Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man appears alive at own funeral
Take comfort in knowing Browns could be bigger losers
Another wacky, crazy Browns week
Boy tells 911 operator he shot father in anger
High school sports scoreboard - Nov. 7
Akron police follow blood trail to murder suspect
Judicial colleagues give magistrate job to judge who lost election
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your perusal
Akron Zips:
No. 1 UA soccer remains perfect, Zips football defeats rival Flashes
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (62) The Stupak Amendment
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
By Rusty Miller
Associated Press sports writer
POSTED: 09:46 p.m. EDT, Mar 17, 2008
COLUMBUS: Finding out who and when they'll play in the NCAA tournament didn't matter as much to the Ohio State Buckeyes as where.
Because the No. 25 Buckeyes will play in Big Ten country, they know it will be easier for their rabid followers to make the 568-mile trip.
''We wanted our fans to be able to come to the game,'' freshman center Jantel Lavender said on Monday night after the Buckeyes drew Florida State (18-13) Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, among the closest of the first- and second-round sites. ''That's really good for us. We think we have the best fans.''
A record-tying four Ohio schools — also including Cleveland State, Xavier and Miami (Ohio) — made it into the big dance on Monday night when the tournament field was announced.
Horizon League champion Cleveland State (19-13) was seeded 15th and takes on second-seeded Stanford (30-3) Saturday at Stanford. The Cardinals will likely be in a bad mood, since they were expecting to be a top seed at their own host site.
''This is a wonderful time for Cleveland State basketball,'' Vikings coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. ''We have been building for this for quite some time, and to see our name on the bracket is a great feeling.''
Cleveland State's seniors had won only 16 games their first three seasons combined before picking up 19 — and the tournament berth — this season.
Atlantic 10 tournament winner Xavier (24-8) drew a No. 9 seed and will meet eighth-seeded Nebraska (20-11) Sunday at College Park, Md.
''It's great to make it on my first go-around,'' Musketeers freshman center Ta'Shia Phillips said. ''I think it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of every year here at Xavier. We are a young team but we are ready to play in the NCAAs.''
Miami of Ohio (23-10) is making its first NCAA tournament appearance, and will play fourth-seeded Louisville (24-9) Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn. The RedHawks were given a No. 13 seed by grabbing the Mid-American Conference's automatic berth after winning the conference tournament.
''We're still on cloud nine from this past weekend,'' RedHawks senior guard Amanda Jackson said. ''Every time they announced the teams I kept getting nervous because I didn't know where we would pop up on the screen.''
The sixth-seeded Big Ten regular-season champion Buckeyes (22-8) are appearing in the tournament for the sixth year in a row.
Lavender, the Big Ten's freshman and player of the year, had a typical reaction for a rookie.
''I'm so excited. So excited,'' she said with a wide smile. ''To see the bracket show and what seed we got, who we're playing and where, that was a lot of fun. Now we have to get ready to play.''
The Buckeyes will be making their 17th appearance, including six in a row under coach Jim Foster. But they've only made it past the second round once in seven trips since playing for the national championship in 1993.
''It's the history of the university,'' said Foster, who is 152-40 in his six years at Ohio State but only 5-5 in NCAA play. ''I'm not trying to figure out anything that (past coaches) Tara VanDerveer, Nancy Darsch and Beth Burns weren't trying to figure out. The good news is that we keep getting the opportunity.''
Xavier coach Kevin McGuff didn't have to stress over whether his team would get in, since it was already assured of a spot by winning the conference tournament.
''The anxiety level obviously wasn't that high,'' he said. ''But I am thrilled to be in the tournament, and I am really happy for our players because they have worked hard all year for this, and I know they are very excited.''
The Musketeers, making their seventh appearance in the NCAAs, lost in the opening round a year ago to West Virginia, 65-52 — something Jerri Taylor doesn't want to relive.
''Last year we were just flat for some reason,'' she said. ''We can't let that happen again.''
Miami coach Maria Fantanarosa said she intended to let her players soak up the atmosphere of the achievement of a lifetime.
''When we get to the tournament, I'm going to walk in the gym with them and let them experience it,'' she said. ''I want them to sit in the seats and look around and be excited about it, because it's part of the journey.''
COLUMBUS: Finding out who and when they'll play in the NCAA tournament didn't matter as much to the Ohio State Buckeyes as where.
Because the No. 25 Buckeyes will play in Big Ten country, they know it will be easier for their rabid followers to make the 568-mile trip.
''We wanted our fans to be able to come to the game,'' freshman center Jantel Lavender said on Monday night after the Buckeyes drew Florida State (18-13) Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, among the closest of the first- and second-round sites. ''That's really good for us. We think we have the best fans.''
A record-tying four Ohio schools — also including Cleveland State, Xavier and Miami (Ohio) — made it into the big dance on Monday night when the tournament field was announced.
Horizon League champion Cleveland State (19-13) was seeded 15th and takes on second-seeded Stanford (30-3) Saturday at Stanford. The Cardinals will likely be in a bad mood, since they were expecting to be a top seed at their own host site.
''This is a wonderful time for Cleveland State basketball,'' Vikings coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. ''We have been building for this for quite some time, and to see our name on the bracket is a great feeling.''
Cleveland State's seniors had won only 16 games their first three seasons combined before picking up 19 — and the tournament berth — this season.
Atlantic 10 tournament winner Xavier (24-8) drew a No. 9 seed and will meet eighth-seeded Nebraska (20-11) Sunday at College Park, Md.
''It's great to make it on my first go-around,'' Musketeers freshman center Ta'Shia Phillips said. ''I think it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of every year here at Xavier. We are a young team but we are ready to play in the NCAAs.''
Miami of Ohio (23-10) is making its first NCAA tournament appearance, and will play fourth-seeded Louisville (24-9) Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn. The RedHawks were given a No. 13 seed by grabbing the Mid-American Conference's automatic berth after winning the conference tournament.
''We're still on cloud nine from this past weekend,'' RedHawks senior guard Amanda Jackson said. ''Every time they announced the teams I kept getting nervous because I didn't know where we would pop up on the screen.''
The sixth-seeded Big Ten regular-season champion Buckeyes (22-8) are appearing in the tournament for the sixth year in a row.
Lavender, the Big Ten's freshman and player of the year, had a typical reaction for a rookie.
''I'm so excited. So excited,'' she said with a wide smile. ''To see the bracket show and what seed we got, who we're playing and where, that was a lot of fun. Now we have to get ready to play.''
The Buckeyes will be making their 17th appearance, including six in a row under coach Jim Foster. But they've only made it past the second round once in seven trips since playing for the national championship in 1993.
''It's the history of the university,'' said Foster, who is 152-40 in his six years at Ohio State but only 5-5 in NCAA play. ''I'm not trying to figure out anything that (past coaches) Tara VanDerveer, Nancy Darsch and Beth Burns weren't trying to figure out. The good news is that we keep getting the opportunity.''
Xavier coach Kevin McGuff didn't have to stress over whether his team would get in, since it was already assured of a spot by winning the conference tournament.
''The anxiety level obviously wasn't that high,'' he said. ''But I am thrilled to be in the tournament, and I am really happy for our players because they have worked hard all year for this, and I know they are very excited.''
The Musketeers, making their seventh appearance in the NCAAs, lost in the opening round a year ago to West Virginia, 65-52 — something Jerri Taylor doesn't want to relive.
''Last year we were just flat for some reason,'' she said. ''We can't let that happen again.''
Miami coach Maria Fantanarosa said she intended to let her players soak up the atmosphere of the achievement of a lifetime.
''When we get to the tournament, I'm going to walk in the gym with them and let them experience it,'' she said. ''I want them to sit in the seats and look around and be excited about it, because it's part of the journey.''
Comments
Click here to post your comments
