The 2007-08 NCAA women's basketball season has cranked up. As usual Tennessee and Connecticut are not only running 1-2 in the national rankings, they are both undefeated and are favored to win their respective conferences. The Lady Vols have seven players, including all-world junior Candace Parker back to help them defend their national championship.
But as we recall a few months ago, the Lady Vols winning that seventh NCAA title was overshadowed by Don Imus' derogatory comments about their opponents, the Rutgers women's team, that generated a firestorm of controversy and cost Imus his radio gig.
The class that the Rutgers women exhibited in responding to the idiotic comments was memorable. But now those returning players have an opportunity to play ball, go through a tough Big East schedule and try to get back to the Women's Final Four in Tampa, FL. Coach C. Vivian Stringer's Scarlet Knights started the season picked to finish second in the Big East and ranked #3 in the AP and ESPN/USA Today college rankings. A heartbreaking 60-58 home loss to Stanford that was nationally televised on ESPN dropped them to #7.
They've won 4 straight ballgames since to climb back to the #5 ranking and play #3 Maryland on ESPN2 tomorrow night.
Considering all the drama these ladies went through last year, it would be poetic justice if they did get to not only make it to Tampa, but ended up cutting the nets down as national champions. But they have a lot of basketball to play to get to that point.
