Going to the Women's Sweet 16 in KC

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

My wife is an MSU grad and fan.  I don't think she has missed watching a women's game this year.  About a month ago when they looked like they had a 1 seed wrapped up and were projected for the KC regional I decided to surprise her and buy tickets.  Went all in and bought all session tickets and got 7th row behind one of the benches (hopefully MSU's).  The total investment for 3 games, 6 tickets, was $120, including taxes, fees, everything.

Was close for a little while last night but State kept grinding and eventually pulled away.  They had the second best attendance of the first two rounds, only limited by the size of the arena.  Going to be tough making it to the Final 4 with the other top 3 seeds in the regional also advancing.  It's going to be MSU-NC State, and UCLA-Texas.  I fully expect State to have the largest contingent of fans and the loudest.  Should be some high quality very entertaining basketball.  I have never been a big WBB fan but watching them the last couple years has opened my eyes a bit and made me more interested in Arkansas WBB as a result.

Here's hoping we are talking about travel plans for out women's team in the very near future.

[LadybackBBFan]

Good for you.  If you enjoy basketball played the right way, you should enjoy it and see some great games.  The Mississippi State team has a great bunch of girls that are very fan friendly - especially the big center (McGowan) who has a great personality.

[BWS]

You should check out the Power and Light District while your in KC. Its right adjacent to the Sprint Center. If you want some good barbecue, you should take a taxi or Uber to Q39 in midtown.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

You should check out the Power and Light District while your in KC. Its right adjacent to the Sprint Center. If you want some good barbecue, you should take a taxi or Uber to Q39 in midtown.

We are staying right in the P&L district.  We are about .4 miles from the Sprint Center so easy walk from Hotel to there and all the bars and restaurants.  We never do anything like this so we are very excited. 

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Really enjoyed the first game and looking forward to watching MSU play UCLA tonight.  Was hoping it would be Texas because cheering against them is always fun and because they had the second most fans in attendance. 

The overall attendance on Friday was weak or a bit disappointing.  Had the top 4 seeds so high quality entertaining basketball in a great venue and in a location that offered many other activities.  Can't really blame the fans of the schools too much though.  Short notice and all had a pretty good distance to travel.  Compare that to all the other regionals that had one or more teams relatively close.

State still had a decent contingent and they were loud.  You have to see Teaira McCowan in person to appreciate her size.  She is a dominating figure on the court and was just cleaning up the boards. Didn't realize the full extent of the Arkansas presence on their roster.  Hope McCowan stays for 1 more, they may not be final 4 team next year but still very good.

Definitely glad we made the trip even though it wasn't to see the Razorbacks.  Hope when they do make a regional it's relatively close so we can go.  Will also spend more time and effort supporting our women's teams.

[LadybackBBFan]

Great to hear your report.  An interesting fact was presented on TV.  Texas had 10 McDonald All Americans and UCLA had 5 o their rosters.  Mississippi State has none and never has had a McDonald's All American.  Arkansas only has had two and neither one of them panned out and neither stayed at Arkansas.  MS has shown you can do it without the All American's - at least as far as McDonalds goes.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Vic was coaching his A off last night.  Actually a better turnout for the regional final than the Friday night game which was good to see.

UCLA kept it interesting.  The refs basically let them play and then some.  I'm not saying the officiating was one sided, it's just had to be blatant on either team for the most part to get called.  As a whole this was good for the flow it did allow UCLA to get some stops that would normally have been called fouls. 

UCLA's kids definitely looked more athletic and were fast.  MSU just tough grinders that stepped up to every challenge.  Critical point in the game UCLA had pulled to within 6 and had all the momentum.  Vic calls full timeout.  MSU gets a basket, UCLA goes down quickly and scores, then Blair Schaefer hits a 3 to push the lead out to 9.  This maybe took a minute.  Then Vic calls another timeout.  I first thought to myself what is he doing.  MSU has all the momentum why let UCLA catch their breath.  Then it dawned on me.  What he was doing was setting up another stop.  UCLA had been beating MSU with speed.  Vic didn't want to waste the momentum by allowing UCLA to turnaround and get a quick score.  So the TO allowed him to set the D and make UCLA inbound after everything was set.  It worked perfectly.  State got another stop and basically put the game away from there.

He is on them the entire game, but the minute the horn sounds or the game is no longer in doubt he is hugging them and enjoying it with them. 

We stayed and watched the trophy ceremony and the cutting of the net.  Even though they are not "my team" it was special to watch and take it in with my wife.  Great reminder of all the good things about sports not only from a fans perspective but the players as well.

[LadybackBBFan]

Having watching them at the SEC tournament for the last 2-3 years, they are a great team but a great family atmosphere which is what Vic inspires.  He is a great coach and person.