Paying spectators aren’t permitted at video games in San Antonio but, so the Alamodome, the place South Florida is besting N.C. State by a degree at halftime, is oddly quiet for such a decent recreation. Each individual inside group journey events can have as much as six company for now. The stands are utterly empty behind the hoops; and the one facet of the court docket with bleachers has about 30 invitees.
If South Florida retains it up, N.C. State could possibly be the primary No. 1 seed knocked out of the match. The groups been jousting for the lead, settling with the Bulls up a degree at halftime on a jumper by Cristina Bermejo. N.C. State’s Elissa Cunane missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left that would have flipped the lead. 36-35, South Florida.
The match video games can be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and can be streamed on the ESPN app. Here’s the schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday (all instances Eastern):
Tuesday
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Three p.m. — No. 1 seed North Carolina State vs. No. eight seed South Florida, ESPN2
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3:30 p.m. — No. Four seed Kentucky vs. No. 5 seed Iowa, ESPNU
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5 p.m. — No. Three seed Tennessee vs. No. 6 seed Michigan, ESPN2
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5:30 p.m. — No. Four seed West Virginia vs. No. 5 seed Georgia Tech, ESPNU
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7 p.m. — No. 1 seed South Carolina vs. No. eight seed Oregon State, ESPN
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7 p.m. — No. 2 seed Baylor vs. No. 7 seed Virginia Tech, ESPN2
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9 p.m. — No. 1 seed Connecticut vs. No. eight seed Syracuse, ESPN
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9 p.m. — No. 1 seed Stanford vs. No. eight seed Oklahoma State, ESPN2
Wednesday
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1 p.m. — No. 2 seed Maryland vs. No. 7 seed Alabama, ESPN2
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Three p.m. — No. Three seed Georgia vs. No. 6 seed Oregon, ESPN2
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Three p.m. — No. 5 seed Missouri State vs. No. 13 seed Wright State, ESPNU
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5 p.m. — No. 2 seed Louisville vs. No. 7 seed Northwestern, ESPN 2
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5 p.m. — No. Four seed Indiana vs. No. 12 seed Belmont, ESPNU
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7 p.m. — No. 2 seed Texas A&M vs. No. 7 seed Iowa State, ESPN2
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7 p.m. — No. Three seed Arizona vs. No. 11 seed Brigham Young University, ESPNU
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9 p.m. — No. Three seed U.C.L.A. vs. No. 6 seed Texas, ESPN2
Mark Emmert has made his strategy to San Antonio. After dealing with criticism from gamers and coaches over the disparities between the amenities, coronavirus testing and advertising of the boys’s and girls’s tournaments, the N.C.A.A. president is on the first recreation of the second spherical of the ladies’s match — which occurs to be the primary a part of the competitors that isn’t going down concurrently with video games on the boys’s facet.
Caitlin Clark and Iowa will face Kentucky within the second spherical. The prize? The winner most certainly will face top-seeded UConn subsequent.
“The Sweet 16 is something you dream of as a basketball player,” stated Clark, who led the nation in scoring this season. “It’s a great opportunity. We have nothing to lose.”
Iowa has received seven of 9, spurred by the well-documented success of Clark, their star freshman. Her scoring — 26.7 factors a recreation this season — attracts a lot of the consideration, however her passing means and 3-point capturing vary have helped unlock defenses, too.
Kentucky might provide a more durable problem. The Wildcats and the Hawkeyes have one widespread opponent this season in Indiana; Kentucky beat the Hoosiers, 72-68, whereas Iowa fell to them twice in Big Ten play.
Kentucky used its rebounding benefit — it had 16 offensive rebounds — to carry off Idaho State within the first spherical, when the senior Chasity Patterson and the star junior Rhyne Howard every scored 14 factors.
But the Hawkeyes will enter their second-round matchup with one thing totally different: a chip on their shoulder.
“At the beginning of the year, people said, ‘Oh, if they can only get to the N.C.A.A. tournament ,’” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder stated of her group, including: “Then it was, ‘Oh, if they can only win one game.’”
After rolling within the first spherical, No. 1 Stanford will deal with Natasha Mack and eighth-seeded Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
The Cowgirls have a doubly tough activity in entrance of them in a prime seed and their very own grim historical past: They are 3-11 when enjoying because the decrease seed within the match. But additionally they have the 6-foot-4 Mack, an intriguing shot-blocker and rebounder who could also be one essentially the most neglected gamers within the nation.
The uncommon W.N.B.A. prospect with two years of group faculty basketball on her résumé, Mack was as soon as a prime highschool recruit earlier than taking a circuitous path to the Big 12. Mack dedicated to Houston out of highschool however by no means enrolled, then turned up at tiny Angelina College in her hometown of Lufkin, Texas, the place she grew to become a junior faculty all-American.
Now she is certainly one of 4 finalists for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award after main the nation with 4.1 blocks per recreation. She additionally ranked third within the nation with 9.Three defensive rebounds a recreation.
Mack had 27 factors and 15 rebounds within the Cowgirls’ first-round win over Wake Forest and Four help. Oklahoma State Coach Jim Littell praised the aggressive nature of her efficiency — “She has at times been too unselfish,” he stated afterward — however Mack acknowledged she and her group must be even higher in opposition to Stanford.
“This is such a great feeling,” Mack said. “It is like the spotlight is on you.”
“We have to bring the same energy,” she added. “It only gets harder from here.”
All 4 No. 1 seeds within the ladies’s match can advance to the match’s second weekend with wins on Tuesday. In addition to Stanford, UConn faces Syracuse; top-seeded South Carolina will take care of a No. eight seed, Oregon State, seeking to advance to its fifth consecutive spherical of 16; and N.C. State will play South Florida.
The Wolfpack handled some scary moments early within the first spherical in opposition to No. 16 North Carolina A&T earlier than pulling away with a powerful second half. Some of that would have been attributed to rust, N.C. State Coach Wes Moore stated; his group had not performed since March 7.
“I felt like we’ve got to have more urgency,” Moore stated of the fast turnaround to a different opponent. “We’ve been sitting around for two weeks now and we’ve got to find our mojo, so to speak, and get some energy and urgency on the defensive end of the floor.”
Top-seeded UConn cruised, as anticipated, in its opening win in opposition to High Point behind 24 factors from the freshman star Paige Bueckers, however UConn’s diploma of issue is rapidly going up.
The Huskies subsequent will face a Syracuse group that had a powerful efficiency in opposition to South Dakota State within the first spherical. And whereas UConn already was lacking the corridor of fame coach Geno Auriemma, who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier than the match, it now could possibly be with out the freshman guard Nika Muhl, who sprained her proper ankle on Sunday.
Muhl, a Croat, was on crutches when UConn wrapped up its victory in opposition to High Point. She is questionable for the Syracuse recreation, however the Huskies’ interim coach, Chris Dailey, was not able to rule her out on Monday.
“If there’s any way Nika can be on the court,” Dailey stated, “she will be on the court.”
Sunday’s win was UConn’s 27th consecutive first-round victory. But it was maybe extra satisfying (and comforting) for the group’s coaches as a result of Bueckers — who additionally had 9 rebounds, six assists, 4 steals and two blocks in 36 minutes — and several other different members of the freshman-heavy squad had been making their debuts within the occasion. Another freshman, Aaliyah Edwards, recorded a double-double, with 17 factors and 12 rebounds.
Syracuse, the No. eight seed, took care of South Dakota State, 72-55, with a powerful second half. Emily Engstlerr’s 18 factors led a balanced offense — all 5 Syracuse starters scored in double figures — and the Orange set a program report 14 blocks.
Guard Tiana Mangakahia stands out as the participant the Huskies will need to comprise, although: She leads the nation with 7.47 assists per recreation.
