The Utah Utes were well aware that with top-seeded Indiana and fourth-seeded Villanova out of the way, their Final Four odds had markedly increased heading into their Sweet 16 game against third-seeded LSU in the NCAA Tournament. Getting by Kim Mulkey’s Tigers would have given the Utes a tremendous chance to reach the Final Four and put the Pac-12 back in the women’s basketball spotlight.
Free throws became their undoing, as Tyler Nettuno of LSU Wire wrote:
“Alexis Morris didn’t flinch. Trailing Utah by one point and shooting two shots at the free throw line, the fifth-year senior sunk both to give LSU a one-point lead with 10 seconds to play.
“Utah’s Jenna Johnson couldn’t do the same, missing both free throws as her team trailed by one, and another pair of free throws from Morris all but sealed a 66-63 win in a seed upset for coach Kim Mulkey’s No. 3-seeded Tigers against the No. 2-seeded Utes.
“Morris would score 15 points in total, while LaDazhia Williams and Angel Reese added 24 and 17 points, respectively. Reese recorded her 31st double-double with 12 rebounds as LSU overcame a four-point halftime deficit.”
The Pac-12 is down to one team in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s UCLA, which plays unbeaten South Carolina.
Gulp.
This March just didn’t work out for the Pac-12 in men’s or women’s hoops.
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