by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's basketball team is out of the NCAA Tournament and the men's team said goodbye a few weeks back, but that doesn't mean Albuquerque will be short on basketball this weekend.
Two Sweet 16 games and one Elite Eight game will be played at The Pit on Saturday and Monday night, and because the Daily Lobo cares so much about its readers, here's a guide to each team in the Albuquerque Regional so you'll know who to cheer and who to jeer.
No. 2-seeded University of Maryland
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The Terrapins went 12-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year. The ACC featured two teams that were at one point ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country this season in North Carolina and Duke, respectively. Maryland snagged wins against both of them and also managed a 30-4 record overall this season. The Terrapins advanced to the Sweet 16 with a first-round win over No. 15 seed Sacred Heart, 95-54, and No. 7-seeded St. John's University, 81-74. Maryland is led in scoring and rebounds by sophomore Crystal Langhorne at 16.7 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. Langhorne has two players backing her up in the scoring department in Marissa Coleman and Shay Doron. Coleman drops 14.2 ppg, while Doron comes in right behind her with 14 ppg.
No. 3-seeded Baylor University
The Lady Bears might draw the ire of Lobo fans who watched Baylor blast the Lobos back to Albuquerque from Tucson, Ariz., in the second round last week, 87-67. Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson was the one who got a technical foul for her antics against the Lobos. Baylor is the defending National Champion and also boasts the defending National Player of the Year in senior Sophia Young, who torched UNM for 21 points. Outside of Young, Baylor is missing a strong second scoring option. Young averages 22.2 ppg and 10 rpg, while the next leading scorer is sophomore Angela Tisdale with 11.8 ppg. Baylor went 12-4 in the Big 12 conference and 26-6 overall. The Lady Bears topped No. 14-seed Northern Arizona 74-56, and the No. 11-seed Lobos to reach the Sweet 16.
No. 5-seeded University of Utah
The Lobos' conference mate has the potential to be this year's Cinderella sweetheart with its lucky draw against the lowest seed left in the Sweet 16 in No. 8-seeded Boston College. The Utes' road to the Sweet 16 wasn't so sweet, as they had to overcome double-digit deficits in both of their tournament games. Utah has All-American and co-Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Kim Smith leading the drive to the Elite Eight. She's averaging 19.7 ppg and 8 rpg. She gets help from fellow senior guard Shona Thorburn who averages close to a triple double with 12 ppg, 7.3 assists per game and 6.5 rpg. The Utes won the MWC Tournament this season and reached the round of 16 with a 76-71 win over No. 12-seed Middle Tennessee State and an 86-65 win over No. 4-seed Arizona State.
No. 8-seeded Boston College University
The Eagles pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament with their 79-69 win over No. 1-seed Ohio State in the round of 32.
It's the first time since 1998 that a No. 1 seed hasn't made it to the Sweet 16. In the other three regions, all of the top four seeds advanced to the round of 16.
Boston College went 21-11 overall and 6-8 in the ACC. Brooke Queenan leads the Eagles at 14.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg. Boston College beat No. 9-seed Notre Dame in the first round before it upset the Buckeyes in the round of 32.
