Women’s Basketball Games of the Weekend 2/25 – 2/26
With most of the league races already decided and focus turning to the NCAA basketball tournament, the six games on the weekend agenda are mostly games that decide mid-major and high-major conferences. The Ohio State-Nebraska game may have some title implications, but it appears this weekend is devoid of a solid matchup. Of course, last week St. Johns did topple Connecticut so who knows?
HAMPTON at FLORIDA A&M (4 p.m. Saturday at Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida)
The two leaders of the Mideastern Athletic Conference meet up in a game that gives the winner a leg up on the competition. With three games remaining Hampton (20-4, 12-1) has had a solid regular season. Its only MEAC loss was an overtime game against Coppin State, 69-66. Hampton has also lost to Florida, UAB and Tulane, and it doesn’t appear to play the strongest schedule in the country. Still, the Pirates are tied for first with Florida A&M (19-6, 12-1), which has overcome a 3-5 start to roar to life in the second half. The Rattlers haven’t faced Hampton this season; Florida A&M’s loss was 68-61 to Howard.
BRIGHAM YOUNG at No. 24 GONZAGA (5 p.m. Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
The West Coast Conference is on the line in the final game of the regular season. Brigham Young (24-5, 12-3) stands one game behind Gonzaga (24-4, 13-2) in the standings, and last time out Brigham Young absolutely pounded Gonzaga by 30 points. So this could be an interesting matchup from two standpoints. Will BYU be this rough on Gonzaga again? If so, it creates a tie atop the WCC entering that league’s postseason tournament. Brigham Young would have the No. 1 seed by virtue of beating Gonzaga twice. Gonzaga has won nine of its last 10 contests, however.
DAVIDSON at CHATTANOOGA (5 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee)
The Southern Conference will come down to the wire in the final two games… or will it? Appalachian State and Davidson are tied for the top spot, but Chattanooga has a chance to take out both challengers and force a potential three-way tie atop the league. Davidson (20-7, 16-2) has won nine in a row, including a 56-52 victory over Chattanooga in the teams’ first meeting. If Davidson wins, it could have a chance at an outright Southern Conference title because Chattanooga (19-8, 14-4) faces Appalachian State in the final game of the regular season. To sum up: Davidson eliminates the Mocs from the Southern race with a Saturday win. A loss to Chattanooga gives the Mocs extra incentive to go for a tie for the title.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE at CAL POLY (7 p.m. Saturday at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo, California)
There are two games left in the Big West Conference race, but the first game will decide the marbles as the top two teams in the league face off. Cal State Northridge (16-11, 10-4) has won six of its last eight contests but the Matadors have not had a strong season overall. Still, the last time out the Matadors edged out Cal Poly 79-77, so there is precedence for what could be a solid game. Cal Poly (14-12, 10-3) has had an even worse regular season but has an eight-game winning streak at the moment. Honestly, neither of these teams will light the world on fire come tournament time, but whoever wins this contest Saturday night will have the upper hand toward the Big West title, either outright (Cal Poly) or in one more game (Northridge).
MISSOURI STATE at ILLINOIS STATE (3:05 p.m. Sunday at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois)
The Missouri Valley Conference is up for grabs as one of three teams could realistically grab the title in the next three games. Creighton, the fourth team, is two and a half games back and largely out of the picture. That leaves Missouri State (19-6, 12-3), winners of nine in a row, to go for the championship. An 83-68 win over Illinois State is included in the victories during that win streak. As for Illinois State (16-10, 11-4), the Redbirds and Wichita State are tied for second place, and a win by Illinois State could be a big one. The Redbirds close with Southern Illinois and Evansville, the two lowest teams in the MVC. Missouri State closes with Northern Iowa and Bradley.
No. 7 OHIO STATE at No. 16 NEBRASKA (4 p.m. Sunday at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska)
The Big Ten Conference women’s season comes to a close, with one final chance for Ohio State to catch Penn State for the conference title. While Penn State closes with Minnesota, Ohio State gets a chance to go for a tie if it can beat the Cornhuskers. Ohio State (24-4, 11-4) beat Nebraska 82-68 earlier in the regular season but has only won four of seven games since the end of January. Nebraska (20-7, 9-6) can’t win the Big Ten but it can sure play spoiler. The problem with the Cornhuskers is they have lost four of five dating back to February 9. Could Ohio State be ripe for the upset? The answer likely is no, but you never know.
