2014 FIBA Women's World Championship Watch-On To The Finals!

It was Semifinal Saturday in Istanbul earlier today as the four surviving teams in the 2014 FIBA World Championship For Women tournament faced each other for a spot in tomorrow's finals.

Spain was taking on the host Turks, while the unbeaten Team USA was tangling with their longtime Australian rivals who were also unbeaten despite not having Lauren Jackson on the Opals squad.

In the early semifinal game the European champions broke the hearts of the Turkish faithful dreaming of an appearance in the FIBA final by knocking them off 66-56.

Team USA handled their basketball business against Australia in the other semifinal, sending the Opals to the third place game to face off against Turkey after beating them 82-70.




Tina Charles did the damage this time with 18 points and 9 rebounds to put the USA one win away from repeating as FIBA world champs and qualifying for the Olympic basketball tournament in Rio two years from now. 

2014 FIBA Women's World Championship Watch-On To The Semis

The quarterfinal action took place in the 2014 FIBA World Championship For Women yesterday with Spain taking on a China team that upset Belarus 72-67 and the host Turks taking on Serbia in the upper half of the bracket. 

In the lower half of it Australia took on Canada while the defending FIBA champion USA got a 2012 Olympic finals rematch with France.

France came into this game with a semblance of confidence after handing Team USA their first loss in an international basketball game since 2011.   France beat Team USA 76-72 in a September 21 prep game before the tournament started.

Spain beat China 71-55 to punch their ticket to today's semifinals and they will face Turkey after their narrow 62-61 win over Serbia. 

Turkey had to overcome a 10 point fourth quarter deficit in order to send the home country fans home happy as they punched their ticket  to the semifinals.

Australia beat Canada 63-52 to remain unbeaten in this FIBA World Championship tourney.  Their reward is facing their longtime b-ball rivals Team USA, who got payback for the friendly game loss pinned on them by France.  




France upset them in Paris back on September 21 as Team USA was sorting out the final spots on their FIBA championship squad and was missing Brittney Griner. 

This time Team USA shattered and splattered France's pipe dream of a semifinal matchup.  Team USA raced to a 29-14 first quarter lead they never relinquished thanks to 92% shooting, and sprinted to a 20 point halftime lead.   The 94-72 win secured their spot in the semis against the Opals. 
Brittney Griner led all USA scorers with 17 points

Once again we have a clash between unbeaten USA and Australia squads for the right to move on to the title game.  Should be fun to watch.
  

2014 FIBA Women's World Championship Watch- On To The Quarters

The FIBA World Championship For Women started in Turkey on September 27.

Team USA is multitasking during this tournament.  They are not only trying to defend their world title and keep their long winning streak alive, they are also trying to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship squad is comprised of Brittney Griner, Tina Charles, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Angel McCoughtry, Odyssey Sims, Diana Taurasi, Candice Dupree, Nneka Ogwumike and UConn's Breanna Stewart.

The Geno Auriemma coached Team USA squad got their title defense off to a strong start when they took out China in their opening Group D matchup 87-56 in Istanbul.  

Maya Moore and Brittney Griner were the leading scorers in this game for Team USA with 15 points apiece.  My Houston homegirl also made some FIBA history when she threw down the first ever dunk in FIBA Women's World Championship competition early in the first quarter.  



The next day (September 28) Team USA took out Serbia 94-74.  This time it was Diana Taurasi doing the damage with 20 points to lead all Team USA scorers as they clinched their spot in the quarterfinals with one pool play game left today against Angola.

If Team USA does what we expect and wins the game against Angola today, Team USA will finish atop Group D and play on October 3 in Istanbul the winner of the Brazil- France knockout round game. 

France and Canada play today in Group B to determine who finishes second in their group.   Winner plays Brazil on October 1 in the elimination round while the loser plays 2010 finalists the Czech Republic in an elimination round game.

The USA's longtime international b-ball rivals Australia are on their side of the bracket and won Group C.  If they handle their quarterfinal business would meet Team USA in the semis. 

You know the Opals are just itching to dish out some payback and knock off the FIBA world number one ranked Team USA short of the October 5 finals, but may not have enough firepower to do so since Lauren Jackson is sitting this FIBA tournament out.

We'll see on October 5 if Team USA accomplishes its mission of repeating as the best FIBA women's basketball squad in the world.

TransGriot Update:  Team USA knocked off Angola 119-44.  My other Houston homegirl Nneka Ogwunmike led all USA scorers with 18 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

2014 FIBA World Cup Watch-Back To Back FIBA Champions!

Team USA started this basketball business trip at the end of August with a few goals in mind.  They wanted to become only the third nation to win back to back FIBA titles.  They wanted to keep  their winning streak going, and most importantly, qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic basketball tournament.|

But to accomplish all of those goals, they would first nento get to the title game and win it.

That road to the title game started with a what was anticipated to be a tough semifinal matchup with Lithuania.   The USA is 5-1 against Lithuania since 2000, but the loss was in pool play during the 2004 Olympics, and they have been single digit margin wins.

And this semifinal game stayed true to the pattern they had established in this tournament.  They got off to a slow start, an led Lithuania by only seven points at halftime.

\

Then came the third quarter and the 10-0 USA run that broke the game wide open.  They finished with a 33-14 quartet that turned what was a close game into a comfortable 96-68 romp to the FIBA final in Madrid.

With host nation Spain now out of the tournament due to their upset loss to France, they came into Sunday's title game as heavy favorites to walk away with the James Naismith Trophy.

Their opponent was Serbia, who knocked off France in the other semifinal.

Serbia jumped out to a 15-7 first quarter lead before Kyrie Irving shattered and splattered their upset title dreams by personally igniting a 15-0  USA run in which he lit up the Serbians with 15 first quarter points on 6 of 7 shooting and trigger the 9 of 12 three point shoot barrage that blew the game wide open and sent Team USA romping to a 129-92 win.

In addition to completing their tournament run and shutting up the international skeptics with a spotless 9-0 record, they (and the Brazilians as the host nation) get to chill while everyone else in the FIBA Americas Zone tries to qualify for Rio.

They also became the first men's squad to win four straight international B-ball tournaments (2008 and 2012 Olympics, 2010 and 2014 

And what's scary for the rest of the FIBA basketball world to contemplate, we won this title without LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul . 

The 2016 Rio Games should be fun to watch.

2014 FIBA World Cup Watch-Rolling To The Semis

When I last checked in with Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup Tournament in Spain they were just clinching the top spot in Group C pool play in Bilbao after blowing out New Zealand and the Dominican Republic. 

Their final Group C game was on September 4 against Ukraine, who have been coached since 2011 by Mike Fratello, the former Atlanta Hawks head man and NBA TV analyst.  

Thanks to another slow start by Team USA in which they didn't score for the first nearly 5 minutes of the game,  Ukraine led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and 27-25 midway through the second until a 19-5 run over the last 4:43 of the second quarter propelled Team USA to a 44-32 halftime lead.  

The third quarter has been Team USA's quarter in this 2014 FIBA World Cup tournament, and this game was no exception to that pattern. 

The USA lead grew to 69-54 by the end of it, and two quick baskets to start the fourth quarter ensured that Team USA would close this game out with a spotless 5-0 record in pool play with the 95-71 victory over Ukraine. 

James Harden made us all happy in H-town with his 17 points to lead all USA scorers. Stephen Curry added 14 points with Anthony Davis chipping in 12. 

After a day off to travel to Barcelona, because Team USA finished in their accustomed spot at the top of the group standings, they were rewarded by an initial Round of 16 knockout game on September 6 with the fourth place team from Group D, which turned out to be our southern neighbors Mexico. 


While there is a bitter rivalry between the USA and Mexico in men's and women's soccer, that's not the case on the basketball court.  The last time we played Mexico was during the 2007 FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament quarterfinals, and the last time we met in FIBA World Cup action was 1967. 

To make it more daunting for Mexico, this game was being played in the Palau Saint Jordi Arena, where the Dream Team romped to gold in 1992.  

Unlike the previous Group C pool games, Team USA got off to a fast 13-2 start.  Mexico pushed back with a 7-0 run of their own but Team USA finished the quarter with a 23-13 lead and surged to a 42-27 halftime edge.

Then Stephen Curry started lighting the Mexicans up from 3 point range and propelled Team USA to the quarterfinals.  He hit two of his six three pointers back to back to start a personal 11-0 run that pushed the USA third quarter lead to 50-27. 

Curry finished with a team high 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting, of which 9 of his 10 shot attempts were behind the FIBA arc.  Klay Thompson contributed another 15 points to the Team USA cause while James Harden chipped in 12 points to send Team USA to the quarterfinal game against Slovenia with an 86-63 victory. 

In yesterday's quarterfinal against Slovenia, Team USA reverted to its previous slow start pattern.  It missed its first seven shots and finished the first half shooting a miserable 36.2% but aggressive offensive rebounding kept them in the game.   They finished the first half with 16 offensive rebounds and a narrow seven point lead.          

Once again, the third quarter has been the killer quarter for Team USA and they lived up to their tournament rep.  They stormed out of the locker  room and scored 37 points in the quarter to blow the game open, finish with 50% shooting and romp to a tournament high 119-76 win over Slovenia. .

Klay Thompson had team high scoring honors with 20 points off the bench with Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis clocking double-doubles.  Derrick Rose started looking like his old self with 12 points and five assists to help send Team USA to the semifinals against the always dangerous Lithuania.

The repeat is not complete yet.  The host nation Spain is looking equally as impressive on their side of the bracket and they want nothing more than to avenge that Olympic loss to the USA in Madrid.   But they have to get through France first.

Meanwhile Team USA needs to up their game to get past Lithuania and earn that trip to Madrid for the final   .       
 

2014 FIBA World Cup Watch-Just Winning, Baby!

The 2014 FIBA World Cup started while I was chilling in Louisville, and I got the opportunity when I wasn't running around hanging out with various peeps to watch Team USA take on Group C in Bilbao.

This version of Team USA is the youngest one (average age 24) we have sent to FIBA competition since we started using NBA ballers to handle our international basketball business.  

The first game for Team USA on August 30 was against Finland, and it was the first time since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics that we'd played the Wolfpack in an international basketball game.  

Team USA made short work of Finland by shooting 59% from the field, holding them to 0-17 shooting and a pair of free throws in the second period while rolling to a 60-18 halftime lead.  

They blew them out of the Barakaldo Arena 114-55 for their 55th straight win in FIBA competition and their first one in group C play.   

The next day was the 2010 FIBA final rematch against Turkey, and it wasn't the walk in the park that the Finland game was.   Turkey slowed the game down to their pace, dared the USA shooters to hit three pointers (only one of those 9 first half three point attempts went in), clogged up the lanes with Omer Asik and fouled USA players to prevent fast break baskets when Turkey turned it over.  Thanks to 37%  first half shooting, sloppy ball handling and subpar defense, Team USA found itself trailing 40-35 at the half.

Coach K implemented the full court pressure defense to start the second half, and that got Team USA's fast break offense jumpstarted.



They trailed Turkey through much of the third quarter and tied at 59 with 3:10 left before they woke up,  fixed the turnover issues and the dynamic duo of Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis asserted themselves.   Faried led all scorers with 22 points with Davis scoring all 19 of his in the second half as Team USA used a 7-1 third quarter closing burst for a 66-60 lead.   The fourth quarter opening 10-0 run helped put the game away and powered Team USA to a hard fought 98-77 win and a 2-0 record in Group C play.

After getting Labor Day off, Team USA resumed its quest for a FIBA title repeat by facing the Tall Blacks of New Zealand yesterday.  

New Zealand brought their rugby tradition of doing the haka dance to Barakaldo Arena before they played Team USA.   After the Tall Blacks showed off their haka dance moves, Team USA proceeded to dance all over New Zealand 98-71.    

It was Faried and Davis doing the damage once again, with Davis scoring a game high 21 points and Faried contributing a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to keep Team USA unbeaten in Group C play at 3-0 before they face the 2-1 Dominican Republic at 3:30 EDT. 

So far so good in Spain so far.  

TransGriot Update:  After another slow start, Team USA woke up to run away with a 106-71 win over the Dominican Republic and clinch the top spot in Group C.   They play their final group game tomorrow against Ukraine before they head to Barcelona to begin knockout round play against the 4th place team in Group D. 

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Starts Saturday

The tournament has been rebranded and the next one won't be played until 2019 so it doesn't conflict with the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, but the FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off Saturday and runs through September 14. .

Many basketball fans in the USA don't consider it as important as the Olympics, but for the rest of the planet and the 23 other nations playing in it, this FIBA Basketball World Cup is a BFD. 

And yeah, USA b-ball fans, you need to be paying attention, because the winner of this FIBA tournament and the women's FIBA one that gets started September 27 in Turkey gets an automatic bid to the 2016 Rio Olympic basketball tournament. 

So if our star spangled men's b-ballers want to be dribbling Molten basketballs on the Rio Olympic Arena courts in two years and avoid playing in the FIBA Tournament of the Americas to qualify for the Olympics, failure to win this tournament in Spain is not an option.

The 2014 (and 2016 Olympic) Team USA squad will once again be coached by Mike Krzyzewski, who has a 64-1 record in FIBA internatioanl play. 

And despite Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin pulling out and Paul George's horrific injury during Team USA training camp that will sideline him for this tournament and the 2014-15 NBA season, you international peeps better not sleep on this squad we are sending to defend our FIBA men's title.. 

In addition to my Houston Rockets homie James Harden, the 2014 Team USA FIBA World Cup squad includes DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento); Stephen Curry (Golden State); Anthony Davis (New Orleans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto); Andre Drummond (Detroit); Kenneth Faried (Denver); Rudy Gay (Sacramento);  Kyrie Irving (Cleveland); Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn); Derrick Rose (Chicago) and Klay Thompson (Golden State).

This 2014 squad is also attempting to do something a USA men's squad has never done in the history of this tournament, and that's repeat as FIBA World Cup tourney champions. 

But there are several teams that want to make sure we don't end up playing in the championship game in Madrid, starting with the host Spaniards.   They are still smarting from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic final losses pinned on them by the USA ballers and being upset in the 2010 FIBA tournament knockout round by Serbia. The Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka and company are determined to not let it happen on home soil.

The Lithuanians are always dangerous, along with the Brazilians, the Argentinians even without Manu Ginobili and Greece.  If you're laughing about Greece, ask Coach K or LeBron James about that.  They are the team in the 2006 FIBA world semis in Japan that handed Coach K his lone FIBA b-ball loss.

Team USA is in Group C in Bilbao's Barakaldo Arena, and start FIBA Worlds play August 30 against Finland.  The next day they get a 2010 FIBA finals rematch against Turkey before they get a day off.  The USA ballers resume group play on September 2 against New Zealand, play the Dominican Republic on September 3 before completing pool play on September 4 against Ukraine.  

Pretty much a winnable group for Team USA while the Spaniards are slugging it out in the Group A 'Group of Death' in Granada with France, Serbia, Brazil, Egypt and Iran.  

Should be fun to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

Adam Silver's Big Decision

In about an hour, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is about to hold a press conference at 1 PM CDT that will shape the perception of his leadership during this first major test of his brief two months in office.

He'll have to make the decision about what to do concerning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and  his disgusting racial remarks that have overshadowed the playoffs, pissed off the players in a league that is 70% African-American and sent Clippers advertising partners fleeing for the exits. 

Some of Sterling's fellow owners aren't happy either about the firestorm that has happened over the last few days

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores probably echoed the sentiments of the other 29 team owners watching this PR disaster when he said, "There is no place for prejudice and intolerance in our league, or anywhere else. That's not a debatable point.  It's a first principle." 

Leslie Alexander, the owner of my fave NBA ballers told the Houston Chronicle that while the NBA constitution only allows an owner to be summarily stripped of his franchise for gambling, the Rockets owner does think something needs to be done to ensure "this kind of event never happens again."

But the question in everyone's minds right now is what is that something?  What kind of punishment can you come up with that hurts a multibillionaire who is a serial racist that sticks? 

Silver, like the other major sports league commissioners has 'best interests of the game' powers that do give him some latitude here.  He could declare all of the Clippers players free agents while indefinitely suspending Sterling and assessing him a substantial fine.  He could call for a meeting of the owners that could result in them voting to strip him of the club.  

But the only person that knows what's going to happen is Commissioner Silver.   He is also quite aware that the world is watching and the NBA does have to tread carefully to avoid legal trouble. 

Bottom line is Sterling should have been dealt with by the NBA when the DOJ discrimination suit came down and he paid that hefty fine.   But now that his racist chickens have come home and pooped all over the NBA's porch, they have to deal with it.

And it will be interesting to see just how that happens.

TransGriot Update:  Commissioner Silver dropped the hammer.   Slapped Sterling with a lifetime ban from the sport and a $2.5 million fine. The meeting will be held soon with the owners to get the authorization to force the sale of the team.

Clippers Players Protest Racist Owner

Kudos to the Los Angeles Clipper players who in the midst of the firestorm of criticism headed their owner's way over his racist comments, are trying to handle this difficult situation the best way they can. 

Before yesterday's 118-97 playoff loss to the Golden State Warriors that deadlocked their series at 2-2,  the Clipper players held a meeting to decide if they were even going to play the game..

They decided to do so, but wore their warmup jersey shirts inside out to hide the Clipper logo.  They wore their normal game uniforms, but with black socks and armbands.  

They along with their NBA brethren have been vocal about the disgusting comments from serial bigot and longtime LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling that are threatening to overshadow the NBA playoffs.  They are also causing a major PR headache for the team, the league and new commissioner Adam Silver.

Tuesday Game 5 in LA should be very interesting.

The Kentucky Basketball Hatetrix Reloaded

When I lived in Kentucky from 2001-2010, one of the more entertaining events for me next to Derby Week was watching the annual December basketball hatefest between the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals.

From the time I moved there in September 2001 until I left in May 2010 to come back to Texas I had the rabid fanbases of Cats and Cards Nations trying to get me to publicly declare whether I was a UK or Louisville fan.

They wanted me to choose to take either the blue Wildcat pill or the red Cardinal pill, but I managed to stay neutral during that time.

To be honest, the wall to wall coverage of that annual rivalry game is one of the things about the state I miss.

When I was setting up my 2014 NCAA men's tourney brackets, I noted the way they were set up, if both teams won their opening round games it would lead to a potential Sweet 16 clash between the current (Louisville) and last (Kentucky) NCAA champions to be played in Indianapolis. 

After the Wildcats narrow 78-76 tournament win yesterday over previously unbeaten Wichita State and defending NCAA champ Louisville knocking St. Louis out of the tournament with their 66-51 win to advance, we can take the word 'potential' out of that last paragraph and deal with the reality that the Kentucky basketball hatetrix has been reloaded.

It's Battle of the Bluegrass, Part II at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  This time they are playing for higher stakes than just bragging rights as they did December 28 at Rupp Arena.  The Cats fans are already reminding the Cards fans of the 73-66 result of that December game, while the Cards fans are firing back it's all about what happens this Friday.   

And what it's all about is a trip to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight at their bitter basketball rival's expense. 

The bitterly disappointed loser will have a hour and a half long lament filled drive down I-65 south from Indianapolis back to Kentucky while the winner stays in Circle City and plays for a possible trip to the Jerrydome and the Final Four.

The Kentucky Basketball Hatetrix will ensure this is not going to be a quiet week along I-64 or at any job locations, homes, sports bars or churches in Louisville, Lexington or anywhere else in Kentucky this week.  

Moni's 2014 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

Since it's Women's History Month and I do have a lot of women's sports fans who peruse this blog, ever since 2008 I have been posting on TransGriot an NCAA Women's basketball tournament bracket in honor of it. 

And frankly, the other reason I do so is to show the women NCAA ballers some love, too.  

The road to Nashville begins for 64 teams this Saturday with the Final Four being played April 6-8.  I'm only 3-3 in picking the women's NCAA champs, and you can see my results for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

But bear in mind TransGriot readers I have picked the women's Final Four teams correctly in 2008, 2009 and 2012.   

Prairie View A&M has to be wondering who they pissed off on the NCAA selection committee.  For the third consecutive year, winning the SWAC women's tournament championship gets them an opening round game against the number one overall seed.   In 2012 and 2013 they opened tournament play against Baylor and now they face an unbeaten UConn. In 2011 they opened tournament play against number one regional seeded Baylor. 

Last year I picked Baylor to repeat in what was Brittney Griner's senior season but Shoni Schimmel and Louisville had other ideas.

My fellow Taurus (we share the same May 4 birthday) her little sis Jude and her Cardinal teammates merrily bombed away from the three point line and fearlessly drove the lane with attitude against my imposing Houston homegirl Griner as the Cards shocked the basketball world and escaped with an 82-81 upset victory that trashed my bracket and ended Baylor's repeat bid. 

The Cardinals rode the wave of that ginormous Sweet 16 upset and the subsequent takedown of number 2 seeded Tennessee all the way to the NCAA title game that UConn won 93-60 to capture their 8th NCAA women's title.

Well, Shoni's back for her senior season along with her little sis and Da Ville.  The Cardinals are not only motivated by that title game thumping, but like the menz are pissed off about their seeding.  They are also playing to get to their home arena the KFC Yum Center.  

Defending champs UConn enter this tournament undefeated  (34-0) and the number one overall seed.  UConn is not only determined to repeat and win their 9th NCAA title, this Huskies team wants to join the others in UConn women's b-ball history as the fifth to do so with a zero in the loss column.  

Stanford has been an NCAA elite women's basketball powerhouse.  They have made it to eleven Final Fours, were runners up in 2008 and 2010 but unlike UConn and Tennessee only have titles won in 1990 and 1992 to show for it.   My Houston homegirl Chiney Ogwumike wants to change that in her senior season and win a title for the Cardinal in the 21st Century. 

The Cardinal also feel along with some women's basketball media pundits they deserved a number one seed in this tournament.

Notre Dame is minus the graduated Skylar Diggins but are still dangerous as their undefeated 32-0 record proved.  The Irish lady ballers romped through their inaugural season in the ACC and also enter this tournament as a number one seed. 

The Irish, like Louisville are trying to make it back to their home arena for the Elite Eight round   They not only want to make it to their third NCAA final in the last four years, but this time take the championship trophy home, especially if it's at UConn's expense.

The Irish have beaten UConn seven out of the last nine times they played them, but one of those two losses was to the Huskies in last year's national semifinal game. 

Dawn Staley has been quietly building South Carolina into a national power, and was rewarded with the regular season SEC women's title. They were upset in the SEC women's tournament but still earned a number one seed for their 27-4 season long body of work.   

Will UConn, the current queens of the NCAA women's hardwoods continue to reign and execute the repeat as an unbeaten squad?  Can the Irish make that trip down I-65 south to cap a perfect season by cutting down the nets in Music City?   Can Louisville also make that short trip down I-65, make it to the final again but this time send Shoni Schimmel out as an NCAA champion? 

Or will another women's team on the rise like South Carolina or on a roll like USC crash the Music City party?    

We'll see who will be cutting down the nets at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville April 8.

Lincoln Regional

1st Round
Connecticut, Georgia, NC State, Nebraska, Gonzaga, Texas A&M, De Paul, Duke

Sweet 16
Connecticut, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Duke

Elite 8
Connecticut, Texas A&M

Lincoln Regional Champion
Connecticut

Notre Dame Regional

1st round
Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Syracuse, Kentucky, California, Baylor

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Baylor

Elite 8
Notre Dame, Baylor

Notre Dame Regional Champion
Notre Dame

Louisville Regional

1st Round
Tennessee, USC, Texas, Maryland, Iowa, Louisville, LSU, West Virginia

Sweet 16
Tennessee, Maryland, Louisville, West Virginia

Elite 8
Tennessee, Louisville

Louisville Regional Champion
Tennessee

Stanford Regional

1st Round
South Carolina, Oregon State, Michigan State, Florida, Penn State, Florida State, Stanford

Sweet 16
South Carolina, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford

Elite 8
South Carolina, Stanford

Stanford Regional Champion
South Carolina Final Four Teams
Connecticut, Tennessee, Notre Dame, South Carolina

Championship Game
Connecticut, Notre Dame

2014 NCAA Champ
Connecticut

Moni's 2014 NCAA Men's B-Ball Bracket

I love March Madness like 'errbody' else, except when they keep showing replays of the last painful seconds of a certain 1983 NCAA tournament final game in Albuquerque.

One of the things that I've done on TransGriot is to put my men's NCAA tournament bracket up for the whole world to see, and I've done so every year since 2007.    You can also see my brackets for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 here.

Since it's Women's History Month, I also do a bracket for the NCAA women's tournament,  and that goes up tomorrow.

As for last year's NCAA men's tournament, for the second straight year I picked the eventual NCAA champion correctly (Louisville), but not without some of my regional brackets being totally trashed.

And yeah, it irritated Cat Nation to no end that the Cards won the title in a year they didn't even make the tournament and that NCAA championship trophy moved to the Louisville end of I-64.   Speaking of irritated, the defending champs are pissed off about their seeding.

Will the NCAA title stay in the state of Kentucky?   I'm saying yes.  

Later today the Journey to the Jerrydome begins for 68 teams with the First Four games tonight and tomorrow night.   For the first time since 2003 the Texas Southern University Tigers are in the Big Dance after winning the SWAC tournament championship at Toyota Center in H-town last weekend .   You'll also recognize TSU Tiger coach.Mike Davis.   If that name sounds familiar, he's the same Mike Davis that took Indiana to the national championship game in 2002.  

Wichita State became the first team since the 1991 UNLV squad to enter the tournament unbeaten but fell to Duke in the title game.    Can the Shockers shock the NCAA b-ball world and become the first champion with a perfect record since Indiana ran the table in 1976? 

Nope, they won't..

But as to who I think will be cutting down the nets at AT&T Stadium, as you can see, I'm picking a repeat champ.  I'm 4-3 so far in picking men's NCAA champs, and we'll see if I'm correct for the third year in a row on April 7.    

So enough jibber-jabber and let's get busy with this year's edition of my NCAA Men's tournament bracket.

  
First Four Games
Albany, NC State, Texas Southern, Iowa

South Regional

Second Round
Florida, Pittsburgh, VCU, UCLA, Ohio State, Syracuse, New Mexico, Kansas

Third Round
Florida, VCU, Syracuse, Kansas

Elite Eight
Florida, Kansas

South Regional Champion
Florida


West Regional

Second Round
Arizona, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, San Diego State, Baylor, Creighton, Oregon, Wisconsin

Third Round
Arizona, San Diego State, Baylor, Oregon

Elite Eight
Arizona, Baylor

West Regional Champion
Arizona

Midwest Regional

Second Round
Wichita State, Kentucky, St. Louis, Louisville, Iowa, Duke, Texas, Michigan

Third Round
Wichita State, Louisville, Duke, Michigan

Elite Eight
Louisville, Duke

Midwest Regional Champ
Louisville

East Regional

Second Round
Virginia, Memphis, Cincinnati, Michigan State, North Carolina, Iowa State, Connecticut, Villanova


Third Round
Virginia, Michigan State, North Carolina, Connecticut

Elite Eight
Michigan State, North Carolina

East Regional Champion
Michigan State

Final Four Teams
Florida, Michigan State, Arizona, Louisville,

Championship Game
Florida, Louisville

2014 NCAA Champ
Louisville

 



 

Houston Rockets Start 2013-14 NBA Season Tonight

Since the Texans are having a less than stellar season and the Dynamo don't start their MLS playoff run until tomorrow night,  the eyes of Houston's sports fans are turning toward Toyota Center and what we are anticipating to be a very successful and entertaining season in the wake of the signing of Dwight Howard from the LA Fakers Lakers.

So are the networks who cover the NBA, because the Rockets are scheduled for 20 national telecasts this year.

Y'all can keep on hatin' LA.  He's on our end of I-10 not yours.  And yeah, he does look good in a Rockets uniform.

This highly anticipated season for my fave NBA ballers gets launched later tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats.  We're not expecting to make it to the NBA Finals a few months form now but if they get 55 wins, a top 4 seed in the Western Conference and out of the first round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs we'll consider it a success.   It they exceed that, even better.

And yeah Laker fans, we're looking forward to November 7, when your NBA franchise has to bring their butts to Toyota Center.
 
TransGriot Update:  Dwight Howard sure did look good scoring 17 points and yanking down 26 rebounds as the Rockets won their season opener 96-83 over the Charlotte Bobcats

Shaq, You And 'Errbody' Else In LA Need To Stop Hatin' On Houston

Shaquille O'Neal opened his mouth and inserted his size 22 foot in it by joining in the chorus of Los Angeles sour graping after Dwight Howard let the world know he's taking his basketball talents to our end of I-10 next NBA season.

The peeps in LA are hatin' because it's the first time in their franchise history a superstar player in his prime left Los Angeles to play ball elsewhere. 

The fact he's leaving LA for Houston and about to sign a contract with the Rockets was a blow to their massive civic basketball egos in addition to the fact they were in the position of having to beg Howard to stay there in the first place. 

The Rockets at times have been an NBA thorn in the side of the Lakers.  In the four appearances the Rockets have made in the NBA finals (1981, 1986, 1994 and 1995) the 1981 and 1986 NBA Finals ones were at the Lakers expense.  

The 1981 one was embarrassingly so as a 40-42 Rockets team that barely qualified for the NBA playoffs knocked them out in the first round powered by Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy.  The 1986 one was a 4-1 Western Conference Finals domination courtesy of Hakeem and Ralph Sampson that was deliciously satisfying to all of us who packed The Summit and sports bars around the city to yell "Beat LA!" at the top of our lungs. 

And what was even more satisfying for Houston Rocket fans was that the 1981 and 1986 Rocket playoff knockouts of the Lakers kept them from repeating as NBA champions.  

Now Dwight Howard has left La La land for H-town.

Shaq knows about the '95 Rocket NBA title run since he watched us get the trophy in H-town at his and the Orlando Magic's expense and repeat as NBA champions. 

Shaq got his Two Minute Hate on for Howard's departure from the LA Fakers Lakers by not only saying he couldn't handle the bright lights of LA, but dissed Houston by calling us a 'little town.'

Dude, you once owned a house in the Houston 'burb of Sugar Land.  And isn't the mother of one of your kids a Houstonian?

Yeah, we're a 'little town' of 2.2 million people you probably still have your hate on for because your Orlando Magic got swept by the Rockets in 1995 and Hakeem Olajuwon pwned your behind in that series.

And I never will forget Yao Ming's 2003 rookie year and that first game y'all played against each other at Toyota Center.  Yao stuffed your first three shots attempts in a game the Rockets eventually won 108-104 despite the 31 points you scored. 


But let me school you on a few more things about my hometown that you should already know since you played two years of high school ball in San Antonio and won the 1989 state title at 3A Cole High. 

It is at 600 square miles larger than Los Angeles which is only a measly 469 square miles in size, not including Lake Houston which adds another 28 square miles.  It is the fourth largest city in the United States, the county seat of Harris County and the largest in Texas.  It is as your ESPN and TBS employers will tell you the tenth largest TV market in the country.

Houston is also like LA considered a global city with a diverse population.  Only New York City has more Fortune 500 companies headquartered here than Houston does.  There are 92 foreign consulates here in metro Houston, of which only two other cities have more.

And I'll also point out my 'little town' is home to the Texas Medical Center, the world largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions along with NASA's Johnson Space Center, which ensure the first words spoken by a human being from the moon in 1969 wasn't LA.

I could point of the long list of people like Beyonce, Dan Rather, Tony winning actress Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green, Michael Strahan, Michael Dell of Dell computers, Isaiah Washington, Loretta Devine, Jaclyn Smith, Yolanda Adams, Randy and Dennis Quaid, AJ Foyt, NBA Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler and Rep. Barbara Jordan who were born or raised here including our current mayor Annise Parker. 

I could go on but I'd need another post to detail all the notable peeps who were born and raised in my little town' of Houston.

And by the way DL Hughley, these are just some of the centers who have donned a Rocket uniform, Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon for starters and Yao Ming, Ralph Sampson and Otis Thorpe who was on the 1994 championship squad.   

So Shaq, you and 'errbody' else in LA need to stop hatin on Houston.   Even Stevie Wonder could see that Dwight Howard was a bad fit offensively and chemistry wise for the Lakers like you were when you got traded to Phoenix by the Miami Heat.

I have far more ammo to use to slam LA with than you ever could come up with to diss Houston.  

Brittney's Milestone WNBA Debut

In her WNBA debut game in the US Airways Center versus fellow rookie Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner did something that no other WNBA player in history has ever done. 

She dunked twice in a WNBA regular season game.  

 Lisa Leslie was the first to do so, Candace Parker the first to do it twice in her WNBA career, and there have been five players total prior to tonight to execute dunks in the WNBA's 16 seasons.

Brittney is the first to do it twice in a game.   The first one came with 7:52 left in the game and the second thunderous one came with 2:18 left in the game after she stole an errant pass and went to the rim two handed.




Despite the dunks and 17 points, 8 rebounds and four blocked shots in 27 minutes, the key stat for Griner was the third foul she picked up with 2:30 left in the first quarter.    It forced her to be a spectator for the rest of the first half as the Chicago Sky ran up a 24 point lead by halftime enroute to a 102-80 win.

Elena Delle Donne played a major role in building that big Sky halftime lead as the Mercury elected to guard her one on one.

The 6'5" Delle Donne, who routinely got triple teamed in college must have felt as though she received an early Christmas present and made the Mercury pay for their lack of basketball vision. 

Delle Donne ended her night with the sixth best debut by a WNBA rookie player with 22 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots, was 2-2 from 3 point land and dished out two assists in a team-high 34 minutes.

But my Houston homegirl chalked this game up to being a learning experience and made a little WNBA history in the process despite the loss.

And yeah, the Team USA women are going to be fun to watch at the FIBA World Championships next year. 

Brittney's The One!

The number one overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft that is!

Wasn't a big surprise, but my Houston homegirl was snapped up by the Phoenix Mercury with the opening pick of this year's draft.   Another Houston homegirl in Texas A&M's Kelsey Bone also went in the first round at number five to the New York Liberty. 

It was a draft class that contained Skylar Diggins (Tulsa Shock)  Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) and A'dia Mathes (LA Sparks) (boo, hiss still can't stand the Sparks) and should be fun to watch when the season starts May 24. 

Assuming I get over my still smoldering pissivity over how my beloved Comets were screwed in 2008. 

Hey WNBA President Laurel Richie, when the league decides to expand again, how about putting a franchise back in H-town?

But congrats Brittney and best of luck in your WNBA career.    Hopefully I'll get to see you wearing the Team USA jersey next year during the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey. 

What Took Y'all So Long? UH Coach Guy V. Lewis Elected To Basketball Hall of Fame

On the 30th anniversary of a certain NCAA title game that makes me sick to my stomach to watch, the news that the voters pulled their heads out of their kiesters and finally elected legendary UH coach Guy V. Lewis to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame was welcome news for every Cougar fan and alum to hear on this day. 

It's past damned time it happened. 

During his 30 year career he led the UH men's b-ball squad to 592 wins and 27 consecutive winning seasons.   The Cougars went to 14 NCAA tournaments and advanced to the Final Four five times (1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984) and played in back to back NCAA championship games in 1983 and 1984.

Guy V. Lewis (along with Don Haskins at UTEP) were responsible for integrating collegiate basketball in the South when he signed Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney as the first of many African-American players in UH history.

Lewis was the architect of the "Game of the Century" between Number 1 ranked UCLA and Number 2 UH at the Astrodome in 1968. The game was played in front of 52,693 fans and was the first-ever nationally televised college basketball game.  UH won it 71-69 to snap the Bruins' 47-game winning streak. 



And oh yeah, there was Phi Slama Jama.  I was at UH at the time and got to spend more than a few nights at Hofheinz Pavilion watching that high-flying fast breaking slam dunking basketball juggernaut and the game that epitomized that era was the 1983 NCAA semifinal between UH and Louisville.      

Three of Lewis' players, Elvin Hayes, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon would go on to be selected among the 50 greatest players in NBA history.   Hayes (1990), Drexler (2004) and Olajuwon (2008) would go on to be elected to the Hall of Fame themselves.

Guy Lewis is responsible for the games you see every week, them being played in domed stadiums, integrating basketball in the South and coaching three Hall of Fame players over his career.   That alone should have gotten him elected to the Hall a long time ago.  He was a great coach on top of it even though he never won an NCAA title and one was cruelly snatched away from him by fate. .  

The official announcement will be made tomorrow before the NCAA title game and the induction ceremony will happen in Springfield, MA on September 8.

Now where's my Phi Slama Jama button?    Congrats Guy V. 

Brittney Griner To The NBA?

While I'm disappointed my Houston homegirl won't be playing for another NCAA women's title this weekend in New Orleans, I'm keenly aware of the fact that Ms. Griner will be the number one draft pick in the WNBA draft and the Phoenix Mercury can't wait until April 15 to call her name.

Interesting news out of Dallas is that Mark Cuban is considering drafting her in the second round for his Dallas Mavericks and if he doesn't,. giving her a tryout for the Mavericks summer league team to see if she can play ball at the professional level with the NBA fellas

"If she is the best on the board, I will take her," Cuban said before the Mavs Tuesday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers. "I've thought about it. I've thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I'd lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it's not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it."





Brittney's intrigued by the idea. "I would hold my own! Lets do it." she wrote on Twitter Tuesday night in response to the Cuban NBA chatter.

You all know of Brittney's awesomeness in the NCAA women's ranks.  She finished as the second all time scorer in the women's collegiate ranks with 3,283 points, blocked 748 shots and threw down 18 dunks with 11 of them happening during her senior year.   She would be the second woman after Ann Meyers to get an NBA tryout.  Meyers was a women's hoops star at UCLA and got a tryout with the Indiana Pacers in 1979.

Can Brittney play with the NBA boys?   And will she hear her name called in the WNBA and NBA drafts?

Barack-etology 2013

Well, you've seen my NCAA brackets for the 2013 men's and women's tournaments which have already taken a hit on the men's side with New Mexico being upset by Harvard (score one for Eli Blake) and Georgetown's shocking loss.  

But my Final Four teams on my men's and women's brackets are still alive for now.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the 2013 NCAA men's and women's tournaments.

The NCAA women's tournament

 

The NCAA men's tournament