WHAT A HOOT: Marla Brumfield and Rice had something to hoot about after the 13th-seeded Owls upset No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
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Player of the day:
We sure could have picked UAB's Deanna Jackson again, but we're also impressed with Iowa State's Desiré Francis. When Stacy Frese struggled a bit Sunday, Francis came through, sinking some clutch 3-pointers in the second half to lead the come-from-behind win over Illinois.
Sorry to see you go:
Speaking of, picture this: an all-Catchings NCAA final as Illinois and Tauja Catchings take on Tennessee and Tamika Catchings. Of course, the Illini were eliminated Sunday, but many thanks to that other Catchings sister for a great year.
Fearless prediction:
Purdue will not win its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament game. Oklahoma, however, will win its second straight.
Food for thought:
Alabama-Birmingham ranked No. 45 on the latest Ratings Percentage Index, with a No. 16 ranking for strength of schedule.
Crowd control:
Not that it matters, but it was nice to see Doug Flutie in the stands cheering on his alma mater, Boston College. Same goes for Marcus Fizer, a member of the Sweet 16-bound Iowa State men's team who was cheering on Francis and Co.
User Message of the Day:
After steve6868 complained that NHL 2Night shouldn't have been preempted on "EPSN2" for a women's NCAA Tournament game -- "Why play some lame basketball game when there's a perfectly good hockey highlight show that could be on?" he wrote -- JACKedUp312 gets the nod for responding with, "Why should we take your word for it ... you can't even spell ESPN!! Way to go, Einstein."
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C-USA not so confusing
 | | Brandi Stallings, left, and UAB had reason to smile. | |
On Sunday, Alabama-Birmingham became the first team from Conference USA to earn a spot in the Sweet 16.
But while some might chuckle at the old Red, White and Blue division thing or that the league's shortened name comes up as "Confusa," be warned, writes ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel. After all, there's no confusing what happened out in Eugene, Ore., in the subregional: The best team won.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Will Leon Barmore's announcement help or hinder La. Tech for the rest of the tournament? |
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Believe it or not, I don't think it does either one. He's not a real emotional coach with them. Rather, he sits there on the bench with that same old look on his face game after game.
Also, his players don't play for the love of Leon. He doesn't have that relationship with them, and instead has more of a distant relationship with his players.
And above all, Louisiana Tech's seniors are the ones who carry the team. Neither Tamicha Jackson nor Betty Lennox seem like they're sad for his sake. They're playing for themselves. They aren't the type of players to let a lot of emotion into their game. They're just 100-mph kind of players no matter what.
As for Leon, he has seemed relieved since he made the announcement. At Sunday's news conference, he was very laid back and humorous.
-- ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel, who has been covering games in Ruston, La., all weekend.
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TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE
Nearly 50,000 folks joined the women's Tournament Challenge. And as we roll out an updated version of the Tournament Dish each game day, we'll continue to provide an inside look at how the users filled out their brackets.
• 0.004 percent picked UAB to win it all
• 12,788 picked all four No. 1 seeds to reach Philly
• 10.8 percent said Iowa State would make it there
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Bio Rhythms: Tasha Pointer
| |  | | Pointer has helped Rutgers reach the Sweet 16. |
To give fans an inside look at the personalities behind March Madness, ESPN.com asked more than 20 players to share information about themselves. Look for the Tournament Dish's "Bio Rhythms" -- a fun and humorous look at the athlete by the athlete -- throughout the women's NCAA Tournament.
The series continues with a look at Rutgers junior Tasha Pointer, who can actually make the ultimate boast for a basketball player:
She beat Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one.
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