A Healthy Ali Hawkins Is Key For All of UNC's Trophy Hopes for 2010

(All times listed are Eastern.)

Wake Forest vs North Carolina (3:30)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. North Carolina has another chance to win the ACC title. Despite losing two matches at home in league play, the Heels have risen to the top as their rivals drop points against each other in a particularly brutal season of ACC play. UNC’s destiny will be in their own hands when they take the pitch in Winston-Salem in the middle of Sunday afternoon. With all of their rivals likely having finished by the time they will have taken the pitch, UNC will know exactly what they need against the Demon Deacons to bring more silverware home. What they undoubtedly need after Thursday is a little tighter defense. You don’t concede three times in ACC play too many times and come out victorious. Then again you don’t come across a team with as much firepower as UNC that often either. The Heels will have to corral Wake’s Katie Stengel though. The freshman forward has had a great first year and will surely be licking her lips after seeing what the Duke forwards accomplished on Thursday.

Boston College vs Florida State (1:00)

Boston College will be breathing a whole lot easier after a series of wins that have taken them to safety in the ACC Tournament picture. The Eagles league title hopes are well and truly buried, but if BC can get themselves totally back to being the team that drew with Stanford and beat UNC on the road, they’ll be a dangerous foe in November. For now, it’s a matter of spoiling Florida State’s faint ACC title hopes. The Noles would need a veritable miracle to lift the crown at the end of the day, but they need a win whatever the case. FSU’s also fighting for national seeding, so it’s far from dead rubber for either side.

Georgetown vs South Florida (1:00) [Big East Quarterfinals]

Simple enough for South Florida. If the Bulls win in the nation’s capital, they’ll be dancing. If not…well, it’s not outside the realm of possibility of getting an at-large bid, but it’d take a whole lot of teams ahead of them falling too. They can save themselves a whole lot of heartburn by pulling the upset. The Bulls have some serious firepower with Venicia Reid and Chelsea Klotz going forward. Of course, the Hoyas have a powerful offense as well with Ingrid Wells pulling the strings for the home side. GU played Notre Dame tough last weekend, but if they’re overlooking USF, they won’t get a chance at a rematch next weekend.

Maryland vs Miami (FL) (1:00)

You have to feel for the Hurricanes. If they were playing in the SEC or still in the Big East, they’d be in those respective conference tournaments with ease and would also likely be in the NCAA Tournament already. But in the cutthroat ACC, the Canes find themselves almost assuredly needing something against a Maryland thrashing machine that have to be riding a massive high after back-to-back wins against UNC and FSU. The Terps will be in the box seat for the title if UNC drops points against Wake Forest, but they’ll be facing a team with no tomorrow if they lose. High drama and high stakes for sure in College Park on Sunday afternoon.

Notre Dame vs UConn (1:00) [Big East Quarterfinals]

The Huskies have already surprised Notre Dame once this season, taking a point off the Big East favorites in the regular season. But the stakes are immeasurably higher for the rematch. UConn’s season could hang on a victory against the Irish to get them off the bubble. But if you haven’t noticed, the Irish just don’t lose Big East matches. Their ridiculous conference undefeated streak lasted another regular season, and Notre Dame will be favorites to lift the trophy at the end of the conference tournament again. To be honest, there are few better teams UConn could lose to if they don’t want their RPI shattered in defeat. But nothing is guaranteed for them if they go down to defeat in South Bend, a loss would equal a nervous week waiting for Selection Monday.

Michigan vs Illinois (3:00)

The Wolverines are likely one win away from a rapid return to the NCAA Tournament under the rebuilding hands of Greg Ryan. Ryan’s done a fine job in repairing his reputation up to this point, but he’d love to finish his reclamation project ahead of schedule. With Michigan in good stead heading into the final week of the regular season, a win over Illinois would surely put the Wolverines over the top. Illinois will be going for the state double after shooting down Michigan State earlier this weekend. The matchup between freshman forwards Nkem Ezurike for the home side and Vanessa DiBernardo of the Illini should be one of the most intriguing of the end of the regular season.

Santa Clara vs Loyola Marymount (4:00)

The Lions are clinging on for dear life to the end of the bubble but won’t be making the trip to the Big Dance without at least one more win. Chance #1 comes on Sunday against Santa Clara, a daunting task to be sure. For their part, the Broncos are probably feeling pretty good after their close victory over fellow mid-major power BYU on Saturday. Jerry Smith’s side has good motivation for wanting to be one of the national seeds come Selection Monday. If they aren’t, they may very well be headed for a first weekend showdown with local rivals Stanford, a clash that didn’t exactly go too well for the Broncos the first time this season.

USC vs Washington (4:00)

The Trojans battled to victory against struggling Washington State at McAlister on Friday afternoon and will be looking to continue their late push towards a national seed with a key Pac-10 battle against Washington. The Huskies undoubtedly brought some smiles to the red half of Los Angeles with their victory over UCLA on Friday. Washington will be looking to pull a city double with a victory over the Trojans after all but guaranteeing their spot in the NCAA Tournament with Friday’s win. The Huskies have been a little tame offensively, but with potential Pac-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Jorde Lafontaine-Kussman between the pipes, the visitors will still be a handful for the hosts on Sunday.

Conference Tournament Action

America East Semi-Finals

(1) Boston University – (4) Albany (1:00)
(2) Stony Brook – (6) Maine (2:00)

Big East Quarterfinals

(1A) Marquette – (4N) DePaul (2:00)
(1N) Notre Dame – (4A) UConn (1:00)
(2N) Georgetown – (3A) South Florida (1:00)
(2A) West Virginia – (3N) Rutgers (1:00)

Horizon Quarterfinals

(4) Wright State – (5) Loyola (Ill.) (1:00)

MAC Quarterfinals

The Skinny: Toledo looked to be clear favorites for the MAC title but then doubts were suddenly raised when the Rockets somehow lost to Ball State in the last round of league play. You’ll notice the Cardinals not among the list of MAC Tournament qualifiers. The Rockets will still be provisional favorites to lift the league’s tournament title and claim the auto bid, but there’s room for an upset. Proven tournament team Central Michigan is a real threat to emerge victorious as they dominated their meeting with Toledo in the regular season and know how to win in these situations as last year proved. Toledo has at-large hopes if they don’t win the auto bid, but probably have to reach the final to have a serious case.

(1) Toledo – (8) Ohio (1:00)
(2) Miami (OH) – (7) Akron (1:00)
(3) Central Michigan – (6) Northern Illinois (1:00)
(4) Eastern Michigan – (5) Western Michigan (1:00)

Missouri Valley Quarterfinals

The Skinny: Creighton will enter as provisional favorites to take the auto bid and give striking star Brittney Neumann a national stage, but their advantage despite hosting the league tournament’s later rounds is slight. Illinois State ran them close in the last round of matches, with the Bluejays needing extra time to lift the league title. Second seed Missouri State also defeated Creighton in the regular season and must like their odds in a rematch with the Bluejays in the league finals if both make it there.

(3) Illinois State – (6) Indiana State (2:00)
(4) Drake – (5) Evansville (2:00)

Southern Conference Quarterfinals

The Skinny: UNC Greensboro will be heavy favorites to smash the competition in the Southern Conference Tournament after plowing through their rivals during the regular season. The Spartans are almost assured of an at-large bid if they fall before winning the tournament but would like to be 100% sure in any event. Samford and massive keeper Alyssa Whitehead figure to be the main competition with The Citadel also featuring as darkhorses. But it would be a big upset if anybody but the regular season champs are lifting the SoCon Tournament Trophy in a week’s time.

(1) UNC Greensboro – (8) Wofford (2:00)
(2) Samford – (7) Davidson (7:00)
(3) The Citadel – (6) Furman (2:00)
(4) College of Charleston – (5) Elon (1:00)

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