How to Watch Alabama vs. Maryland: Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament
This is the time to ignore the numbers.
At least the numbers that most people will be talking about.
When the Alabama women's basketball team takes the floor against Maryland in the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday — yes, against the same school the Crimson Tide men's team just thumped to reach the Sweet 16 — the Terrapins will be significantly favored.
At 25-2, Maryland was seeded second in the Hemisfair Region (named after the historic district in San Antonio). In the final polls before the tournament, the Terrapins were No. 7 in the AP Top 25, and No. 8 according to the coaches.
The Terps have won 14 straight games, dating back to a 88-86 defeat at No. 17 Ohio State on Jan. 25. The other loss was during the season-opening #BeachBubble Tournament in Estero, Fla., to No. 24 Missouri State, 81-72.
Instead, the kind of numbers that the seventh-seeded Crimson Tide needs to focus on tell the story of the grind, like the 96 practices and the 16 straight days of coronavirus testing.
"This team believes, and they believe in the next game, and that's all that matters," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said.
Both Curry and Alabama have been here before, but it's been a while for both.
The coach went all the way to the finals with Purdue in 2000-01, one of four Sweet 16 appearances the Boilermakers made under her direction from 1999-2006.
Alabama is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1999. The Crimson Tide is 17-10 in the NCAA tournament, with its deepest run coming in 1994 when it advanced to the Final Four
This is Maryland's 28th NCAA Tournament appearances. The Terps are 47-26 (.643) all-time in the NCAA Tournament. In their 16 appearances under head coach Brenda Frese, the Terrapins are 35-14 (.714). Frese, who was at Minnesota when Curry was coaching at Purdue, has led the Terrapins to eight Sweet Sixteens, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours and the 2006 NCAA Championship.
Frese was named ESPN National Coach of the Year earlier this month.
Alabama vs. Maryland
What: 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, second round
Where: Bill Greehey Arena, St, Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas
When: Noon, CT
TV: ESPN2 (Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings on the call)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Roger Hoover providing play-by-play)
Series: Maryland is 0-1 vs. Alabama. The Terps fell in their only meeting, 71-56, on Dec. 22, 2001 in Cancun, Mexico, at the Torneo Cancun de Basquetbol.
Scouting Alabama: The Crimson Tide is led by its big three of Ariyah Copeland, Jordan Lewis and Jasmine Walker, who are all seniors. Walker is averaging just shy of a double-double with 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds, while Lewis adds 17.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game and Copeland 14.8 points and 8.7 boards. Walker and Lewis both earned All-SEC honors with Walker on the first team and Lewis on the second team. Walker is top three in the league and ranks top 20 nationally in three-pointers per game (2.85), makes (74) and attempts (185) and is second in the SEC in percentage (40.0). She's also the only player in the SEC to rank in the top five in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. Alabama’s 75.0 point-per-game average is the highest average it has had in nearly two decades. The Crimson Tide leads the SEC in free throw percentage (75.5).
Scouting Maryland: The Terrapins are one of the top offensive teams in the nation with six players averaging over 10.0 points a game while the team scores 91.5 per contest. That leads the nation and is on pace to set a program record. Maryland is also tops in assist/turnover ratio (1.70), is second in three-point FG percentage (.406), third in field goal percentage (.494), and fifth in assists (20.4), scoring margin (+22.2) and FT percentage (.792). Ashley Owusu, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, leads the Terrapins, averaging 18.4 points, 5.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Katie Benzan leads the country in three-point FG percentage (.506).
Last time out, Alabama: Jordan Lewis had a near triple-double with a career-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead seventh-seeded Alabama to an 80-71 victory over 10th-seeded North Carolina in the Alamodome. Lewis was joined in double figures by Hannah Barber (14), Jasmine Walker (13) and Ariyah Copeland (11). Copeland led all rebounders in the game with 12 boards for her 11th double-double of the season, while Megan Abrams added eight points, six assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block. For the game, the Crimson Tide out-rebounded the Tar Heels 46-33 and knocked down 46.0 percent of its attempts from the floor compared to North Carolina’s 37.1 percent. Alabama shared the ball extremely well, with 21 assists on 29 made baskets.
Last time out, Maryland: The Terps opened the NCAA Tournament with a 98-45 victory over Mount St. Mary's in the Alamodome. Maryland went 25-for-30 at the free-throw line (83.3 percent) while earning its biggest win in the NCAA Tournament in program history. Five Terrapins scored in double figures. Ashley Owusu led Maryland with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Diamond Miller added 19 points and Chloe Bibby scored 11 points with 11 boards. Mimi Collins scored 12 points and Angel Reese scored 11 off the bench. Thanks in part to an 18-0 run, Maryland led 53-22 at the half after holding Mount St. Mary's to just four points in the second quarter. Maryland shot 52.3 percent from the field, while Mount St. Mary's went 8 of 36 from 3-point range, 7 of 25 inside the arc, shooting 24.6 percent overall while being out-rebounded by 18, outscored at the foul line by 18 and having 20 turnovers, twice as many as the Terrapins.
