2023 NCAA Tournament

[DMac]

Cuse girls not so sharp out of the gate, but they hit their stride and looked again like the Cuse team we saw from the 15-0 team. Needed this kind of game. 25-8, final.

[Womenslaxxfan]

Albany unlikely to score more than 4-5 goals against pios
They played inspired for 25 minutes against uva. But they other than 23 and 11, very few players who look to feed.
Hard to beat the Denver zone with a long iso (33/51 favorite) or by feeding from gle (which is what 23 likes to do)
I’d love to see them win bc they are now the Cinderella story of the tourney….but think the pios move on pretty easily.

Hmmm. Didn’t quite get that right. Kudos to Albany for playing them much tighter on defense than I expected.

Carolina Denver is going to be a fascinating matchup. Both I think will struggle to score more than 8 goals

[Kleizaster]

Albany unlikely to score more than 4-5 goals against pios
They played inspired for 25 minutes against uva. But they other than 23 and 11, very few players who look to feed.
Hard to beat the Denver zone with a long iso (33/51 favorite) or by feeding from gle (which is what 23 likes to do)
I’d love to see them win bc they are now the Cinderella story of the tourney….but think the pios move on pretty easily.

Hmmm. Didn’t quite get that right. Kudos to Albany for playing them much tighter on defense than I expected.

Carolina Denver is going to be a fascinating matchup. Both I think will struggle to score more than 8 goals

No offense to U Albany but UNC is a different beast with their depth. Will the best team Denver faces all season. I think Denver holds serve early on before UNC wears them down

[Puck Swami]

No offense to U Albany but UNC is a different beast with their depth. Will the best team Denver faces all season. I think Denver holds serve early on before UNC wears them down

Denver already beat #3 seed BC 13-8 this season -- a BC team that is likely better than four-loss UNC is. The Pioneers have already beaten 8 or 9 ranked teams this season and a majority of those victories were on the road, so I don't think Denver will be worn down by UNC. It's going to be a battle.

Denver also has a chip on its collective shoulder after it was egregiously screwed by the flawed RPI-heavy NCAA seeding process that gave a four-loss Carolina team a home #4 seed (and the gift of not ever having to leave their home state in the NCAA Tournament) over an undefeated Denver team that beat many ranked opponents this year, including a team seeded above them in BC. Denver's undefeated record and quality wins this year should have gained the Pioneers a top 4 seed and I believe UNC should be flying to Denver this week, and not the other way around.

[LaxDadMax]

Is it really such a good thing that Maryland's offense will be back next year? Did they even get much better over the course of this season?

I mean they shot it better today than against JMU than earlier this year, but I'm not sure either. They never had a true alpha that defense feared, just a lot of good to very good players. Showed today and other games where they would jump out to leads or hang with teams but you never quite felt comfortable down the stretch. Maybe they take the next step since more playing team means more chemistry and someone steps up to be the alpha, but given none of those players have been one during their career. I don't see it happening.

Also have to take into account the fact that alot of other teams will also be getting better. To beat really good teams consistently you need exceptional talent. Maryland doesn't have that. Perhaps Edmondson will turn into that but she can't do it alone. I think they need to focus on finding an identity and how they want to play, and committing to it 100%. A great system can help make up for what you lack in other areas. Not the prettiest or sexiest thing compared to the Maryland teams of old but until you get back to that level, options are limited.

At the end of the day, Maryland just needs more talent on the offensive side of the ball Period. How many Maryland offensive players would start at Northwestern? 2, maybe 3. maybe 1. Could say the same thing comparing to Syracuse. Until Maryland can get 4 or 5 girls who can score at will, they won't be challenging for a big ten title, yet alone a national title.

[thedisciple516]

No offense to U Albany but UNC is a different beast with their depth. Will the best team Denver faces all season. I think Denver holds serve early on before UNC wears them down

Denver already beat #3 seed BC 13-8 this season -- a BC team that is likely better than four-loss UNC is. The Pioneers have already beaten 8 or 9 ranked teams this season and a majority of those victories were on the road, so I don't think Denver will be worn down by UNC. It's going to be a battle.

Denver also has a chip on its collective shoulder after it was egregiously screwed by the flawed RPI-heavy NCAA seeding process that gave a four-loss Carolina team a home #4 seed (and the gift of not ever having to leave their home state in the NCAA Tournament) over an undefeated Denver team that beat many ranked opponents this year, including a team seeded above them in BC. Denver's undefeated record and quality wins this year should have gained the Pioneers a top 4 seed and I believe UNC should be flying to Denver this week, and not the other way around.

Denver's performance against lack luster Albany (at home) kind of justified the committee's decision to give them a 5 seed. Denver played nobody all year besides BC and Maryland. Kudos to them for cashing in on those opportunities but playing just 2 top 10 teams when SU, NW, BC UNC all played 5 and 8 does not justify Denver leap frogging them. If they played in the ACC they'd lose 3 games minimum this year easy.

And I'm not sure how screwed they were exactly. To make up for the fact that they have to travel to UNC, they were given by far the easiest path to the quarters of any of the top 7 seeds. USC and Albany were mediocre (to be nice) on paper.

[thedisciple516]

What an interesting day. All of the top 5 seeds other than Syracuse (who looked amazing) struggled. Does this mean anything? Are these just coincidences or is Syracuse once again the clear cut favorite.

[wlaxphan20]

What an interesting day. All of the top 5 seeds other than Syracuse (who looked amazing) struggled. Does this mean anything? Are these just coincidences or is Syracuse once again the clear cut favorite.

I don’t think so. There were some good matchups. I wouldn’t have expected any team in Florida v ND, Loyola v SBU, or JMU v MD to run away with the game and win by a large margin.

[Seacoaster(1)]

Agreed.

And on to Thursday:

(7) JMU at (2) Syracuse - 12 p.m. — I like Syracuse

Notre Dame at (3) Boston College - 2:30 p.m. — BC

(5) Denver at (4) North Carolina - 5 p.m. — can Denver score enough to make this a game? UNC by a couple

(8) Loyola at (1) Northwestern - 7:30 p.m. — Loyola would need a perfect game here. Northwestern by 2 or 3.

On paper, these all look like great games.

[Dr. Tact]

Agreed.

And on to Thursday:

(7) JMU at (2) Syracuse - 12 p.m. — I like Syracuse

Notre Dame at (3) Boston College - 2:30 p.m. — BC

(5) Denver at (4) North Carolina - 5 p.m. — can Denver score enough to make this a game? UNC by a couple

(8) Loyola at (1) Northwestern - 7:30 p.m. — Loyola would need a perfect game here. Northwestern by 2 or 3.

On paper, these all look like great games.

Cuse
BC
Denver

[TNLAX]

Agreed.

And on to Thursday:

(7) JMU at (2) Syracuse - 12 p.m. — I like Syracuse

Notre Dame at (3) Boston College - 2:30 p.m. — BC

(5) Denver at (4) North Carolina - 5 p.m. — can Denver score enough to make this a game? UNC by a couple

(8) Loyola at (1) Northwestern - 7:30 p.m. — Loyola would need a perfect game here. Northwestern by 2 or 3.

On paper, these all look like great games.

I have never understood the NCAA women’s tournament schedule, times of games and days they are played. These are four great games, with 8 excellent team. If I were a parent with girls who played the game it would be an wonderful experience to be able to attend them. But would I take my daughters out of school???? Heck school aged people or working folks can’t even watch the first two game live. It is so puzzling. Why not play these games on the weekends, does it really matter that the men’s tournament has games scheduled for the weekend? Or is it ESPN scheduling the games?

[jff97]

I think this weekend will be a good test to see whether "parity" has truly come to the women's game. While more teams are able to compete with each other than before, in recent years the Final Four has been limited to teams at the top. Since Boston College and Navy made the 2017 Final Four as unseeded teams, only the top 4 seeds have made the Final Four. Since 2019, only 5 teams have made the Final Four, and that trend would continue if the top 4 seeds all win their quarterfinal games this year. On the men's side, no team from last year's Final Four made advanced to this year's quarterfinals. The overall talent continues to grow in the women's game, but right now only a few teams have enough to be true championship contenders.

[Matnum PI]

Best Upcoming Games in order. Rankings are FanLax Computer Rankings.

1 Northwestern #1 vs #7 Loyola 05/18/2023
2 Syracuse #3 vs #6 James Madison 05/18/2023
3 North Carolina #5 vs #4 Denver 05/18/2023
4 Notre Dame #9 vs #2 Boston College 05/18/2023

[Brownlax]

No offense to U Albany but UNC is a different beast with their depth. Will the best team Denver faces all season. I think Denver holds serve early on before UNC wears them down

Denver already beat #3 seed BC 13-8 this season -- a BC team that is likely better than four-loss UNC is. The Pioneers have already beaten 8 or 9 ranked teams this season and a majority of those victories were on the road, so I don't think Denver will be worn down by UNC. It's going to be a battle.

Denver also has a chip on its collective shoulder after it was egregiously screwed by the flawed RPI-heavy NCAA seeding process that gave a four-loss Carolina team a home #4 seed (and the gift of not ever having to leave their home state in the NCAA Tournament) over an undefeated Denver team that beat many ranked opponents this year, including a team seeded above them in BC. Denver's undefeated record and quality wins this year should have gained the Pioneers a top 4 seed and I believe UNC should be flying to Denver this week, and not the other way around.

Puck Swami - you have beat this topic to death about how Denver got screwed. We get it - you are upset. Just don’t need every post to reiterate your point.

[Womenslaxxfan]

Amen
And Denver looked mediocre at best against usc and Albany, who are two of the weaker teams in the field.
They looked like an unseeded team in both games, not a top 4 team.
Their defense will make things difficult for anyone….but they are uninspiring on offense and their games are tedious to watch.

[PhanLax99]

Agreed.

And on to Thursday:

(7) JMU at (2) Syracuse - 12 p.m. — I like Syracuse

Notre Dame at (3) Boston College - 2:30 p.m. — BC

(5) Denver at (4) North Carolina - 5 p.m. — can Denver score enough to make this a game? UNC by a couple

(8) Loyola at (1) Northwestern - 7:30 p.m. — Loyola would need a perfect game here. Northwestern by 2 or 3.

On paper, these all look like great games.

I have never understood the NCAA women’s tournament schedule, times of games and days they are played. These are four great games, with 8 excellent team. If I were a parent with girls who played the game it would be an wonderful experience to be able to attend them. But would I take my daughters out of school???? Heck school aged people or working folks can’t even watch the first two game live. It is so puzzling. Why not play these games on the weekends, does it really matter that the men’s tournament has games scheduled for the weekend? Or is it ESPN scheduling the games?

I think in order to have these games on ESPNU (or non ESPN+ platforms), the womens coaches decided to dominate Thursday instead of being relegated to the weekend on streaming platforms. Not sure which one is a better option (especially for attendance).

The bigger issue is watching the games this weekend and seeing the difference in production values between the men and the women. Watching the men's Michigan vs Cornell game in comparison to the Northwestern Michigan womens game, was very very telling in what type of resources are being used for mens game vs womens games.

[madlaxer59]

No offense to U Albany but UNC is a different beast with their depth. Will the best team Denver faces all season. I think Denver holds serve early on before UNC wears them down

Denver already beat #3 seed BC 13-8 this season -- a BC team that is likely better than four-loss UNC is. The Pioneers have already beaten 8 or 9 ranked teams this season and a majority of those victories were on the road, so I don't think Denver will be worn down by UNC. It's going to be a battle.

Denver also has a chip on its collective shoulder after it was egregiously screwed by the flawed RPI-heavy NCAA seeding process that gave a four-loss Carolina team a home #4 seed (and the gift of not ever having to leave their home state in the NCAA Tournament) over an undefeated Denver team that beat many ranked opponents this year, including a team seeded above them in BC. Denver's undefeated record and quality wins this year should have gained the Pioneers a top 4 seed and I believe UNC should be flying to Denver this week, and not the other way around.

Puck Swami - you have beat this topic to death about how Denver got screwed. We get it - you are upset. Just don’t need every post to reiterate your point.

Easy way to prove Denver is the better team and thats by beating UNC. To be the best you have to beat the best. Let’s see what happens Thursday.
Spallina always used to cry about this . Again if you want to be taken as a serious contender you hve to beat the better teams . No matter where game is played .

[Womenslaxxfan]

It’s hard to argue the the committee got things egregiously wrong.
Last year all 8 top seeds made the quarters
This year, 7 of 8 did and I’m not sure notre dame beating Florida is much of an upset…..
There are another 8 teams out there that could be in this final group and we got some thrilling games yesterday. But I don’t think any teams that aren’t left in the field can say that they are better than those that are. As good maybe…but not better.

[user1020]

I was impressed with how close most of the games yesterday were. Michigan did a great job shutting down Scane and NU’s offense, all though I couldn’t watch much of the game because the stream was glitchy and slow and overall a pain to watch. This made me focus on the other games. I was impressed with Richmond. They looked fast and had pretty good stick skills, but overall UNC is just a little bit better all over the field. Loyola beat a good Stony Brook team (that plays too physical IMO), but the Hounds have not looked good offensively the last two games. They need to play a complete game vs NU for a chance. Didn’t watch much of the BC game, but it’ll be tough to beat a good Notre Dame team for a 3rd time, although I think they will. I also wasn’t surprised ND beat Florida, I thought the game would be close and it was. ND vs BC should be fun. Cuse got back on stride with a dominant win. JMU with the come back win vs UMD. More disappointed with the Terps than I am impressed with JMU. Up by 4 in the 4th and controlled most of the second half. The Terps of the past would have put this game to bed and crushed any come back chance. I think Cuse won’t struggle vs JMU, but I’m rooting for JMU. Lastly, Denver needs a full game offensively vs UNC to win. Their defense can shut offenses down for long stretches of the game, and DU needs to score consistently during the game.

[Matnum PI]

Denver's undefeated record and quality wins this year should have gained the Pioneers a top 4 seed and I believe UNC should be flying to Denver this week, and not the other way around.

Agreed. It's the right game. #4 vs. #5. Just at the wrong location.