NCAA Tournament 2013: The Spokane bracket

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Should Georgia have fouled at the end of regulation against Cal?

Ted Lee of BearInsider.com brought up a question that crossed my mind after the California Golden Bears' overtime win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the Final Four: should Georgia have fouled at the end of that overtime period?

They chose to defend the possession, which chewed up more than 20 seconds and meant that they wouldn't get the ball back until there were less than 40 seconds left...If they fouled Cal, whether the Bears made zero, one, or both free throws, it would still be a two possession game and they'd have have about a minute left to work with. Cal hadn't shot free throws well all game, and it was missed free throws that were a big reason why the game went into overtime. But after Clarendon's lay-up gave Cal a six point lead with 38 seconds left, Georgia [wasn't] able to [score] until there [were] 16 seconds left, but down four, it was all but hopeless.

Two things to add to this: first, for those still unfamiliar with Cal, it's not only that they were 12-for-24 last night but also that they're just not a good free throw shooting team period - they only shot 61% for the season.

For more on Cal, check out SB Nation's California Golden Blogs. For more on Cal's path to the Final Four, check out our Spokane region storystream.

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Cal beats Georgia in 2013 NCAA Tournament to make first-ever Final Four

What's fascinating about this game is that Georgia is a rugged team that made the proceedings ugly, only for Cal to beat UGA @ its own style

— Matt Zemek (@MattZemek_CFN) April 2, 2013

The fascinating thing about California Golden Bears' season is that they've repeatedly shown the ability to adapt to the situation at hand.

Yes they stumbled against Duke, Stanford, and UCLA, but what made this such a great team to follow is that no matter how opposing teams tried to exploit their flaws as a unit, no matter how many weapons were taken away, or no matter which players simply suffering through off days, they've managed to keep winning.

Tonight's 65-62 overtime win against the Georgia Bulldogs was just the latest in a season of hard fought wins in which they had every reason to give up but stuck to their game plan, played within themselves, and somehow pulled out a win.

To celebrate with other Cal fans, check out California Golden Blogs.

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Layshia Clarendon leads Cal's record march to the free throw line in Sweet 16 victory

norcalnick of California Golden Blogs noted in his summary of the California Golden Bears' 73-63 win over the LSU Lady Tigers that Cal's ability to hit their free throws was what made an somewhat ugly game look fairly routine.

Yet the number of free throws they shot was not exactly routine.

Although Cal's free throw percentage (63.41%) was around their season average, Cal made (26) and attempted (41) the most free throws in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. Leading the way was star guard Layshia Clarendon, who finished with 19 points including a team-high 9-for-12 shooting from the free throw line.

norcalnick summarized her performance in his recap.

Clarendon bounced back from a tough, 2 point 1st half to score 18, and quietly managed six huge steals to fuel Cal's transition game...Clarendon in particular impressed me. ESPN talked about how hard she had to work just to get decent looks. Credit LSU's defense for denying her in the first half. From that point on she refused to let that defense stop her, and any slight opening resulted in a jumper falling through the hoop.

Clarendon also added her name to the record books on the defensive end: her six steals were a career-high and a program record for the NCAA Tournament.

For more on Cal, visit California Golden Blogs' women's basketball section. For more on the tournament, visit our Spokane region storystream.

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Cal beats LSU to advance to Elite Eight for first time in program history

Hey @calwbball Golden Bears you are moving on to the Elite 8 for the first time! #ncaaW

— NCAA Women's BKB (@NCAAWomensBKB) March 31, 2013

Congrats to #LSU on a great season. 22 wins, program's first Sweet 16 berth since 08 and putting program back on map nationally.

— LSUWomensBasketball (@LSUwbkb) March 31, 2013

Cal moves on to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history with a 73-63 win over LSU tonight.

With the win, Cal will face the Georgia Bulldogs for a chance to go to the Final Four.

For more fan reaction to the game, check out our open thread for tonight's games. For more on the Spokane region, check out our storystream.

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Georgia upsets Stanford in Sweet Sixteen of 2013 NCAA women's basketball tournament

Top-seeded Stanford has been eliminated by fourth-seeded Georgia. proxy.espn.go.com/ncw/boxscore?g… #NCAAW

— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 31, 2013

So I did think the Georgia Bulldogs had a good chance to win this game: they're athletic and statistically similar to California Golden Bears in some key ways.

But I didn't think it would actually happen.

Georgia beat Stanford 61-59 after the Stanford Cardinal's execution fell apart in the final minute of the game.

Chiney Ogwumike led the Cardinal with 26 points and 12 rebounds but the Bulldogs were more balanced with three players in double figures, including Jasmine James with a team-high 16 points and game-high five assists.

Once again, Pac-12 fans miss out on the rubber match between Cal and Stanford because someone else stepped up to prevent them from advancing.

A lot more to say about this game, but I CAN'T BELIEVE THE CARDINAL DIDN'T LIGHT IT UP FROM THREE THE WAY THEY DID AGAINST MICHIGAN what surprised you most about this one?

To discuss this game, hop on over to our open thread. For more on the Spokane bracket, visit our storystream.

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Layshia Clarendon helps Cal advance to the Sweet 16 with 27 points

In a game with an ending too wild to describe, California Golden Bears guard Layshia Clarendon stood out in an 82-78 overtime win over the South Florida Bulls to advance to the Sweet 16.

norcalnick of California Golden Blogs summarized Clarendon's performance nicely - and what makes her a solid WNBA prospect - in his recap of the game.

She scored 27 points on 19 shots and punished USF for every defensive mistake. If they sagged off her (why would anybody do that?) she nailed a 3. If they played her tightly, she wove her way into the paint for a mid-range jumper or an assist. Her and-1 bank shot might have been the play of the game. Before the game I asked for her and Brittany Boyd to outplay the Smith twins. They did...With Layshia leading, everybody else played their part.

That last line is a great way to underscore what has made this team so special this season and what makes Clarendon a good candidate to contribute to a roster at the next level: she finds her spots on the court remarkably well, knows what she's capable of, rarely forces the action, and plays within the offense which allows her teammates to thrive even as she's dropping 27 on someone.

There's a lot to like there as a college starter and WNBA draft prospect.

For more on the tournament, visit our NCAA section. For more on some of the top prospects for the draft, visit our 2013 WNBA Draft storystream.

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What South Florida has to do to beat Cal

Collin Sherwin of SB Nation's South Florida site Voodoo Five put together a great article yesterday previewing their meeting with the California Golden Bears in addition to looking at absolute statistical truths in basketball.

Cal is a bigger, more plodding team that USF can absolutely beat. Though their leading scorers are two 5'9 guards in Layshira Clarendon & Brittany Boyd, they'll want to slow the pace vs. the Bulls. Cal averages 70.7 possessions per game, USF 75.3. If the Bulls can push that number over 80, find a way to make some 3's, continue to force deflections and keep Cal out of their half-court offense, they can absolutely win this game. Ignore the seed numbers next to the school names: USF is way underseeded considering their talent in this tournament. This very well could be the first USF team to ever get to a Sweet 16 in basketball. And they are very fun to watch.

The funny thing about people continuing to talk about a Cal-Stanford rematch is that Cal was known to have a difficult path ahead of them from the beginning. South Florida will definitely make this game closer than their seeding suggests.

For more on South Florida - including live reports from Lubbock - check out Voodoo Five's women's tournament storystream. For more on the tournament, visit our NCAA section.

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Michigan gets first NCAA Tournament win since 2001

I got home from Stanford a few hours ago exhausted from a full afternoon of clapping and fist pumping, but after catching up on a few administrative things around the site and recaps of the day's games I got a second wind.

Their first round win over the Villanova Wildcats wasn't perfect, but it was a truly amazing day for the Michigan Wolverines program.

Michigan advances to the second round for the first time since 2001 with a 60-52 win over Villanova #GOBLUE

— Michigan Basketball (@umichwbball) March 25, 2013

Michigan wins its 22nd game of the year, tying the program mark for wins in a season #goblue #ncaaw

— Michigan Basketball (@umichwbball) March 25, 2013

Glad I was there, proud to be an alum, even more pleased to see Kim Barnes Arico getting results so quickly, and look forward to even more fightsonging (it's a verb) on Tuesday against Stanford.

For more on the tournament, check out our Spokane region storystream.