On Sunday March 23, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in Norfolk, VA in round one of the New Orleans Regional. 

This marks the 25th appearance in the last 27 years and the 14th straight trip to the NCAA tournament for Georgia. The last time Georgia faced Iowa was almost thirteen years ago in the semifinals of the Carolinas Beach Classic (Myrtle Beach, SC).  Georgia defeated Iowa 79-52 and went on to become the runners up in the 1996 NCAA tournament. 

The Lady Bulldogs (22-9) are ranked No.24 in the most recent ESPN/USA Today's poll. They haven't played since March 7, when they lost to Kentucky 57-50 in the SEC tournament (as a Georiga fan, I prefer to call that a "torment" not tournament) quarterfinals.  Since then they've been spending a lot of time in the gym working on defending the three-pointer from the perimeter (Iowa's backcourt is ranked in the top 10 in the country) and in general how to play basketball (yes, that was a personal remark). According to head coach Andy Landers, Georgia will "change to some extent the way they normally defend the perimeter, not necessarily because Iowa shoots the three but because they have the ability to unload so quickly".

Tasha Humphrey leads the Lady Bulldogs in points per game at 16.8 and averages 9.0 rebounds per game. In NCAA tournament play, Tasha has a .469 field goal shooting percentage and .783 from the line.  She's averaged 19.8 pg with 8.2 rpg.  Earlier this week Humphrey became the third player in league history to be named to the first-team All-SEC by both league coaches and media on four occasions and is on pace to become the second Lady Bulldogs to lead Georgia in scoring and rebounding for four straight seasons. 

Sophomore Ashley Houts (second-team All-SEC) also averages in double figures with 11.8 ppg and leads the team in both assists (4.6) and steals (2.7).  In NCAA tournament play Houts leads the Bulldogs with 12 steals and a perfect 8-8 in free throws.  She's second in scoring averaging 11.7 ppg. 

In the past five seasons the Bulldogs have made it to the regional semi finals. However, they've never been ranked lower than a six seed in doing so. As a number eight seed it's going to be a lot tougher this time as the winner of this game goes on to play number one seed North Carolina.  But head coach Andy Landers makes it a point not to focus on what remains beyond game one.  "It's not about a bracket, and it's not a four-team tournament," Landers said. "It's a one-team tournament. You don't have to beat everybody in the bracket to win the tournament. The national champion is only going to beat six teams. At this point, I think our players, with most of them having experience in the tournament, have enough confidence to get the job done."

 

Coming off a tie for their regular season and having advanced to the semifinals in Big Ten play, the Iowa Hawkeyes (21-10) were expecting a higher seeding and certainly not an 8 or 9.  "Nobody wants to be a No. 9 seed because if you win, your next matchup is a No. 1 seed," head coach Lis Bluder said. 

This will be the Hawkeyes second appearance in the last three seasons and their 17th NCAA tournament overall.   At seventh-best in the nation for 3-point shooting, from beyond the arc they connect almost 40 percent (38.8) of the time. 

It's no secret that the Hawkeyes game is all about the perimeter. With a trio of double-digit scorers, Iowa brings a lot to the table so you better be ready for dinner.  Junior, Kirsty Smith leads the way averaging 13.2 ppg.  Offering side dishes are Wendy Ausdemore (11.5 ppg) and Johanna Selverson (10.4 ppg).  Ausdemore is the fifth-most accurate 3-point shooter in the country (45.1 percent).

This is a very balanced team. In addition to being a veteran team, they also play both ends of the floor well.  This is something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Georgia head coach Andy Landers.  "The thing that I think was probably most impressive, that I've seen on tape, is they got behind 15 points or so against Ohio State and if you walked in the room and started watching tape, you wouldn't know that they were behind.  They just keep playing their game and as it would turn out by the end of the game, they had it back to a four or five point game where they wanted to be."

Who wins?   On paper these teams matchup fairly even.  The Lady Bulldogs certainly have have their hands full getting out of this with a "W".  With Iowa's backcourt, tenacity at the perimeter and seasoned players, it's a coin toss.  And as with most #8 vs. #9 matchups, this really is anyone's game.  A MUST for Geogia to win - Tasha Humphrey will have to live up to her tournament record and her ability.  In her last outing she had a DISMAL preformance or more aptly said "lack of performance" as she shot 3-12 for a grand total of six points in the loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament.  She'll have to play smart and stay out of foul trouble.  I totally believe Georgia can pull out a win here, but if they don't stay focused for even a small amount of time it could be curtains.

An impetus for Iowa to win?  Their regular season co-champion, Ohio State has already fallen in first round play as Florida State shocked us all winning 60-49 yesterday.  Makes one wonder if that sixth-seed to Ohio State should have gone to Iowa instead.  I for one, think it should have, but as a Georgia fan, I still hope we win.