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Dave Zirin of the Nation got in touch with us earlier this week about having someone on to discuss the 2014 NCAA women's basketball tournament and Queenie (aka Rebecca Rider) stepped up to do it.
Check out EdgeofSports.com to find archived audio of the show, which also included discussion of the NCAA in general and the men's tournament as follows:
Episode 295: BOOM! The NCAA Tournament has begun and Edge of Sports has you covered! Dave evens out the joy of March Madness with some harsh realities and hypocrisies of the NCAA. ESPN’s Howard Bryant revels in the glory days of the Big East as the gang discusses the latest 30 for 30 which tracks the rise and fall of what was, arguably, the best basketball conference in college basketball history. Get a preview of the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament with Rebecca Rider who sees an undefeated team cutting down the nets...but it might not be who you think! Finally, Dave, Coach, Mark, and D.C. Dan give you their Final Four picks.
As an interesting side note, Kevin McNutt - former Georgetown player Monica McNutt's father - was also on to add some insight about the men's and women's tournament as well as the hypocrisy of the NCAA throughout the show.
Rebecca's portion begins at right about the 28 minute mark and you should definitely go listen to the whole thing, but here's a brief summary of what they discussed:
Who's the most vulnerable team? Tennessee
Who's the non-number one team most likely to sneak into the Final Four? West Virginia, Stanford
What do you have to do to get close to beating UConn? Have depth, not make mistakes, start out close and stay close. St. John's upsetting them back in February 2012 was a good example.
Is the geographical criteria for seeding a good thing? It's a reward for high seeds
How far can Baylor go? Odyssey Sims is the motor, but the x-factor is Nina Davis - Sims will need help to make a deep run.
Who's the best candidate as a breakout star? (Queenie couldn't come up with one here...and neither can I...does Jewell Loyd maybe count in terms of gaining mainstream attention?)
Who's the greatest women's basketball player ever? Cheryl Miller.
Random tournament observations:
- There will be more competitive games that people expect
- West Virginia, St. John's, DePaul will have strong showings.
- Gonzaga vs. James Madison, Middle Tennessee vs. Oregon State, DePaul vs. Duke (second round) will be games to watch
Who will win it all? "I see an undefeated team cutting down the nets - I'm not saying UConn." Bold prediction of the day!
What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments below or shoot us a tweet (@SwishAppeal).
For plenty more on the tournament - including Queenie's Dance Cards - check out our NCAA section, your homepage for our analysis and commentary about the 2014 NCAA women's tournament.