Analysis: Why this may be Utah’s toughest draw in its recent NCAA tournament run
Utah’s fourth straight trip to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament comes with a tough draw.
The Utes earned a No. 8 seed and will play 9 seed Indiana of the Big Ten in the first round Friday (11:30 a.m. MDT, ESPN2) at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the Birmingham 2 Region.
If Utah (22-8) gets past the Hoosiers — the Utes have won their NCAA tournament first-round game each of the past three seasons — they would likely face subregional host and No. 1 seed South Carolina in the second round.
The focus, though, is solely on Indiana.
“I’ve seen (Indiana) from afar, not so much in terms of the detail type of things, but (their) style of play is very similar to us. We like to get up and down,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said in giving an introductory look to an opponent he’ll become more knowledgeable about in the coming days.
This will be the first meeting between the Utes and Hoosiers, the latter of whom finished tied for eighth in the Big Ten Conference. Indiana is 19-12 on the season and 10-8 in Big Ten play and went 1-1 during the conference tournament.
The Hoosiers are battle-tested: they beat four ranked teams during the regular season, including a win over Big 12 school Baylor, and are No. 35 in the NET rankings.
The Big Ten sent a record 12 teams to this year’s NCAA tournament, which led all conferences and was trailed by the SEC (10), ACC (eight) and Big 12 (seven).
The Utes, meanwhile, also have faced a share of NCAA-level talent in their league. In addition to Utah, the Big 12 is represented in the NCAA field by TCU (a 2 seed), as well as Baylor (4), Kansas State (5), West Virginia (6), Oklahoma State (7) and Iowa State (11, in a play-in game).
If there’s one disconcerting thing about that list, it’s this — Utah, ranked No. 26 in the NET rankings, only won one game against the other Big 12 teams that made the NCAA tournament.
That was a road win at Iowa State back in January.
During the nonconference portion of the schedule, the Utes had their most impressive showing of the season, when they beat Notre Dame, which earned a No. 3 seed, in the Cayman Island Classic.
It’s the first time Utah has earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAAs since 2008, when the program was under the leadership of legendary coach Elaine Elliott.
Only once in the four previous times where the Utes have been the 8 seed did they advance out of the first round.
That, of course, has nothing to do with this year’s squad. One of the best advantages Utah will have in its corner is a wealth of players with postseason experience.
For Utah seniors Kennady McQueen, Jenna Johnson and Ines Vieira, this is their fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament. It is, too, for the Utes’ leading scorer, junior Gianna Kneepkens, though she missed the postseason last year due to a broken foot suffered in December that season.
“We’ve just made it the standard to make it to the tournament now, and reflecting on how much of an opportunity it is and to be thankful,” McQueen said. “We’re ready to go.”
Utah has won its first-round game every time with this group, and two years ago, the Utes made the Sweet Sixteen.
“I think that experience is going to bode well for us this time of year. We’re going to rely on them to have to play some significant minutes and kind of elevate the rest of the team to be able to play at that level,” Petersen said.
The first-year head coach, who took over for Lynne Roberts four games into this season, said the Utes will get back on the practice court Monday, with an off day Tuesday, before traveling to the east coast and honing in on their game-planning Wednesday and Thursday.
“I really feel confident with (the veterans) in Utah uniforms to be able to rely on their experience,” he said.
Their leadership and expertise in the postseason will be valuable for some of the younger players on this team such as Reese Ross and Brooke Walker, as well as senior Maye Toure, a transfer from Rhode Island who will be making her first NCAA tournament appearance.
“I think it just gives the group a little level of confidence,” Kneepkens said. “I think when you have people to look up to that’s been in this position of playing in the NCAA tournament where feels like there’s a little extra pressure, because if you lose you’re done, I think it just makes you feel steady and calm out there.”
Indiana, though, is also heavily experienced in the NCAA tournament.
This is the Hoosiers’ sixth straight NCAA appearance. The only time they didn’t play in the NCAAs over the past seven seasons was the 2020 COVID-shortened year, when the NCAA tournament was canceled.
Indiana finished that season with a No. 20 ranking and a 24-8 record.
Each of the past four seasons, Indiana was a 4 seed or higher, and two years ago, the Hoosiers were a 1 seed. That year, Indiana was upset by No. 9 seed Miami in the second round.
Last season, the Hoosiers reached the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to eventual national champion South Carolina by four.
Indiana is paced by junior guard Yarden Garzon, a three-year starter who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this season. On the year, she’s averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
She also leads the Big Ten by shooting 41.5% from 3-point range this season.
Grad student guards Sydney Parrish (11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds) and Chloe Moore-McNeil (9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists) also earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors and bring a long history of NCAA experience to the table.
Karoline Striplin, a senior forward who transferred to Indiana this year after three seasons at Tennessee, played in the NCAAs every year she was with the Volunteers and twice reached the Sweet Sixteen.
She’s averaging 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds this season.
“The Big Ten (is) notably known for their defense, so we’re going to have to figure out ways how to score the ball,” Petersen said of what the Utes will face against the Hoosiers.
The prize, for Friday’s winner, is facing South Carolina, barring No. 16 seed Tennessee Tech pulling off the unthinkable upset in Friday’s other first-round matchup in Columbia.
The Gamecocks are defending national champions and have won two of the past three national titles.
Utah is coming into the NCAA tournament looking to get back to playing its best ball. After going on a seven-game win streak in the middle of the Big 12 slate, the Utes are 2-3 in their last five contests, including a loss to Texas Tech in their lone Big 12 tournament game.
“I think we need to relax. I think we need to fall back on who we are and what we do,” Petersen said. “We’ve been doing it for a long time, so don’t put added pressure on ourselves where it’s a must win or even playing not to lose.”
It’s fair to say that Utah is heading into the mecca of women’s basketball right now, a word that Petersen used to describe Utah’s first-weekend destination.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” Kneepkens said. “I mean, like Gavin said, we have to focus on the first game to even consider being in South Carolina, playing South Carolina, so just getting prepared and locked in to win that first game.”
This is the fifth straight year that South Carolina has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs and the right to host the first two rounds of the tournament.
Over the past four seasons in the eight games South Carolina has hosted an NCAA subregional as a No. 1 seed, the Gamecocks have won each game by an average of 34.8 points.
Last year, South Carolina and Utah played in the Hoophall Women’s Basketball Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut, with the Gamecocks beating the Utes 78-69.
That was a different team for both sides, though, with Alissa Pili leading the Utes and Kamilla Cardoso headlining a deep Gamecocks squad.
What will happen for Utah this time around in the NCAAs?
No matter what, the Utes are determined to showcase the consistency and success the program has experienced in its current run.
“With our crew and the way we’ve been practicing, we’re looking forward to getting back to Utah basketball, being fearless and letting the 3-pointers fly when they’re open,” Petersen said.
“We’re really looking forward to getting back to the court.”
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