Tag: TGIFridaysMadness

Five takeaways from the the women’s March Madness tournament

A look at five of the big takeaways from the women’s NCAA tournament.

It was a tough March Madness for those who disparage women’s basketball. From sold-out games to record-setting attendance to buzzer-beaters to compelling storylines, this tournament showed the demand for women’s basketball.

The national championship game on ABC drew an average of 9.9 million viewers peaking at 12.6 million. That’s more than 2023 Thursday Night Football, the 2021 NBA Finals, and any MLS game ever, just to name a few.

The storylines were exceedingly compelling as well from LSU’s Angel Reese having 34 double-doubles this season to Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaking scoring records to redemption arcs with LSU’s Alexis Morris.

Players who were quiet all tournament like LSU’s Jasmine Carson balled out in the championship game sinking five 3-pointers in the first half. It was the highest scoring game ever in a women’s basketball title game.

The overarching takeaway from this tournament is that women’s basketball is valuable just like we always knew it was when roadblocks and deliberate undervaluing are taken away.

It has the potential for everything.

HUSKIES ON TOP: Twitter reacts to UConn’s fifth national championship win

UConn cemented themselves as a blue blood on Monday night with their fifth national championship since 1999 and Twitter had all the reactions.

The men’s basketball national championship is returning to the basketball capital of the world.

On Monday night, the UConn Huskies cemented themselves as a no doubt about it, blue blood program. With a 76-59 win over the San Diego Aztecs, the Huskies won their fifth national championship, all five coming since 1999.

Monday night’s game was also a continuation of what the Huskies showed throughout the entirety of the NCAA Tournament. Complete domination. Out of the game’s 40 minutes, UConn led for over 34 minutes – and San Diego State’s last lead in the game came with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half.

The NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player Adama Sanogo recorded his fourth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Tristen Newton who is just under a year removed from announcing his transfer to UConn had a double-double of his own with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

For head coach Danny Hurley, it’s his first national championship. He joins his older brother, Bobby Hurley now as NCAA Champions. While Bobby has not won an NCAA Championship as a head coach, he won two titles with the Duke Blue Devils in 1991 and 1992. Their father, Bob Hurley was a four-time national champion high school coach as well.

But as stated above, for UConn, the championship also means the program has fully cemented themselves as a college basketball blue blood. Despite numerous down years in the process, the Huskies since 1999 have won five national titles, tying them for fourth most all time alongside Duke and Indiana.

The only schools that have more are UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina and are now ahead the likes of Kansas, who won their fourth in 2022 as well as Villanova, Louisville, and Michigan State who have two each.

With Danny Hurley at the head of the program – it doesn’t appear that the Huskies will be going anywhere anytime soon either. They’ll return multiple key pieces in all likelihood next season and will have a legitimate chance at repeating as national champions.

With that being said, here’s how Twitter reacted to the Huskies’ fifth national title on Monday night.

UConn’s Dan Hurley believes an expanded tournament will devalue regular season

Hurley isn’t a fan of NCAA Tournament expansion.

There has been plenty of discussion as of late about expanding the field of 68 even further for the NCAA tournament. Recently Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga stated he was in favor of expanding the field to 96 teams. However, Dan Hurley has a different opinion on the matter.

“For me, I think it’s great the way it is,” Hurley said on Sunday. “I feel like devaluing the regular season, I think, potentially hurts the regular season and what it means. I think the pressure to have to win games and being rewarded for winning big nonconference games and then taking care of enough business in the league … I think it’s a privilege to play in this tournament, not a right.”

Hurley doesn’t believe that the selection is perfect but instead of expanding the field, perhaps they should look into how they select certain teams. There are plenty of deserving mid-major programs around the country. Just look at this year’s Final Four field. Florida Atlantic and San Diego State made improbable runs to the final weekend of the tournament. The Aztecs will take on Hurley’s UConn squad for the national championship.

“I do think, though, that there are probably mid-major programs, a lot of times, that are more deserving than like a 10th-place team in a power conference that has figured out how to just game the numbers, so I’ll say that. I see that on Selection Sunday sometimes. And I cringe at that.”

Whether fans agree or not, we could find out if the NCAA committee will expand the field beyond the 68 team format.

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Sell-out crowds and recording-setting performances, this is women’s NCAA basketball

Women’s basketball and teams set a slew of records.

For another straight game, there was a sell-out crowd in women’s March Madness. The 2023 Final Four games set records in viewership and recorded sell-out crowds, and the national championship game did it again.

While the viewership numbers have yet to be announced, the attendance set a record. Not only was it a sellout crowd for the LSU and Iowa matchup, at 19,482, but it set a Women’s March Madness all-time attendance record with 357,542 fans.

The fans, however, weren’t the only ones breaking records as both teams set their own personal, team, and school records.

LSU’s Angel Reese recorded the most double-doubles in a single season with 34, breaking her own previous record of 33. She finished the game with 10 rebounds and 15 points. LSU walked away with the win which is the first basketball national championship, men’s or women’s for the program. Additionally their 102-85 victory is the most points scored in a women’s championship game

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was 50% from the three-point line with six made three-pointers in the first half. She broke the single-tournament record for most 3-pointers made with 32 and the single-tournament record for most points scored with 191 points, beating the previous points record set by Sheryl Swoopes.

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Game day betting odds for 2023 NCAA Tournament Finals

Here are the early lines for tonight’s national championship game.

The big day is finally here!

The field of 68 teams has been whittled down to the final two as the 2023 NCAA Tournament nears its end. This year’s Final Four was a historic one as no team seeded higher than fourth made it to NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for the culmination of this year’s basketball extravaganza — a list that featured the No. 4 Connecticut Huskies, No. 5 Miami Hurricanes, No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs and No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls.

On Saturday, two teams emerged from the dust — SDSU and UConn — and are now set to face each other on Monday night in the finals.

Look below at BetMGM’s betting odds for the 2023 NCAA Tournament Finals on Monday along with the time and which television channel to follow the action. All times are in EDT and all lines are as of 9:30 a.m. Monday.

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National championship predictions: College Wire staff weighs in

Does anyone dare pick against the UConn Huskies? Our network of editors and staff weigh in.

On Monday evening the two remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament will take center stage as they compete for a national championship. Over the last several weeks, the field of 68 has shrunk to just two teams.

One team, the [autotag]San Diego State Aztecs[/autotag], has never been here before. Their coach has been an assistant on teams that played deep in the tournament but the program reached heights not seen before.

On the other bench, you have a program that has won four national titles. When the [autotag]Connecticut Huskies[/autotag] made it to the Final Four, they have cut down the nets in four of their five trips. When they have played for the title, UConn doesn’t head home empty-handed.

Everything is trending the way of UConn but does San Diego State have one more miracle in them? The College Wire staff and network weighed in with their selections for this showdown in Houston.

Twitter agreed: officiating in March Madness tournament was trash

“May you freely walk over obstacles in life like Kim Mulkey can on a basketball court”

When all sports Twitter comes together to raise concerns over something, you know it’s bad. Fans on both sides of the aisle along with prominent basketball media made it known that the officiating in the women’s national championship game was awful. Not just awful, downright atrocious. Multiple players on both teams had two fouls in the first quarter.

LSU walked away with the national championship defeating Iowa, 102-85.

While people have complained about the officiating all tournament, the level of whistles and fouls called in the championship game was on another level. The game had a sellout crowd, and the boos from both sets of fans were sometimes loud and deafening.

Even Iowa’s head coach Lisa Bluder, who is known for her calm and composure, was visibly upset on the sidelines.

Some speculated how LSU’s head coach Kim Mulkey could walk onto the court and make contact with an official and not get called for a technical. One thing is apparent, the officiating in this game was not professional and seemed to follow no rules.

LSU Tigers win first basketball championship in school history

LSU’s Angel Reese recorded the most double-doubles in a single season with 34, breaking her own previous record of 33.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers came out with a vengeance in the National Championship game on Sunday. However, LSU walked away with the national championship defeating Iowa 102-85.

In the first half, LSU was shooting over 69% in 3-pointers made with Jasmine Carter shooting 5-5. The Tigers were over 52% from the paint and over 90% from the free throw line. At the half, LSU leads the Hawkeyes 59-42.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is 50% from the three-point line with six made three-pointers in the first half. She broke the single-tournament record for most 3-pointers made with 32 and the single-tournament record for most points scored with 191 points, beating the previous points record set by Sheryl Swoopes.

LSU’s Angel Reese recorded the most double-doubles in a single season with 34, breaking her own previous record of 33. She finished the game with 10 rebounds and 15 points. While her teammate, Jasmine Carson finished the game with 22 points and 3 rebounds with 15 points coming from 3-pointers alone. Five LSU players walked away with double-digit scoring.

Clark made eight 3-pointers in the game and had 30 points, 2 rebounds, and 8 assists. Three other players also had double-digit scoring for the Hawkeyes, but it just wasn’t enough to take down the Tigers.

The game was another sellout crowd with 19,482. Women’s March Madness as a whole just set an all-time women’s attendance record with 357,542 fans.

What are the overtime length and rules in college basketball for men’s March Madness?

Here are the college basketball overtime rules and length.

College basketball’s biggest stage is here, with March Madness tipping off. And if you’re here, maybe one of the NCAA tournament games you’re watching is about to head to overtime.

So what’s the length? The rules for the extra period(s)? You’ve come to the right place. Here are the overtime rules in college basketball:

When teams are tied at the end of regulation, overtime lasts for five minutes.

Teams do get a timeout — for 30 seconds — in each overtime period.

Which reminds us: Overtimes are unlimited. If teams are tied at the end of one, they go to another one until there’s a lead at the buzzer.

Any fouls that have been accrued are kept through overtime.

That’s it! Enjoy the games!

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Women’s Final Four most-viewed women’s semifinals games in ESPN history

The LSU and Virginia Tech game peaked at 5 million views while South Carolina and Iowa peaked at 6.6 million.

The women’s final four were the most-viewed NCAA D1 women’s college basketball semifinals in ESPN history with an average of 4.5M viewers. The LSU and Virginia Tech game peaked at 5 million views while South Carolina and Iowa peaked at 6.6 million. They were the 2 most-viewed basketball games, men’s or women’s, ever on ESPN+.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who watched these fierce matchups. The South Carolina and Iowa game was a sell out with 19,288 fans in attendance. The American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas held the Final Four games and holds the National Championship on April 2. This arena is home to the Dallas Stars of the NHL and the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.

LSU and Iowa will take the stage one last time this season on April 2 to see who will take home the National Championship. This is the first time in program history the LSU Tigers, men or women, have made it to the National Championship game. This is the first time Iowa’s women’s basketball program has reached the National Championship game and only the second time in school history.

The D1 National Championship takes place Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.