The University of Tennessee Lady Vols may be the #1 seed in the Oklahoma City regional, but they will definitely feel like they are playing an “away” game, as they face the #9 seed Purdue Boilermakers in tonight’s second round matchup at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN, on Purdue’s home court. How did this happen? In 2003, the NCAA committee decided to change formats for the post-season tournament, moving from playing first and second round games on the home court of the higher seed, to a format of pre-determined host sites for sub-regional games. Because the women’s game does not yet have the support that would bring in large crowds for teams at a completely neutral site, host schools are placed in the brackets they are hosting, and therefore situations like tonight’s game occur.
UT head coach Pat Summitt doesn’t mind. She says her Lady Vols perform better in front of large crowds, and when they have struggled is when people are not in the gym. “Whether they’re yelling for us or against us, I think having a great environment is best for us,” Summitt said. Rest assured, there will be a highly vocal black-and-gold clad crowd at Mackey tonight, where Purdue has averaged over 9400 for their home games this season, putting them in fourth place in the nation for home game attendance average, trailing only UT, UCONN, and Oklahoma. Mackey Arena is also known for having an “elevated” court, reminiscent of that other homecourt of a black-and-gold team, Memorial Gym on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
UT enters tonight’s matchup with a 31-2 record and is a perfect in NCAA second round games with a 20-0 mark. Purdue sports a 19-14 record, having finished with an 11-7 Big Ten conference record, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney by virtue of winning their conference tournament. What more can you say about Tennessee that hasn’t already been said? The women in orange live for this time of year, focusing on the NCAAs like Smokey chasing a raccoon. Purdue on the other hand, is playing with a thin bench, having lost two starters before the season ever started, but Purdue has a fairly solid tradition themselves when it comes to the postseason. The 2008 tourney marks the Boilermakers’ 19th overall and 15th straight appearance in the NCAAs. They have won one National Championship, in 1999 under head coach Carolyn Peck. UT is vying for their eighth NCAA women’s basketball championship, and are attempting to become the fourth team ever to win back-to-back titles. USC did it in 1983 and 1984, UCONN had a three-peat from 2002-2004, and the Lady Vols had a three-peat of their own from 1996 to 1998.
Probable starters for UT:
G Shannon Bobbitt, 5-2 SR: 9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
G/F/C Candace Parker, 6-4 JR: 21.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg
F Alberta Auguste, 5-11 SR: 5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G Alexis Hornbuckle, 5-11 SR: 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
C Nicky Anosike, 6-4 SR: 8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg
Probable starters for Purdue:
F Lakisha Freeman, 6-1 JR: 12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
G Kalika France, 5-9 SR: 8.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg
G FahKara Malone, 5-3 SO: 10.1 ppg, 3.6 apg
F Natasha Bogdanova, 6-4 JR: 6.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
C Danielle Campbell, 6-4 JR: 12.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg
My prediction is a homecourt crowd can only take you so far. Knowing Purdue had a squeaker of a first round game compared to the Vols cakewalk, look for PHS to take it to the Boilermakers early and often, wearing down a thin lineup. UT in a romp.
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