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Baylor Women's Basketball

The 1-3-1 March Madness Edition: Baylor (19-12) vs Alabama (20-10)

March 17, 2023
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Baylor found themselves waiting longer than usual on Selection Sunday to hear their names called, and when it was the landing spot wasn’t exactly ideal. The Bears will enter their 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament trip as the seventh seed in the Seattle 3 region, which sends them to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.

Up first for Baylor (19-12) is 10th-seeded Alabama (20-10), in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Tip-off between the Bears and Tide is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be televised on ESPN 2.

The Tide are currently riding a four-game skid and finished in the middle of the pack in the SEC, as they were tied with Mississippi State and Georgia at 9-7 in conference play.

Here is the 1-3-1 on the Tide.

One Player:

Baylor will need to focus on All-SEC First Team Guard, Brittany Davis. The grad student leads Alabama in scoring with 17.3 PPG, and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, including ten 20-point performances.

Davis (9-points, 7 boards) didn’t play up to her standards as the Tide were ousted by Kentucky 71-58 in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Expect her to come out firing against the Bears on Saturday.

Three Nuggets:

●      Baylor is making its 19th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, which is the fifth-longest active streak in the country behind Tennessee (41), Stanford (35), UConn (34) and Notre Dame (27), and 21st appearance overall.

●      The Crimson Tide's deepest run came in 1994 with the team advancing to the Final Four.

●      The Bears are 54-17 in the Big Dance and have made 15 trips to the Sweet 16.

One Quote:

The elephant in the room, besides Big AL, is the fact that the winner of Saturday’s game between Baylor and Alabama will likely see the heavy favorite and hometown team UCONN in the second round. 

Head coach Nicki Collen knows her team is under a microscope heading into March, but if they can focus on a few basic elements of the game, then they can beat anyone on any given night.

 "People are going to say we're not Baylor anymore," Collen said. "We're not the dominant Baylor, but we're good enough to go beat anyone... From our perspective, that's who we need to be. Because we're not bigger than anyone, we're not stronger than anyone. We have to be focused on rebounding, we've got to be focused on defending and let the rest take care of itself."

News and Notables:

There have been a few roster announcements over the course of the week for Baylor, with one player hitting the portal and another returning via their Covid eligibility.

Kendra Gillespie has missed a majority of the season with “personal issues” and announced via Twitter earlier this week that she would be entering the transfer portal.

Jaden Owens let it be known before the team left Waco that she will be back next season, to which Bella Fontleroy replied “We wouldn’t let her leave anyway”. 

 

 

Discussion from...

The 1-3-1 March Madness Edition: Baylor (19-12) vs Alabama (20-10)

19,989 Views | 115 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by blueeyedbear
blueeyedbear
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In reply to ScottS • 10:19p, 3/18/23
ScottS said:
blueeyedbear said:
Hold on let me put a call into Purdue - I will get back to you.


I think you mean Purdont
Touche !!!
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Malbec
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In reply to ctxbear • 10:31p, 3/18/23
ctxbear said:
bawitdaball said:
kbrun said:
I'm ready to give Sophia a shot at coaching.
The fact that we are looking at giving someone with no coaching experience a chance and we're constantly playing for a Final Four two years ago is something that everyone needs to realize and understand. Win or lose this game, this program needs to regroup and fix something during the summer.
I get the point you are trying to make here, but if you want to be taken seriously, maybe don't oversell it. From 2000-2019 we were in four Final Fours. That's an incredibly impressive feat, but it's not "constantly playing for a final four." And between the third and last Final four we were in, there we had a LOT of rosters with Final Four and National Championship level talent that didn't make it the.
Actually, to be correct, it's not an oversell. Playing FOR a Final Four means a game in the Elite Eight with a chance to get to the FF, otherwise the statement would have been 'playing in a Final Four.' In 9 of the last 11 NCAA tournaments prior to CNC, Baylor played FOR a Final Four spot. That would certainly qualify as "constantly playing for a final four."
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IowaBear
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In reply to Malbec • 10:39p, 3/18/23
Some on here so badly want to believe Mulkey and staff underachieved here. It's hilarious. If I didn't know any better I'd think S16s and E8's grew on trees. We're finding out now those aren't as easy as many believed they were
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whitetrash
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In reply to blueeyedbear • 10:58p, 3/18/23
blueeyedbear said:
whitetrash said:
Never underestimate Ol' Bugeye's ability to blow it.
Of course, your comment would be that Alabama lost it - not that we won it !!! GEEZE


We made the necessary plays in the last minute today; Bama did not. We did similarly in Norman, in Ames and in Austin. Conversely, we performed like Bama in Waco against ou, IowaSt, and WV.
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bawitdaball
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In reply to ctxbear • 11:34p, 3/18/23
ctxbear said:
bawitdaball said:
kbrun said:
I'm ready to give Sophia a shot at coaching.
The fact that we are looking at giving someone with no coaching experience a chance and we're constantly playing for a Final Four two years ago is something that everyone needs to realize and understand. Win or lose this game, this program needs to regroup and fix something during the summer.
I get the point you are trying to make here, but if you want to be taken seriously, maybe don't oversell it. From 2000-2019 we were in four Final Fours. That's an incredibly impressive feat, but it's not "constantly playing for a final four." And between the third and last Final four we were in, there we had a LOT of rosters with Final Four and National Championship level talent that didn't make it there.


Thank you Malbec for making my point. Prepositions are very important.
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blueeyedbear
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In reply to IowaBear • 11:39p, 3/18/23
IowaBear said:
Some on here so badly want to believe Mulkey and staff underachieved here. It's hilarious. If I didn't know any better I'd think S16s and E8's grew on trees. We're finding out now those aren't as easy as many believed they were
I can guarantee you the same "expert" posters had 365 been around in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, when Griner was playing for BU would have said - Only one Natty in 4 years with the most dominant player in women's basketball ??? - she is not right for the job - fire the bum - she can't coach. Same BS they post about Nicki now.

Fact is Kim did underachieve - should have at the very least 3 - 4 more Nattie's. Should have been the Baylor vs U Conn decade !! Instead it was the U Conn decade. I know you don't like to hear that - but there were many years of woulda coulda during the Mulkey years. That does not diminish what she and her teams accomplished ! It's just not the Holy Grail you and others want it to be. The Holy Grail resides in Connecticut where a coach and team achieved what was expected of them 11 times including 4 in a row. That did not happen in Waco and it could have, should have.

The women's game is evolving - as evidenced by all the upsets in this year's tournament. The game is migrating towards parity. Comparing 2000 - 2016 women's basketball to 2023 women's basketball is hilarious. Its ancient history. Its comparing apples to oranges.
The era of the same 4 - 6 women's teams competing making it to the final 4 is coming to an end. The portal is leveling the playing field.
We have already seen it - get the right player and your a sweet 16 contender - get the right two players and you are final 4 contender. Any program willing to bank NIL can go from pretender to contender in one year a la LSU !!

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IowaBear
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In reply to blueeyedbear • 11:53p, 3/18/23
Every team "underachieves" from time to time. You completely ignore that post season injuries likely cost us two nattys. Mulkey had her faults at times. But Jesus anyone (including you) who can't see that what she accomplished was phenomenal is just a hater. We're about to be bounced 2 years in a row without reaching the S16 after like 10 straight years of S16 seasons.
LSU is having success because of their HOF coach… as much as you and yes I say YOU want to put it solely on NIL coaching matters and LSU now has one of the best of all time. You've made it VERY clear you're glad Mulkeys gone and that's fine. Me personally, I enjoyed fielding top 5 teams yearly that at least reached the S16. Hopefully starting next year that's the norm and I've gone on record saying CNC deserves st least 4 years to get the train rolling. But I'm not going to get into another pissing match with you. You have your opinions, I have mine and that's A okay. It's what these boards are for
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Jayman1963
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In reply to Olympia3 • 12:15a, 3/19/23
Olympia3 said:
Why threes when Bama is so short??

Coach needs to take control
Hmmm - just believe!
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historian
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In reply to blueeyedbear • 12:30a, 3/19/23
"History is not written in the subjunctive."
Prof Vardaman

Thus includes sports history. While likely true, we don't know what would have happened because it didn't.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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blueeyedbear
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In reply to IowaBear • 11:38a, 3/19/23
IowaBear said:
Every team "underachieves" from time to time. You completely ignore that post season injuries likely cost us two nattys. Mulkey had her faults at times. But Jesus anyone (including you) who can't see that what she accomplished was phenomenal is just a hater. We're about to be bounced 2 years in a row without reaching the S16 after like 10 straight years of S16 seasons.
LSU is having success because of their HOF coach… as much as you and yes I say YOU want to put it solely on NIL coaching matters and LSU now has one of the best of all time. You've made it VERY clear you're glad Mulkeys gone and that's fine. Me personally, I enjoyed fielding top 5 teams yearly that at least reached the S16. Hopefully starting next year that's the norm and I've gone on record saying CNC deserves st least 4 years to get the train rolling. But I'm not going to get into another pissing match with you. You have your opinions, I have mine and that's A okay. It's what these boards are for
I have said it adnauseum - what Kim accomplished at BU was amazing. I do not hate Kim. On the contrary I wished her the best and have repeatedly posted that financially she is way better off at LSU. Mentally she is better off being HOME and it shows, she looks a lot better physically and has her energy back - Good for her.
Yes, I am glad she moved on - I have made no bones about that.
I did not ignore post season injuries that likely cost Kim two nattys. I did not include those in my assessment - I gave Kim a pass on those. The missed nattys I referred to were in 2011, 2013 with Griner the most dominant player to play the women's game because she did not listen to Bobby Knight and other coaches, she asked advice from and then take your pick from three other years.
You say we are going to be bounced from the tourney this year and not reach the sweet sixteen - probably, but you give no mention to the two best players not playing for Nicki while extolling the players Kim did not have available.
Who doesn't enjoy having top 5 teams yearly. You do not seem to understand reality - Those days will never happen again - the women's game is trending towards the men's game - towards parity.
If you think the two players LSU bought for her has not been the major reason for Kim's success you know as much about basketball as I do quantum physics. Now I do agree with you - you still need to coach em up and Kim certainty can do that.- no argument from me about that.
You cant run in the Derby if you do not have the horses - Nicki does not have the horses yet - I say they are coming.
Glad your willing to give Nicki 4 years - but if you think Kim's remarkable Big 12 record should be the standard for Nicki .... that's is not realistic or fair ... the game is not the same - The Portal and NIL have changed that forever.
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