Colleges

Women's hoops: ACC, SEC tournament info

By Antonya English and Brian Landman, Times Staff Writers
Published March 6, 2008

TODAY

SEC

When/where: Today-Sunday; Sommet Center, Nashville

Today's schedule: No. 8 seed Mississippi vs. No. 9 Mississippi State, 1 p.m.; No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 South Carolina, 3:30 p.m.; No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 12 Alabama, 7:30; No. 6 Auburn vs. No. 11 Arkansas, 10 p.m.

TV: First round, second round and semifinal games areon FSN or Sun Sports. The title game is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

Favorite: LSU. Since nobody in the league could find a way to beat the Tigers in the regular season, there's no reason not to pick the No. 1 seed as the prohibitive favorite. LSU (25-4) has won 16 of its past 17 games, and with a team filled with veterans, longtime coach Van Chancellor shouldn't have any problems keeping the team focused on this tournament.

Dark horse: Georgia. Although generally among the league's powerhouses, the Bulldogs faltered down the stretch with some tough losses, then finished the season by winning four straight. Led by first-team All-SEC selection Tasha Humphrey, Georgia is more than capable of making some noise.

Antonya English, Times staff writer

ACC

When/where: Today-Sunday; Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, N.C.

Today's schedule: No. 5 seed Georgia Tech vs. No. 12 Miami, 11 a.m.; No. 8 North Carolina State vs. No. 9 Clemson, 3 p.m.; No. 7 Boston College vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, 6 p.m.; No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 Wake Forest, 8 p.m.

TV: FSN will carry today's opener and Friday's quarterfinal between No. 4 Virginia and the Georgia Tech-Miami winner at 11 a.m. FSN has Saturday's semifinals at 1 and 3:30. The other three first-round games and three quarterfinals will be available via Web cast on ACC Select (go to theacc.com).

Favorite: It's tough to pick against No. 2-ranked UNC, whose coach, Sylvia Hatchell, was named the conference's best Wednesday. The Tar Heels are loaded with standout senior Fs Erlana Larkins and LaToya Pringle and junior F Rashanda McCants. They've won the past three tournament titles and they also should enjoy a significant homecourt edge. That could be the difference if they draw No. 5-ranked and second-seeded Maryland, which has ACC player of the year Crystal Langhorne, in the finale.

Dark horse: Virginia is the No. 4 seed and ranked No. 25, but seems a long shot in this setting. Still, the Cavaliers, led by senior PG Sharnee' Zoll and sophomore G Monica Wright, have lost to UNC, Maryland and No. 3-seeded Duke by single digits so they know they can play with them.

Brian Landman, Times staff writer

[Last modified March 6, 2008, 00:45:59]