Tonight's most intriguing match up: UCLA vs. Gonzaga

posted by They're Playing Basketball
Monday, March 21, 2011 at 9:09pm EDT

News, opinions and game reports on girl's and women's basketball of all levels.

Dynamic and powerful coach 1 vs. dynamic and powerful coach 2.

The two teams have almost identical records.

UCLA will be on Gonzaga's court, and the game is sold out.

A sellout crowd of 6,000 passionate Bulldogs fans is expected to pack "The Kennel" to root for the nation's highest-scoring team. The 11th-seeded Bulldogs' only loss at home came against second-ranked Stanford, the top-seeded team in the regional.

"The crowd is important and we do feed off it," Gonzaga Coach Kelly Graves said.

Gonzaga fans were deafening Saturday during the Bulldogs' first-round victory over Iowa. Few stuck around to see UCLA struggle against Montana, seats emptying quickly as fans presumably headed out to watch the Gonzaga men's team play BYU on television.

They will be back in full force to see whether the Bruins can slow down a team that averages 86 points a game.

Caldwell and her players downplayed the crowd's potential impact. The Bruins' only loss on the road this season was at Stanford.

"We've been in a lot of hostile environments, such as Notre Dame and Stanford, where we've had 11 fans and they had thousands," UCLA forward Jasmine Dixon said.

John Stockton says Gonzaga point guard Courtney Vandersloot is "a female Wayne Gretzky."

Here's how the teams match up statistically.

It's speed and scoring versus deliberate and defense.

UCLA is at a definite disadvantage in Spokane, but I think they can do it if they stay focused.

Filed Under:

story

March Madness 2011

View Original Post at hoopism.blogspot.com | View sassesue's Full Profile

No one has commented on this yet. Be the first!

SIGNUP FOR A WOMEN TALK SPORTS ACCOUNT:

A Women Talk Sports account allows you to maintain a profile at www.womentalksports.com and login to comment on posts using your WTS identity.

Fields marked with a * are required.

Your First Name*:

Your Last Name*:

Your E-mail*:

Your Website:

Your Location:

Your Twitter Username:

Create a WTS Username*:

Create a Password*:

Confirm Password*:

Check here to receive bi-weekly emails from Women Talk Sports and partners highlighting discussions on our site and upcoming women's sporting events, as well as informing you of new products, services and special offers.

I accept the Terms & Conditions for joining Women Talk Sports

Tonight's most intriguing match up: UCLA vs. Gonzaga

March Madness 2011

More from this author: