Originally Posted by
theprofessor
i guess that depends on your definition of plenty, doesn't it, champ? i decided to test how much i actually knew about the recent history of the women's tourney and looked up some of the results. what i found actually shocked me at how much history supports my theory.
to give a little background, i decided to go back to 1999, which was the last year tech advanced to the final four (9 years ago!!!). here's a year-by-year breakdown of what could be considered "cinderella" stories in the women's tourney:
1999: none. in all four brackets, the 1-4 seeds advanced to the sweet 16. tech made the final four as a #1 seed before losing in the national semifinals.
2000: uab as a #11 seed advanced to the sweet 16. tech made the elite 8 as a #1 seed, the last year the techsters were given a one seed.
2001: jackie stiles led southwest missouri state to the final four as a #5 seed in what can be considered the greatest cinderella story in women's basketball history. tech, as a #3 seed, advanced to the elite 8.
2002: the best year for lower seeds, as three #7 seeds and below made the sweet 16. byu (#11), drake (#7) and odu (#7, although a traditional power) all made it that far. tech, as a #5 seed, was upset in the first round by #12 uc-santa barbara in what was supposed to be leon barmore's final game.
2003: notre dame advanced to the sweet 16 as a #11, but they aren't a cinderella as they won a national title only a few years earlier. new mexico, a traditionally strong mid-major, made the sweet 16 as a #6 seed. tech, as a #5 seed, blew a huge second half lead against #1 lsu in palo alto, calif., with the last team that had final four talent.
2004: uc-santa barbara, which had won first-round games the two previous years, put together a sweet 16 run as a #11 seed. tech, as a #5 seed, lost to duke in the sweet 16.
2005: liberty, as a #13 seed, advanced to the sweet 16. tech, as a #11 seed that then made us shudder in disbelief, lost to temple in the first round.
2006: none. three of the four brackets saw the 1-4 seeds advance. only #5 utah and #8 boston college (not a cinderella) made the sweet 16. tech, as a #11 seed again, again lost a first-round game it should have won, this time against florida state.
2007: marist, a #13 seed, pulled two upsets before losing to national champion tennessee in the sweet 16. bowling green, as a #7, also made the sweet 16. ole miss, as a #7, made the elite 8, but again, that's no cinderella. tech, for the first time in its storied history, missed the tournament.
2008: the jury is still out, but through the first round, only #10 hartford and #11 florida state are double-digit seeds remaining. as is the case almost every single year, the chalk is winning the battle in the women's game.
in summary, it's still too early to consider this year's tourney, but over the past nine tournaments, there have been an average of one cinderella run per season. only southwest missouri in 2001 put together a truly magical run to the final four, which george mason did in the men's game just two years ago.
if you look at what's happened in the men's game this year -- with davidson and western kentucky both sitting in the sweet 16 -- the men's game each year gives more teams more chances to make a cinderella run. after doing this research, i'm more convinced than ever that tech's best chance to make the elite 8 again will come in the men's tourney, not the women's.