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One NCAA basketball Sweet Sixteen ended Friday night. Another began Saturday. The Sweet Sixteen that started Saturday is the one that too many Terps fans regard with indifference but it's the one that consistently has a Maryland team playing in it. Yes, I'm writing about the women's Tournament.
For the second consecutive year, the Maryland women's team played themselves into a fourth seed during the regular season So for the second consecutive year, the Terps get to face the top seed in the regional semi-final. And for the second straight year, the Terrapins have drawn the bluest of the blue bloods in women's basketball. Last year it was Connecticut - who went on to win their eighth national championship. This year it's Tennessee - who can already lay claim to eight trips to the top of the mountain.
This is Maryland's sixth Sweet Sixteen appearance under coach Brenda Frese and the Terps are an impressive 4-1 in the previous five. the Lady Vols are making their second trip to the regional semi-final under their coach, Holly Warlick. They won their only previous trip under Warlick. Of course, it is only her second year at the helm.
Under the previous coach, Pat Summitt, Tennessee reached this round thirty times. Summitt guided her team to wins in twenty-five of those appearances. By the way, this is the thirty-third NCAA Tournament so only once in those 33 years have the Lady Vols failed to reach at least this far.
Want to do some pre-game reading about the game? Testudo Times has provided plenty of material so you don't need to be unfaithful.
Here's how to watch and more from Ben "Am I on the right" Strack.
Interested in an overview of Maryland's region? If you haven't read it yet, you're a little late to the party but I wrote about it here.
I've shared what little I know about Tennessee in this story.
Who will win the war on the inside? Are the Terps primed for an upset? Will they be the first lower seed to win in this year's Sweet Sixteen? Here's your chance to predict. The game thread is also your chance to keep the uninformed informed. And,