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Three Shocking Upsets Headlined a Crazy Night in Women’s Hoops

Last night emphasized the massive increase in parity across Women’s basketball. Upsets happened all around the country. This piece will discuss the three shocking upsets and their impact on tournament seeding.

Three Shocking Upsets Headlined a Crazy Night in Women’s Hoops

Miami Upsets Louisville 61-59

This result was a monumental upset for the Canes. Miami was down 15 with just 5:40 to go in the game. Then Destiny Harden went off; she would score the following 15 points in a row to tie the game at 59. Louisville committed a shot clock violation with just 1.7 seconds on the clock. Therefore Miami had a chance to win, and Harden made a crazy fadeaway jumper that gave the Hurricanes the victory. This victory gets them off the bubble; we will see them in the tournament. They look like a dangerous team that plays excellent defense and has the talent to make a run. I see them as an 8-10 seed, depending on the results of their next few ACC tournament games.

For Louisville, this loss is very disappointing. The Cardinals were in control, but they let this game slip away. This result puts their one seed in serious jeopardy. If Baylor runs through the Big 12, they will take that final one seed. In addition, Louisville does not look consistent anymore. They play amazing one night, like against Notre Dame, then falter to a mediocre Miami team. If the Cards want to make a run, they must play consistently for forty minutes; otherwise, they will make an early exit.

Kentucky Dominates LSU 78-63

Last night, the Wildcats put on a show in their quarterfinal victory over the Tigers. Rhyne Howard scored 32 points to help her team to a significant win. Howard is playing like an all-American once again. When she is motivated and is supported, this team can be a sleeper in the tournament. Kentucky is an 8-9 seed at the moment; however, they have the opportunity to rise to a seven seed if they win the SEC tournament. They play Tennesee in the semifinal today, without two of their best players, including Jordan Horston; this is a game the Wildcats can win if they play together again. Assuming they make the final, SC will be waiting, barring a major upset from Ole Miss.

For LSU, this loss hurts; they were playing well for the majority of this month. The committee’s last image is the Tigers being dominated by an inconsistent Kentucky team. Kim Mulkey had a meltdown towards the end of the game when a call did not go her team’s way. LSU only hit three three-pointers in the game. This weakness is concerning for the tournament. Many midmajors have superior three-point shooting but lack size. A perfect example was FGCU, when they beat LSU in Baton Rouge early in the season. Therefore their lack of shooting may lead to an early tournament exit.

Nebraska Upsets Michigan 76-73

The last of three shocking upsets in women’s hoops featured the Cornhuskers getting a huge win when they took down Michigan the previous night. Michigan had a chance to tie the game, but they took a questionable shot that ended any hope of overtime. This win will drastically help Nebraska’s seeding in the NCAA tournament. Right now, they are a six seed or so. The Huskers play Iowa next in the semifinals; if they win that game and the final, they could rise to a hosting position. However, I do not see this as a likely result. The Huskers have great three-point shooting, making them dangerous in the tournament.

Michigan looked like a sure two-seed, but this loss hurts their resume. As a result, UConn should move up if they can win their conference tournament. Nebraska hit eight threes to help win this game; Michigan must fix this stat if they want to make a run in the tournament. Despite the immense talent of Naz Hillmon and Leigha Brown, this team is out before the semifinal of the Big Ten tournament. However, they can recover Brown just came back from an injury, and now they will have more time off before the NCAA tournament. I am worried that they could go down if they face a hot three-point shooting team in the tournament. The Wolverines need more people to step up to avoid an early tournament exit.

Three shocking upsets emphasized the superior level of parity present in Women’s hoops this season. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the month has.

 

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Embed from Getty Images

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