To those of us who pay attention to college tournament basketball it comes as no surprise that the women’s game has been elevated, is competitive, interesting, growing with the fan base.
It is due in part to scoring machine Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa, LSU’s Angel Reese, a few other stars and accomplished players. Most teams offer balance and good teamwork. Caches of younger players can point to the premier players as examples to follow.
Iowa returned to the women’s Final Four following a one year absence with a 94-87 victory over last-year champion LSU. The men’s game remains better on defense, due in part to greater physical strength, however, from the pure basketball perspective of understanding and execution, the women perform well and offer excitement. It is good basketball. The University of Connecticut has teams in the Final Four in both men’s and women’s basketball. The women will plays semifinals and championship Friday night and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 7. The men will play semifinals Saturday afternoon and evening and the championship game at 8 p.m. Monday, April 8.
The men’s semifinals will be played without the University of Illinois which was victim of a 30-0 run by UConn in the East Regional championship Saturday, March 30 in a game that ended 77-52, UConn.
The four each NCAA men’s and women’s regional championship games mean that other April sports can proceed, the Master’s golf tournament and Major League Baseball, although the less written on the 0-4 start by the Chicago White Sox the better, especially on the heels of 101 defeats last season. We keep waiting for the pitching to rise up and carry the White Sox. Perhaps they would want to match the Cubs’ first-year player Shota Imanaga, the star from Japan who pitched six superb innings Sunday, March 31, took a no-hit game into the sixth inning on the way to the Cubs’ 5-0 victory over Colorado and the Cubs’ 2-2 start. Only 158 games remain for both Cubs and Sox. Do we have enough patience and confidence?
In the meantime, high school and college baseball, track, and tennis, will fill the bill if April showers end sooner than later this year. That is always the bugaboo.
We will gauge success and failure of our teams prior to the Fourth of July break, but, then Fourth of July means Wimbeldon tennis.