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| Friday, January 3 He said, she said: Lady Vols' experience is key By Mechelle Voepel Special to ESPN.com |
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Tennessee coach Pat Summitt had her teleconference at noon ET Thursday; Connecticut's Geno Auriemma had his at 2 p.m.
And at one point, Auriemma asked, "Is Pat saying they have an experienced team?'' Yes, he was told. "Good,'' Auriemma said. "I'm glad she's not like some of those men's coaches who have a 'young' team every year.'' Actually, there are a few women's coaches who pull that trick, too. But Auriemma probably was already sure of the answer. Regardless of how much Auriemma likes to BS -- which he readily acknowledges -- he doesn't spin far-fetched yarns about the weaknesses of his team. And he knows Summitt doesn't either. If they think they have good teams, they say so. Sure, they're more critical of their teams' play than some coaches, but at that level, it's expected. That criticism isn't sandbagging. Nor is it a bunch of horse hockey when both say they really can't predict what might happen in Saturday's 2 p.m. ET matchup at the Hartford Civic Center, part of a tripleheader on CBS. They both think Tennessee comes in with an obvious experience edge, but that doesn't guarantee anything. Especially with the game being in Hartford. "If there's any advantage, it should be in terms of (us) being a veteran team,'' Summitt said. "We're getting much better overall, but we don't always show that.''
Of course, UConn has a 50-game winning streak on the line, which both coaches also downplayed. "I don't even know if they know it,'' Summitt said of her players, although they certainly do know about the two losses they had in UConn's perfect season last year, including in the Final Four. "I don't think it really has to do with the win streak. ... It's more about us establishing who we are.'' And that's exactly what UConn is doing, too. "We talked about it the other day,'' Auriemma said. "I said, 'Diana Taurasi has won 50 straight. The rest of you guys have cheered for about 30 of those, and you're 11-0. So don't get caught up in how many you have won.' '' OK, a few other thoughts going into a big weekend ....
LSU is doing its seventh annual "Pack the PMAC'' promotion for this game, selling tickets for just a buck a piece. The Pete Maravich Assembly Center holds 14,164 and the program is hoping to draw at least 10,000. There's no doubt undefeated LSU is a very good team, but just how good is an interesting question. LSU pounded Texas 76-58 on Dec. 28, but it's hard to fully evaluate that considering Texas' inability thus far this season to win on the road.
That's followed by Texas trying to change its road woes at Ohio State. Which won't be easy. After losing at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Dec. 7, the Buckeyes have won six games in a row -- and by an average of 25 points.
OK, I knew about St. Martin's Press (which has published the kind of books I absolutely have to buy, such as "The Life and Times of Maxwell Smart'' and "Sweethearts of '60s TV''). But I had to look up where Saint Martin's college was. It's a Division II school in Lacey, Wash. So congratulations to Saint Martin's, which can say it beat a team, that beat a team, that beat a team ... etc. that almost beat Duke, the No. 1 team in the country. Mechelle Voepel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com. |
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