A&M will likely come in a heavy underdog. As will ND vs. UConn. Obviously ESPN will be hyping the potential finals match up between the Cardinal and the Huskies. That's fine with me, as we have barely received the time of day up to this point anyway.

To be honest, I don't see us beating Stanford. But I never thought we'd get through Baylor while Griner is on campus. I just wanted this team to get to the E8. Reaching the FF is just gravy, so I'm happy with anything that happens from here.

Stanford's frontcourt size will make things really tough. Pederson and the Ogwumike duo are BIG, as are their guards who can definitely hit the 3 ball. They give so many people matchup problems, including UConn. I actually think that makes Stanford the favorite heading into Indy.

Obviously we have a shot against anyone in the country when playing our best basketball. We have proven that all year.

What do you guys think?

My dad (graduated from stanford) thinks it will be an extreamly tough game. That they have only lost two games all year. Then again Kansas had a really good record and they will be watching the final four.

I think stanford might be looking ahead to uconn a bit... we can win

heavy underdogs? Doubt that. This team destroyed what I thought was the best team in the country. Our girls have a VERY legit shot at winning it all. I really like our chances.

Have you watched Stanford? They are the only team to beat what most believe to be the best team in the country.

didn't they beat Uconn in Cali? Baylor lost to Uconn at their place by 1 or 2. Stanford is very good, but I was commenting on your "heavy underdog" statement.

Stanford will be a matchup problem for A&M because of their size and length, yes. However, the flip side is also true - A&M will a big matchup problem for the Cardinal because of our speed and quickness with on-ball defense. Stanford has never played against the type of defense they will see on Sunday. I think it will take them a while to adjust and A&M should lead early.

However, eventually their size and strength inside will most likely take over the game in the 2nd half. But I wouldn't bet against A&M if we can hit some outside jumpers and pull them out of their zone defense. I think it's going to be a close game that could go either way.

Our best chance against Stanford is to pressure their guards and hope they make turnovers. Stanford hasn't seen a backcourt as athletic as ours, and we haven't seen a frontcourt as skilled as stanford's. However as we showed with Baylor you can negate a froncourt advantage with great pressure in the backcourt. What we can't count on is for the Stanford upperclassmen to make bad decisions and we won't be able to sag off of the jump shooters as much as we could with Baylor.

I do agree that Stanford is our toughest matchup out of the three other teams at the final four, but at least we have the surprise factor against Stanford since they haven't ever played against Vic's defense.

Just for Fun. Common Opponents:

Texas:
Stanford - 93-78
A&M - 80-65, @ 68-65, 77-50

Rutgers:
Stanford - 63-50
A&M - 79-50, 70-48

Cal:
Stanford - @ 78-45, 75-51
A&M - 74-58

Arizona:
Stanford - 87-54, @ 91-61, 100-71
A&M - 87-78

Stanford will be favored. They're big, active, and can shoot the lights out from behind the arc. And they're pretty deep. They didn't just beat UConn at Maples. They dominated them. That doesn't mean Stanford would a rematch in the final but it shows what they can do.

But I think we have a good shot at upsetting them. I think they will have a hard time preparing for how we defend, and although Pohlen is a senior AA PAC-10 poy, she has been learning to play the point this year. Their triangle O has a lot of moving without the ball and I think we may be able to disrupt it.

Not sure what we can learn from their two losses. DePaul was unconscious from 3, and Kayla Pederson was out. The loss at Tenn was in OT and the Vols got a lot of home cooking from the refs.

The first half of the PAC-10 final vs UCLA may be a model for us.

will be tough, as u would expect. block out and rebound thus eliminating second chance points, we win.

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I just wanted this team to get to the E8. Reaching the FF is just gravy, so I'm happy with anything that happens from here.

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I hope the team doesn't share your attitude of just happy to be in the Final 4 because they have the talent and coaching to win it all. This team is as good as Stanford, Baylor and UConn and ND. They need to prepare knowing they are good enough to win it all and not just be happy to be there. I have a lot of confidence in them, obviously.

We have a good shot to advance. We are playing well and if we continue to shoot the ball well we are tough to beat. Sure I wish we had Bone to match up with their bigs but our girls are playing very well as a team right now.

Stanford Roster:

Melanie Murphy G 5-9 RS SR Brooklyn, N.Y. (Midwood HS)

Grace Mashore G 5-10 JR Washington, D.C. (National Cathedral)

Mikaela Ruef F 6-3 SO Beavercreek, Ohio (Beavercreek)

Chiney Ogwumike F 6-3 FR Cypress, Texas (Cy-Fair)

Kayla Pedersen F 6-4 SR Fountain Hills, Ariz. (Red Mountain HS)

Lindy La Rocque G 5-8 JR Las Vegas, Nev. (Durango)

Hannah Donaghe G 5-11 SR Atascadero, Calif. (Atascadero HS)

Sara James G 5-10 FR El Dorado Hills, Calif. (Oak Ridge)

Jeanette Pohlen G 6-0 SR Brea, Calif. (Brea Olinda HS)

Ashley Cimino F 6-3 SR Yarmouth, Maine (Catherine McAuley HS)

Nnemkadi Ogwumike F 6-2 JR Cypress, Texas (Cy-Fair)

Toni Kokenis G 5-11 FR Oak Brook, Ill. (Hinsdale Central)

Sarah Boothe F/C 6-5 RS SO Gurnee, Ill. (Warren Township)

Joslyn Tinkle F 6-3 SO Missoula, Mont. (Big Sky


They have a couple from Cy Fair in Houston on the roster. Were these girls heavily recruited?


[This message has been edited by Joe_the_Plumber (edited 3/30/2011 2:14p).]

Chiney was national high school player of the year last year. Yes both were heavily recruited, and a lot of people thought Nneka was a sure thing to Baylor (she may have even given them a verbal) up until she signed with Stanford.

Both are tall, athletic, smart, and disciplined. If this game is all about half-court we don't have a great shot at it. Our advantage is team speed and better guards. They don't have as good a shot blocker as Griner, but all their posts are tall, long, and smart, and understand the game. We will definetly need someone to hit some jump shots, but I think Adams will be due for a good game and she will have more success against Nneka and Chiney than she did against Baylor.

[This message has been edited by drumbeat10 (edited 3/30/2011 2:20p).]

Like Carter and Colson have said before, the are almost always guarding people taller than them, but it's our two Syd's althleticism that helps us prevail. Chiney is young, but she doesn't act like it at all. Hopefully, we can find a way to expose that inexperience, while also finding a way to slow her other half down. They don't have a deep bench at all, so if we get into our type of game hopefully their "bigs" will get winded early.

per ESPN:
Nneka Ogwumike was the 6th ranked prospect in 2008. 3rd ranked forward. Only considered Stanford.

Chiney Ogwumike was the No. 1 prospect in 2010, two spots ahead of Odyssey Sims. She considered UConn and Notre Dame, but most people assumed she would follow her sister.

Stanford fans talk A&M

Stanford season stats
Starting lineup lately is
Nneka
Chiney
Pederson
LaRoque
Pohlen

Best thing from that Stanford thread.

John Travolta moment!

[This message has been edited by Hand Of God (edited 3/30/2011 4:08p).]

It's obvious they are Stanford. They have facts and use big words like extrapolate. Haven't gone to their board, so they may have some folks that show bad for them. But those who posted on the link seem like solid enough folks. Hope that it's a good game, with the Ags prevailing. At least the world will not have to listen to the media love affair with all things Griner. The world should thank us.

This may be the most on-target thread of a game I've ever read here. Good job. Lots of variables to consider.I felt better about bu than I do about this. If I'm Gary, I'm preaching DESTINY.

Comes down to this: we beat a team a little better than us. Now if we want to win it all, we have to beat a team that is clearly better than us and another that is a LOT better than us.

But we made the Final Four and that is more than enough for this year if that is as far as we go.



[This message has been edited by Maroon Dawn (edited 3/30/2011 5:01p).]

From watching the two Ogwumikes a few times in HS, can say they are infinitely more mentally-sound players than someone like Griner, but there's not the same brute physicality and "want" that all the time. Chiney is a lot more focused on doing the dirty work than Nneka, who is more of a scorer. Chiney is more likely to have the 13-point, 15-rebound game while Nneka puts up 25-30 points. Hopefully, neither will approach those #s on the weekend, but they are a tough, tough out.

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Now if we want to win it all, we have to beat a team that is clearly better than us and another that is a LOT better than us.

But we made the Final Four and that is more than enough for this year if that is as far as we go.

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I'm gonna go with what Gary Blair said today.

From the Card board:

quote:

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I'm less worried about breaking the press that we are expecting (agreed with fullmetal's arguments) than I am about lazy or bad angle passes in the half court getting deflected and leading to transitions for A&M. Picture two Vandersloots on defense, even if neither of the guards is quite up to her standards on offense. The good news is that Sloot only had 2 steals and we had more points off turnovers against Gonzaga than they did--even though we had a lot of turnovers. If we can do half that well against A&M we will be in business.

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San Jose Mercury News:

quote:

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Although Stanford (33-2) dominated Gonzaga, leading by as many as 28 points in the second half, one statistic displeased VanDerveer a lot.

Eighteen turnovers.

"Forget about winning a national championship if you can't take care of the ball against Texas A&M," she said. "You might as well go down there and see the race track and come back."

The coach continued: "I don't know if we had exactly the guard play that we are going to need. Texas A&M will just take the ball away from people. We've got to be ready for something different than we've seen."

Aggies coach Gary Blair said Wednesday his team is playing relaxed. But he is aware of the challenge on Sunday, even though the schools last met in 1982.

"Stanford has no weakness," Blair said. "And a strong bench. What do you not like about Stanford?
"The two sisters, I recruited them hard," he added of Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike of Houston. "I told Tara when she got the first sister, that will be the best player who ever played at Stanford. They blend in, share the ball and are relentless on the boards."

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What a pleasant situation - to be playing against a great team with rational fans, and an intelligent, classy coach.

I didn't see the Stanford v. N. Carolina game. UNC played them pretty close. Anybody on here watch that to see what was effective?

If you have a Comcast account or a university account, the Stanford-North Carolina game is available as a replay at ESPN3 website


http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=146775&league=NCAAW&size=condensed

I certainly see a lot of folks worried about their height advantage
Last I checked we just knocked the biggest of the big birds out of the tournament
bg height plus wingspan exceeds anyone on the cardinal by more than eight inches
hmmmmmmmmmmmm - does that make them a matchup problem?
I'm going with Gary Blair on this one - we deserve to be there and we have every chance to win

Any way you slice it I'll be shocked if this game doesn't come down to the last 5 minutes.

Reading their board was so refreshing. Intelligent basketball discussion.... ahhhhhhh. I think they made excellent points except for the fact that most of the posters, you could tell, had only watched us play Baylor once and looked at our stats/schedule to come to their conclusions. I think the whole team will underestimate Danielle Adams, just like their fans. They know our defense is good but they can only compare it to the best defense that they have seen and we would have been a one seed had we switched places with Stanford and played their schedule in the PAC-10. We only lost 2 games outside of Baylor this year and one of them was to a Top 8 team in Duke. Overall, they have the better team and give us huge matchup problems but it was nice to read their posters having respect for our team and what we are capable of. 60/40 odds are very reasonable coming from the favored team.

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I think the whole team will underestimate Danielle Adams, just like their fans.

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Maybe the fans, but not the team. Tara is known for her preparation. From a profile of her in the Stanford alum magazine.

quote:

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Once they're in the fold, players encounter the full effect of VanDerveer as a demanding teacher, ferocious trainer and superior strategist. That covers everything from a mastery of the fundamentals—tutoring players in handling a ball or releasing a shot, for example—to dissecting game film of opponents. Assistant coach and former player Bobbie Kelsey, '95, says VanDerveer's analysis of film to gain an edge is a signature strength. "Especially with the big opponents—Duke, Tennessee, UConn, for example—I bet for each one of them she watches 10 of their games, whole games, all by herself. That separates her from other coaches. Most other coaches don't put in that kind of work."

When she was a player, adds Kelsey, she always felt the trickle-down effect as VanDerveer readied her team for games. "I always felt better prepared because I knew she knew. She had it hands down."

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Now, I'm not sure I believe that other coaches don't do that much prep, especially at the NCAA tourney level. But Stanford's staff is way too good to misunderestimate Adams, just as I'm sure Vic is already going over a ton of film on the Cardinal. I'd also expect that despite the "one game at a time" coachspeak, both sides already have basic familiarity with the other. The prep now is breaking it down in gory detail to find tendencies, tells, and vulnerabilities.

Whether that preparation translates into successful defensive schemes on either side is a question that will be answered Sunday.

Not a single off color comment about Griner on Stanford's thread. Maybe we should take note.

Stanford press conference before leaving for the final 4 (coach begins at 18.30):

youtube.com/watch?v=HFqjiY9wVpc