March 24, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 33
March 26 - 8 p.m. (CST)
#5/6 Baylor (29-3) vs. #12/12 Minnesota (26-7)
2005 NCAA Tournament
Sweet 16
Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
RADIO
1660 AM - ESPN - Waco
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION
ESPN
Dave O'Brien - play-by-play
Kara Lawson - color analyst
Heather Cox - sideline
TELEVISION COVERAGE...
ESPN will televise the Baylor/Minnesota game. Dave O'Brien will call the action, Kara Lawson will provide color commentary and Heather Cox will serve as sideline reporter.
THE SCHEDULE
March 26 (Saturday)
No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Minnesota - ESPN, 8 p.m. (Central)
No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 1 North Carolina - ESPN2, 30 minutes after game 1
BAYLOR VS. MINNESOTA...
Baylor is competing in its fourth NCAA Tournament and second straight NCAA Sweet 16 and all four appearances have come since Kim Mulkey-Robertson assumed the reins of the Lady Bear program. The fifth-ranked Lady Bears come into the contest riding a school record 16-game win streak and sporting a 29-3 record. This season the Lady Bears won the program's first conference championship and also claimed the Big 12 Conference Tournament title. Junior forward Sophia Young was named the tournament's MVP and senior post Steffanie Blackmon was named to the all-tournament team.
Young leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 17.8 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while Blackmon averages 15.6 points and 8.3 boards a game. Both were named to The Associated Press All-American team recently. Young was a second team selection while Blackmon garnered third team honors, as Baylor and LSU were the only two schools with two players on the three honor teams.
The third-seeded Minnesota Gophers, 26-7 on the season, advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 by posting a 73-58 victory over No. 6 seed Virginia on Monday. The Gophers, with a sophomore, three juniors and a senior in their starting lineup, have won seven of their last eight games. Minnesota, a Final Four squad last year has advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third straight season.
Minnesota is led by All-American and All-Big Ten selection Janel McCarville. The 6-2 senior center leads the Gophers with 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds a game and has dished out 115 assists. She also leads the team in blocked shots (63) and steals (68). Sophomore forward Jamie Broback ranks second on the squad in both categories with 14.7 points and 5.5 boards an outing.
THE COACHES...
Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her fifth season as a head coach and owns a 127-38 (.770) career record. In 2005 she guided the Lady Bears to the program's first-ever Big 12 regular season and tournament championship. Under her guidance, Baylor is making its fourth NCAA Tournament trip and its second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Minnesota's Pam Borton, an alumni of Defiance, is in her third season as head coach at Minnesota. She owns a record of 76-22 at Minnesota and is 145-68 in seven seasons as a head coach.
THE SERIES RECORD...
Baylor and Minnesota have only met once on the basketball court. BU leads the series 1-0 after posting a 72-71 victory in Waco on Dec. 16, 1978.
COMMON OPPONENTS...
The Lady Bears and the Gophers have faced five common opponents (Washington, Kansas, LSU, Indiana, Penn State) this season. Baylor is 4-1 versus those squads while Minnesota is 3-3 against those same teams. Both squads lost to LSU (BU,71-70; UM 75-67), Baylor beat Washington, 74-58 while Minnesota lost 72-67 in overtime. Both teams beat Kansas (BU, 70-60; UM 62-45) and Indiana (BU 60-47; UM 61-47, 52-35). Baylor posted a 91-70 win over Penn State while Minnesota lost on the road to the Nittany Lions 81-68.
BAYLOR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT...
Baylor is competing in its fourth NCAA Tournament and all four appearances have come since head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson assumed the program's helm. BU is 5-3 in NCAA Tournament games, 3-1 in first round games, 2-1 in second round games and 0-1 in the Sweet 16.
2001- No. 8 seed - West Region - Durham, N.C. (Duke host)
First round - lost to No. 9 seed Arkansas (68-59)
2002- No. 2 seed - East Region - Waco, Texas (Baylor host)
First round - defeated No. 15 seed Bucknell (80-56)
Second round - lost to No. 7 seed Drake (76-72)
2004- No. 4 seed - Midwest Region - Albuquerque (New Mexico host)
First round - defeated No. 13 seed Loyola Marymount (71-60)
Second round - defeated No. 5 seed Florida (91-76)
Sweet 16 - lost to No. 1 Tennessee (71-69) (Oklahoma host)
2005 - No. 2 seed - Tempe Regional - Seattle (Washington host)
First round - defeated No. 15 seed Illinois State (91-70)
Second round - defeated No. 10 seed Oregon (69-46)
STEPPING IT UP IN THE NCAAS...
In Baylor's two NCAA Tournament games this season, four players are shooting above the 60 percent mark. Junior Sophia Young and sophomore LaToya Wyatt are both shooting 61.5 percent from the floor. Young has hit 16-of-26 while Wyatt is 8-for-13. Senior Steffanie Blackmon has hit 11-of-18 for 61.1 percent and sophomore Abiola Wabara is 9-for-15 for 60 percent.
Young ranks No. 3 in NCAA Tournament scoring at 23.0 points a game and sophomore LaToya Wyatt is tied for No. 3 in 3-point field goal percentage at .750 (3-4).
OVER THE LAST FIVE GAMES...
Over Baylor's last five games which includes three Big 12 Tournament contests (Missouri, Texas Tech, Kansas State) and two NCAA Tournament games (Illinois State, Oregon), the Lady Bears have out-scored their opponents by an average of 15.2 points. Baylor has averaged 71.2 points while limiting its opponents to 56.0 points. The Lady Bears are shooting 46.1 percent from the field and holding their opponents to 37.9 in that stretch.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TRIVIA...
There are only three NCAA Division I head coaches who have played on teams that played in the NCAA Championship game, and only two of them won an NCAA national title. Temple head coach Dawn Staley played for Virginia when it placed second in 1991, Jennifer Rizzotti, head coach at Hartford, guided Connecticut to a national title in 1995 and Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson played on the Louisiana Tech team that claimed the first NCAA national title in 1982.
While at Louisiana Tech as a player, Mulkey-Robertson's teams placed first in 1982, second in 1983, tied for third in 1984. Throughout her career, Mulkey-Robertson, the consummate point guard, played in 14 NCAA tournament games and was 12-2 in those games. She was named to the all-tournament team in the 1982 Championships. She is 5-3 as a head coach in NCAA Tournament games and Baylor is making its second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearance under her guidance.
YOUNG, BLACKMON NAMED AP ALL-AMERICA...
Junior Sophia Young and senior Steffanie Blackmon were recently named AP All-Americans. Young was a second team selection and Blackmon was named to the third team. Baylor was one of two schools (LSU) with two players on the 15-member squad.
