The Husky Hurt

A brief hiatus.....but it's nearly March.

UCONN will win in San Antonio in the same fashion they did 8 years ago. Destroying anything in its path like Godzilla did to Tokyo. There is no question in my mind that UCONN will be Champions again. However, should Hawaii become the 50th state this winter to get snow, there is a chance they may stumble. Chances of either happening...no chance.

In research for this blog I decided to look at the stats for the team that I think could beat UCONN, the one that already has been beaten by them but played a good game against them, until the second half. That team is Duke.

We all know Duke is really good this year and we all know how good UCONN is this season. But then I looked at the stats and UCONN is in a class by itself, like the 2002 team. Here are some numbers I pulled:

Points Scored
1,812-Duke
2, 162-UCONN

Points Allowed
1,345-Duke
1,194-UCONN

Points per game
72.6-Duke
83.2-UCONN

Points Allowed per game
53.8-Duke
45.9-UCONN

Field Goal %
42.7%-Duke
52.0%-UCONN

3-Point FG %
30.1%-Duke
33.5%-UCONN

Free Throw %
67.6%-Duke
74.6%-UCONN

Score by Periods
852, 964-Duke
1200, 962-UCONN

Final Stat of interest....and just a side note...
All 5 starters (all 5!) are shooting over 40% in field goals (not 3-pointers) for UCONN. Let's break it down further: Maya Moore-52.8%, Tina Charles-62.6%, Kalana Green-59.1%, Tiffany Hayes-45.2%, Caroline Doty-41.8%. Most top caliber teams, including Duke would be lucky to have 2 hitting over 45% from the floor, UCONN has 4!

Bottom line, UCONN is a power and the National Championship will stay in Storrs for one more year. Player of the year will also stay in Storrs, but not a repeat for Moore as her teammate Tina Charles will walk away with POY and Wade trophy. If she doesn't, it's a travesty!

Terrific #3 and other news

My number 3 team is......

Jake: Duke
Jenn: Duke

Now, how much slack will I get for this one? No National Titles and a team that should have won in 2006 but failed to do so, losing to that upstart team from their conference...you know the one, Maryland. Ready? Here we go:

-Finished in the Top 10 in all nine seasons in review

-Finished #1 in 2004, #2 in two of the seasons

-Three Final Fours, 1 National Title berth

-2 additional NCAA Quarterfinal berths

-4 ACC Tournament Titles

-5 (yes, five) All Americans: (Georgia Schwitzer, 2001; Iciss Tillis (2003); Alana Beard (2002, 2003, 2004); Monique Currie (2005, 2006); Lindsey Harding (2007)

-National Player of the Year (Wade Trophy) Alana Beard, 2004

That's enough for me to put them at #3.

WNBA News

The Washington Mystics proved they want to be in the playoffs by beating the visiting Seattle Storm. The Storm had 24 turnovers which helped the Mystics run the floor a bit (18 fast break points). Looks like the Mystics mean business and maybe not having Jackson in the lineup hurts the Storm more then I think. Guess it's tough to replace one of the best players in the game.

This moves Washington into 3rd with a .5 game lead over the Detroit Shock.

Games tonight:
New York Liberty @ Connecticut Sun (7:00 pm, NBA TV)

Indiana Fever @ Detroit Shock (7:30 pm)

Washington Mystics @ Chicago Sky (8:30 pm)

Atlanta Dream @ Sacramento Monarchs (10:00 pm)

Vickie Johnson

Last night the San Antonio Silver Stars honored one of the original players of the WNBA. Johnson graduated as a two-time All American from Louisiana Tech (1996) and one of the original members of the WNBA being drafted #12 in the second round by the New York Liberty. Turns out that #12 pick was a steal for the talent VJ brought to the table. Two-time WNBA All-Star and the first New York Liberty player to reach 2,000 points. June 2005 she hit a bucket for 3,000 points in the WNBA. And an even bigger honor, the owner of the world famous Carnegie Deli in Manhattan created the "VJ Classic Sandwich". It's a 3,000 calorie sandwich (oh my!).

In 2006, VJ moved onto San Antonio where she continued (and continues) to help her Silver Stars team stay in the playoff hunt. I know that I will miss seeing her play, she was always one of my favorites in the WNBA. A true teammate and a real role model. Best of luck to VJ, maybe we'll see you on the sidelines with Spoon at La Tech! Nice article on VJ on the Silver Stars website, check it out.