J3x5

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 4, 2023

Winning a championship in 2023/24 would likely go a long way toward Clark leaving for the WNBA. The Hawkeyes came so close last season, but a Herculean solo effort from Clark couldn’t overcome LSU. Iowa enter the season as ESPN‘s #6 team. They retain three of five starters from last season but the losses of Monika Czianno and McKenna Warnock will be felt significantly. Furthermore, big transfers and injury returns elsewhere in the Big Ten mean that conference play only got harder.

In all likelihood, Iowa doesn’t make it back to the National Championship game. There are just too many teams above them in the pecking order. ESPN‘s preseason top-25 has LSU, UConn, UCLA, Ohio State, and Utah ahead of the Hawkeyes. However, maybe Clark inspires a Last Dance to go out on top. The season is now only a month away so we’ll soon have the answers to all these questions. Iowa hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in their season opener on November 6.

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Paige Bueckers Signs Multi-Year Deal With Nike

September 7, 2023 by newhiphopnews

UConn star Paige Bueckers has inked a multi-year partnership with Nike. Bueckers was one of the hottest prospects in college basketball, winning National Player of the Year as a freshman in the 2020/21 season. However, injuries have derailed her promising career. She missed most of her sophomore year and all of her junior year. While she is still expected to be a top draft pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the 2023/24 collegiate campaign is make-or-break for Bueckers. Most experts have Bueckers as the #3 prospect in the 2024 WNBA Draft behind Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

“I am blessed and honored to announce my partnership with Nike,” Bueckers said in a statement. “Joining the Nike family is a childhood dream come true. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together on and off the court.” Furthermore, According to Nike, her contract could stay with her if she chooses to go pro. Earlier this year, Nike partnered with former first-overall pick Sabrina Ionescu to produce the WNBA’s 12th signature shoe. Additional details of Bueckers’ deal with Nike were not made available.

Bueckers Ready For Comeback

Bueckers has only appeared in 46 games for the Huskies since joining them three years ago. However, she has an average of 18 points and 5.1 assists per game in those appearances. Last month, Bueckers announced that she had been cleared to resume playing. However, she opted not to participate in the team’s tour of Europe. UConn opens their season against Dayton. Other non-conference highlights include UCLA, Notre Dame, South Carolina, and Texas.

However, UConn is in an interesting position this season, with a much bigger focus on the players already on the roster. Their top recruit is KK Arnold, ranked #6 in the 2023 class by ESPN. DraftKings has given the second-best odds to win the 2024 National Championship at +500. However, they are significant behind LSU, who spent the offseason building a superteam with transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow. How do you think UConn will do this year? Let us know in the comments.

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