By Mel Greenberg
Some Tennessee fans may have had some sheepish glee on their faces Monday night when the top-ranked Vols escaped No. 5 Rutgers, 59-58, aided by a "frozen" clock in the final seconds in Knoxville.
But those smiles most probably are all be gone by now after No. 7 LSU erased a 19-point deficit and rallied to a 78-61 victory in the same arena over Tennessee Thursday night in a battle of Southeastern Conference unbeatens.
By all indications, the Tennessee implosion will make the Vols' return to the top of the Associated Press poll a one-week experience after replacing Connecticut Monday afternoon as the No. 1 team.
Now the question is did new LSU coach Van Chancellor do his 2004 assistant with the United States Olympic gold medalists a favor by puttting C. Vivian Stringer's Rutgers group in position to grab a first-ever No.1 ranking?
The assumption, before moving forward here, is that Rutgers will win Saturday night at South Florida in what could be a dress rehearsal for another Women's Final Four appearance, which this year will be in Tampa.
That said, had Rutgers been declared the "official" winner Monday night if the referees had followed all the procedures properly, the Scarlet Knights would definitely be knocking on the door for some program history.
As it is, some media members who voter in the Associated Press women's poll were already speculating among themselves whether to give Rutgers the No. 1 vote anyway after watching "human error" allow Nocky Anosike to make the tying and winning foul shots with 0.2 seconds left on a clock that should have been expired.
The magnitude of LSU's win could make things easier, depending on how the body of work measures up among the hopefuls.
Connecticut, which still got five first-place votes after its loss to Rutgers in the previous week, is standing in the normal one-step away position in second place.
But head-to-head, there is a loss on the books to Rutgers, although at least one and maybe two opportunities exist for revenge.
Furthermore, Rutgers has the apparent win over Tennessee, while UConn, through no fault of its own, is in a no-play stance after Vols coach Pat Summitt cancelled the decade-plus series last summer,
North Carolina, at No. 3, has clear losses to Tennessee and Connecticut and a win over Maryland, which at No.4 in the current poll, has losses to Rutgers and North Carolina..
Rutgers has two losses outside the elite at West Virginia and Duke, and another controversial last-second loss to Stanford in the season opener. However, the Scarlet Knights have also navigated a brutal schedule, producing wins over Connecticut, Maryland, LSU, and an "apparent" one over Tennessee.
The Guru did a little side-checking with some of his media colleagues and also some coaches Thursday night after the LSU victory over Tennessee, asking whether it would be outgrageous to leap Rutgers to No. 1 and all said that the Scarlet Knights have as legitimate claim to No. 1 one as any of the contenders.
We didn't talk to Pittsburgh's Agnus Berenato, but her stance already went on the record when she gave Rutgers a No. 1 vote Tuesday in the ESPN/WBCA coaches' poll, which included the Tennessee game among the week's action.
On Monday afternoon, while dining on hamburgers at one of our favorite establishments in Knoxville, a colleague from the Tennessee media indicated that a potential Rutgers win would merit a No. 1 vote.
"I'd say that beating UConn and then Tennessee, two No. 1s, that's a heck of a week or two that nobody has ever done," he said.
As for the issue of moving up after a loss, well, we've seen teams move into the poll after a competitive loss to one of the members of the women's establishment.
It's also possible that while Rutgers may not get a majority of the first-place votes, Stringer's bunch may get enough total combined votes in the top three slots to outpoint the other contenders and soar to the top.
Beyond the voting, here's how the race for the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament seem to appear following the LSU win.
Tennessee: Still solid for now as the overall No. 1, but that particular status could be in jeopardy with another loss to LSU in the SEC tournament and a loss to someone else along the way.
Connecticut: Still solid, for now, as to obtaining one. However, a loss at LSU and another loss to Rutgers, especially if it were in the Big East championship, would drop the Huskies to closer scrutiny and comparison with the other contenders. The injury situation that cost UConn Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene could also become a factor if it is seen as having been an impact on any potential loss.
North Carolina: In the hunt, for now, but still must play out its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, including a Friday night stop at Virginia, another game against Duke, and the tournament.
Maryland: In the hunt, but more likely looking at a No. 2 for now unless the Terrapins win the ACC, directly beating the Tar Heels.
Connecticut still has to be beat Pitt this Saturday, although the chances of a loss are slim considering the Panthers' performance in recent games.
Rutgers: Wins over Maryland, LSU, and Connecticut, and an "apparent" win over Tennessee on a killer schedule is quite a body of work that would merit a No. 1, no matter what happens in the next one or two Connecticut games. The case got stronger this week, but another Big East loss will definitely bring the Scarlet Knights back to the contender pack for comparison. And again, the wild card for everyone will be the ability to avoid an upset loss.
LSU: The win over Tennessee puts the Tigers in the contender role, though Sylvia Fowles and company would likely need to win again over the Vols to merit a No.1 seed.
However, based on our mock seeding exercise at NCAA headquarters a week ago, be warned, that seed number and geographical bracket placement are not necessarily in synch once the attempt at balance begins. A team could be the second No. 1 seed in the original secret deliberations of the committee and land in the Western site or even slip to a No. 2 if the total effect would be to create better balance, according to --- ready class? -- the NCAA's principles and procedures guidelines.
Meanwhile, as for LSU's win Thursday night on its own merits, it had to be satisfying for Chancellor, who often met frustration at the hands of the Vols when he coached Mississippi prior to jumping to the WNBA when it launched in the summer of 1997.
He reached notoriety taking the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA titles and later guided the United States Olympic team to a gold medal at the Athens Games in Greece in the summer of 2004.
Before Thursday night, his most memorable visit to Knoxville was his induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. That night he had Georgia coach Andy Landers, who was to be later inducted with the Guru among four others last June, do the video presentation of Chancellor.
In his acceptance speech, Chancellor quipped that, "the reason I chose him is I know what you all think of him here in Knoxville and this is my way of getting even."
Details of the game are out by now, but here are extensive quotes sent from Tennessee, which usually arrive after every Vols game.
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH PAT SUMMITT:
(Opening remarks) “Obviously, I’m very, very disappointed in this team. Make note, LSU played a terrific game. They came after us. We did some good things early. Bench play was pretty much non-existent. We can’t expect Candace (Parker) to carry us every night. We got exactly what we deserved. We didn’t defend, and we didn’t make shots.”
(On what happened) “I have no idea. I can’t figure this group out. We got a win over Rutgers. They went in understanding that we could win the league tonight if we took care of business. If both of us had losses, going head-to-head, we still would have been league champions. That didn’t seem to matter very much.”
(On starting strong) “We started well against Rutgers, too. Maybe the players can tell you what happened. We can’t win relying on just a couple of players. Our offense affected our defense. I’m not happy about it. It is unacceptable.”
(On Tennessee’s weaknesses tonight) “We had a couple of players taking shots and not making them. We were turning the ball over. It is hard to win when you do that against a team as strong as LSU. Take nothing away from them. There is no quit in their team.”
(On giving up large leads in the last two games) “Looking back at Rutgers, they made their run, and we didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half. This team doesn’t get excited about remaining committed to playing 40 minutes. They pick and choose when they are going to play. This team reminds me of the team (1998-99) following the undefeated team (1997-98). They were a pain to coach. This team is not quite as hard to coach, but there is no great sense of urgency. They start great, get casual, and tonight they got beat.”
(On how opponents always key on Candace Parker) “They were keying on Candace and trying to double her. Others have to make plays. There were lots of shots, but not lots of baskets. (Angie) Bjorklund has got to do something. Alberta (Auguste) was 1-of-7, and (Alex) Fuller was not playing her usual offensive game. There was not a lot of help.”
TENNESSEE SENIOR GUARD ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE
(On how Coach Summitt keeps talking about playing 40 minutes) “It has sunk through for me, personally, but we didn’t put together 40 minutes tonight. We played 25 minutes.”
(On LSU’s performance) “They did a great job of committing to their offense and getting the ball inside to Sylvia (Fowles). (Quianna) Chaney and (Allison) Hightower were knocking down the threes. We weren’t knocking down shots or getting to the boards. They are a very active team. They are quick and get in the passing lanes. We weren’t playing Tennessee basketball. In the second half, Coach told us to get the ball inside and get to the boards. Everything we weren’t doing, she told us to do.”
(On watching the 19-point lead evaporate) “Honestly, I don’t know how to explain it. We were up 21-2, and I looked at the board, and it was 29-20. Shots weren’t falling and when they are not, we have to commit to defense. I can’t speak for my team, but I wasn’t complacent. I hope my team wasn’t either. I hope we can figure it out before it is too late.”
(On regrouping) “We’ve got to regroup. Coach was upset and not happy. It is time for us to recover. We’ve got to have an open mind to criticism because it is going to come.”
TENNESSEE JUNIOR FORWARD CANDACE PARKER(On letting the lead slip away) “Obviously, it caught up with us tonight. We had been getting away with it. We lost a big lead at Stanford and several other games similar to this game. Against Rutgers, we were able to come back. We had turnovers, were missing shots and not putting it up. In the first 10 minutes, we were in lockdown. We didn’t let them score. They were putting up garbage. They played to our weaknesses, and after that 10 minutes, we let them score
(On what Tennessee can take away from this game) “There are always positives that you can take away from any loss. I’d rather it have been a win. We need to get better on one-on-one defense. I thought our rebounding was good. We’ve got to work on keeping leads. We’ll address this at practice.”
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Refgate?
There have already been several accounts of what went down and what might have went down in terms of who was performing duties and who messed up involving the 1.3 seconds "freeze" of 0.2 left on the clock.
One intriguing finding belongs to sportswriter Aditi Kinhabwala of The Record in Bergen County, N.J. She is the beat reporter on Rutgers athletics and here is the link to click.
Time Out for Congratulations
Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.Com and the Kansas City Star has become one of the top national writers of women's basketball and when we're not using each other as foils on our blog or figuring out how to improve the reporting relationships with the sport's powers that be, we usually let you know of each other's success.
Because journalistic "principles and procedures" do not allow Voepel to tell you herself, the Guru has learned she is a finalist for the prestigious "Billie" media awards handed out by the Women's Sports Foundation.
About C. Viv's Penn State Reference
In a previous post describing the fallout of the Tennessee-Rutgers debacle, the Guru mentioned how Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer challenged his memory of another painful loss by a Stringer-coached team, which was in the semifinals of the NCAA regional in 1983, the second year of the tournament, and it became the final game she coached at Cheyney before moving on to build Iowa's program.
The Guru could not remember the exact specifics, other than it was a narrow outcome. What he did know has already been noted, but he continued to pursue the infomation.
Attempts to find his coverage in the electronic library of the Inquirer's publishing system went for naught.
A member of Penn State's athletic department attempted to help, while noting the "one person who definitely would recall the game no longer was employed by the university."
Hint: She worked there for 27 seasons.
Then late Thursday afternoon, Mary Jo Haverbeck, the retired longtime spokesperson for the women's basketball program, sent an email saying she had turned up an account of the game from the Harrisburg Patriot.
If time permitted, she was going to re-type the specifics and send them our way at some point.
But she did read the report and as a public service we'll briefly note her remarks.
Penn State scored with some 13 seconds left to take a one-point lead on Cheyney, which had been to the Final Four in the NCAA's first season the previous year.
Debra Walker came down for the Wolves, put up a shot, it was blocked, and she put up another shot which missed while a Penn State player was all over her as time expired.
We'll leave the name out for now until the actual account arrives. However, afterwards in the Patriot's report the Penn State player admitted that she thought "she had fouled" Walker.
And, given, Monday night's misfortunes, the irony exists that a Stringer team landed on the losing end because of a foul that was called after time expired and also landed in the loss column when a foul wasn't called before time expired.
So if we can re-run and recreate that segment of the Monday postgame press conference, the Guru now says, "Yes, coach, I remember that one."
New Home, Familiar Ache
Since we're on the topic, former Rutgers associate head coach Jolette Law may no longer be around to share the suffering in narrow defeats she endured working and playing for Stringer at Rutgers and Iowa, but in her first year as a head coach at Illinois she is enduring her own share of frustration.
We give you an excerpted version of this latest Sports Information Director report on Illinois' loss in the Big Ten on Thursday night.
Illini Fall at the Buzzer to Badgers, 66-64 Game Ends in Controversial Fashion; Smith dominates inside with 24 and 14
MADISON, Wis. - Illinois suffered another heartbreaking defeat on the road Thursday night as Wisconsin escaped the Kohl Center with a controversial 66-64 victory.
Down two with 4.9 seconds left, Illini senior Rebecca Harris drove into the lane as the clock wound down and collided with Wisconsin's Janese Banks, appearing to draw a foul, but was instead called for traveling as the clock expired.
Sophomore Jenna Smith was dominant in the paint with 24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, but it wasn't enough as the Illini fall to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten.
"Our design was clearly to get Bec to the basket," said Illini coach Jolette Law of the final play. "He (the official) indicated that she traveled and there was no time left on the clock. I thought my player got fouled, but the officials didn't seem to think so. They made the call and that was the ball game."
With Illinois trailing 59-54 and less than two minutes to play, Harris, who had 16 of her 18 points in the second half, took over the game, scoring the final 10 points for the Orange and Blue by aggressively taking the ball to the hoop and either finishing or drawing a foul. She scored on driving lay-ups with both 18 seconds and seven seconds left to pull the Illini within two both times.
Then after Wisconsin's Rae Lin D'Alie missed the front end of a one-and-one with 6.5 seconds left Illini sophomore Lacey Simpson secured the rebound and called timeout with 4.9 remaining, setting up the dramatic final sequence.
The finish was similar to the 49-48 loss at Penn State earlier this season when Harris drove to the hoop in the final seconds and hit a what she thought was a game-winning lay-up as time expired, only to be called for a charging foul and having the bucket waved off.
Illinois has now played nine games this season that have been decided by five points or less, the most in the Big Ten, and is 3-6 in games. Five of the Illini's eight conference losses have come by a total of nine points, and each of those games came down to the final seconds.
"We just have to know right now that we have ball games that we have to finish," Law said. "It shouldn't really come down to the last seconds of the game. We know there were things that we needed to address throughout the game. I'm just trying to keep us focused because the season's not over. Anything's possible in this league. We've got to learn that we can control our own destiny."
Illinois will now have the weekend off before returning to Assembly Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21, to host Penn State at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised Big Ten Network clash.
-- Mel
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