Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Duke
Racers Go Dancin' With Devils In College Park
3/19/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
For the Murray State women's basketball team, the historic first-ever NCAA Tournament opponent will be the Duke Blue Devils.
The NCAA pairings and bracket draws were announced on ESPN tonight at 6 p.m. Fans had to watch for about 40 minutes before the Murray State pairing was announced, but the wait was well worth it.
The Racers (24-7) -- seeded 14th in the Oklahoma City Regional -- will open its first-ever NCAA Tournament against No. 3 seed Duke (23-9) in College Park, Md., on Sunday at 6 p.m. Central Time on ESPN-2 and on ESPN-U.
"I think that any time you match up with a team that is among the top 10, you're matching up with a very talented team, and probably a very, very deep team," said MSU head coach Jody Adams. "As I look at Duke and what Coach (Joanne) McCallie has brought in her first season, I think they've done a tremendous job. They have a very talented group.
"They have a good 6-5 center in Chante Black, and they have their guard corps. They are very talented, they've been there, have played in big games, have faced top-25 opponents throughout the year, and their conference, the ACC, is a very tough conference. They will be prepared; there's no doubt about that."
The schedule of games to be played in College Park is:
Sunday, March 23 (times given are Central Time)
No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Xavier, 11:00 a.m.
No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 16 Coppin State, 1:30 p.m.
No. 14 MURRAY STATE vs. No. 3 Duke, 6:00 p.m.
No. 6 Arizona State vs. No. 11 Temple, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25
Nebraska/Xavier winner vs. Maryland/Coppin State winner, tba (6 or 8 p.m.)
MURRAY STATE/Duke winner vs. Arizona State/Temple winner, tba (6 or 8 p.m.)
Tuesday's winner in Murray State's pod will advance to the regionals in Oklahoma City, Okla., with the regional semifinals played on Sunday, March 30 and the regional final played on Tuesday, April 1. The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Fla., with the national semifinals played on Sunday, April 6, and the championship game being played on April 8. The winner of the Maryland pod will play in the Spokane, Wash., regional.
ESPN networks will carry all 63 games of the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. ESPN Full Court will carry complete game telecasts of all of the first-and second-round games, and ESPN360.com will offer complete coverage of every game in the tournament.
DUKE INFORMATION
Duke (23-9) finished the regular season tied for third in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 10-4. The Blue Devils beat ACC second-place team Maryland 74-63 in the conference tournament semifinals, but fell to regular-season champion North Carolina 86-73 in the finals on March 9.
Duke is ranked ninth in this week's Associated Press (writers) women's basketball poll, up from its No. 10 spot from last week, and is ranked 10th in this week's WBCA/USA Today (coaches) women's basketball poll, just four points behind ninth-place Texas A&M. The Blue Devils will be the highest-ranked women's basketball opponent that MSU has ever faced.
Like Murray State, Duke averages more than 70 points per game, ranked 41st in the nation in scoring offense (71.3 ppg) to MSU's No. 19 ranking (74.3 ppg). The Blue Devil defense has held its opponents to an average of 59.2 points per game, and ranks 22nd in the nation in rebound margin (+6.3), averaging 42.2 rebounds per contest.
Duke is not as adept as the Racers from three-point range, averaging 3.9 threes per contest and shooting 27.3 percent behind the arc. The Blue Devils are hitting 66.6 percent from the line to Murray State's 80.9 percent, ranking third in the nation.
The Blue Devils are led by 6-5 junior Chante Black, who was named to the All-ACC Second Team. Black averages 13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, leading Duke in both categories. She also averages 2.3 blocked shots per contest.
Abby Waner, a 5-10 junior guard, was named All-ACC Third Team, averaging 10.5 points per game, and leads the Blue Devils with 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
This will be Murray State's first meeting with Duke in the Racers' 41-year history (1928-32, 1971-present), and only the third meeting against an ACC team, the second in post-season play. MSU beat Wake Forest 72-55 in the 1975 AIAW South Regional (the women's predecessor to the NCAA Tournament), and lost to Wake Forest 72-65 in the Downeast Auto Classic on Nov. 24, 1989.
BEEN HERE, DONE THAT
While Murray State head coach Jody Adams is excited to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in her first season as a collegiate head coach, the Duke game will be her 21st NCAA Tournament contest to take part in.
As a player at Tennessee, she and the Lady Vols were 9-3 in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1991 championship. As a student assistant coach at UT, her team went 3-1 in the 1994 tourney, and as an assistant coach at Auburn, the Tigers went 3-1 in the 1996 tournament. All totaled, Adams' NCAA experience is a record of 15-5 (.750), and in each of her six previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, each team reached the Sweet 16.
FIRST AMONG FIRST-TIMERS
Jody Adams has 24 wins thus far in her first season as a collegiate head coach, equaling the most wins for a first-year coach this season. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz also has 24 wins in his first head coaching season.
BREAKING RECORDS...BREAKING RECORDS...BREAKING RECORDS...
The 24 wins thus far is an MSU women's basketball record, as are the Racers' 13 home wins. The game with Duke will be Murray State's 32nd game of the season, tying a single-season record for the Racers, and the 15 OVC wins ties the record set by last year's team.
Click here to visit MSU's NCAA Tournament Central.
