Audio clip
Pat Summitt
The NCAA selection committee might have an opportunity to fill an arena for the women’s national tournament in a sluggish economy. The selection committee might have an opportunity to take advantage of a once-in-a-generation occurrence.
The selection committee might have the opportunity to stage one of the most anticipated women’s basketball games in the history of our city.
I’m talking about Tennessee vs. UT-Chattanooga in the postseason. First round of the NCAA women’s tournament. McKenzie Arena, where UT’s Lady Vols held off the Lady Mocs 66-63 as this season began.
It can happen. It should happen. Charlie Creme, who projects the bracket for ESPN, currently predicts the Lady Vols and Lady Mocs to meet in a 4-vs.-13 first-round game. Jerry Palm of collegerpi.com projects Tennessee as a No. 4 seed and the perennial Southern Conference champ as a No. 13. A perfect match.
Now, before the venerable Wes Moore expresses his desire to dribble my head like a basketball, let’s note that his UTC team must first win what should be an intriguing Southern Conference tournament featuring solid Samford, College of Charleston and Western Carolina squads.
But if the Lady Mocs win and advance to the Big Dance, the NCAA will get a second opportunity to put Tennessee and UTC in the same building. It shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
In 2004, the NCAA, determined to expand the game and establish neutral sites, shipped top-seeded Tennessee to Tallahassee instead of to Chattanooga. Attendance in Tallahassee was dismal and UT coach Pat Summitt later admitted the women’s game wasn’t ready for such a move.
It’s time for a makeup call. And this would be even better. Think about it: Tennessee would typically need a 3 or 4 seed to play UTC in the first round. That almost never happens. In 27 NCAA tournaments, the Lady Vols have earned the No. 1 seed 19 times, the No. 2 seed four times, the No. 3 seed three times and the No. 4 seed once, in 1986.
The Lady Vols, already with more losses than any Tennessee team since 1997, are staring at a 4 seed with four regular-season games remaining. But their 18-7 record is, in part, due to an unforgiving nonconference schedule. I asked Summitt on Monday night if she thought the schedule was too harsh and demoralizing for a young team.
Of course, Summitt grew up raking hay at the age of 12 under a much more unforgiving sun. If she cried during a spanking, her father spanked her more. So, yeah, Pat Summitt isn’t exactly feeling sorry for her young players. Bad question by me.
“I don’t think it’s been too much,” Summitt said. “I’m thinking we’ve won 18 ballgames. All seven losses hurt. Some were closer than others. I think we have learned from playing a tough schedule.
“But it doesn’t mean we’ve bought in to how much better we have to be. The schedule doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is where we are right now at this point in time in the season. We should be a lot better. We should be a lot tougher.”
And that statement brings me to one final point: Tennessee vs. UTC, in a sport where we don’t see many exciting first-round games when the high seeds play the low seeds, would likely be competitive. In the early-season meeting, UTC dominated much of the game — leading by eight with six minutes remaining — before falling.
The Lady Vols, as Summitt bemoaned numerous times, aren’t improving like she hoped. They don’t have a go-to scorer. Vicki Baugh is out for the season. And you have to wonder if all of those freshmen are starting to get tired from playing the longest season of their lives.
“I thought we wore them down,” Duke’s Chante Black said after Monday’s 62-54 win over the Lady Vols.
If the Lady Mocs advance to the NCAAs, and women’s basketball is interested in promoting the sport and creating a festive atmosphere, we’ll see these two teams meet again. And if the selection committee really wants to get dramatic and Tennessee is a 4 seed, it will put the Lady Vols in the same bracket as, that’s right, No. 1 UConn to stage a potential Sweet 16 matchup.
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