2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
The birthplace of Rock and Roll was honored with a guitar on the 2007 Women's Final Four logo.
Teams	64
Finals site	Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio
Champions	Tennessee (7th title)
Runner-up	Rutgers (1st title game)
Semifinalists	North Carolina (3rd Final Four) LSU (4th Final Four)
Winning coach	Pat Summitt (7th title)
MOP	Candace Parker Tennessee
NCAA Women's Division I Tournaments «2006  2008»

The 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17, 2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Final Four consisted of Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers, and North Carolina, with Tennessee defeating Rutgers 59-46 for their seventh National Title. Tennessee's Candace Parker was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Subregionals

Austin

Minneapolis

Stanford

Los Angeles

East Lansing

Hartford

Pittsburgh

Raleigh

2007 NCAA subregionals

Once again, the system was the same as the Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, with the exception that only 64 teams go and there is no play-in game. Automatic bids are secured by 31 conference champions and 33 at-large bids.

The subregionals, which once again used the "pod system", keeping most teams at or close to the home cities, were held from March 17 to 20 at these locations:

• March 17 and 19:

Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)

Williams Arena, Minneapolis (Host: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)

Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)

Galen Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of Southern California)

• March 18 and 20:

Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan (Host: Michigan State University)

XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: University of Pittsburgh)

RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)

Regionals

Fresno

Greensboro

Dallas

Dayton

Cleveland

2007 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

The regionals were held from March 24 to 27 in the following regions. The regionals, as they were in the previous two tournaments, were named after the city they were played in.

• March 24 and 26:

Fresno Regional, Save Mart Center, Fresno, California (Host: Fresno State University)

Greensboro Regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference)

• March 25 and 27:

Dallas Regional, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Hosts: Conference USA and Southern Methodist University)

Dayton Regional, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

The regional winners advanced to the Final Four, held on April 1 and 3 , 2007 at Quicken Loans Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio, hosted by both Cleveland State University and the Mid-American Conference.

Qualifying teams

Automatic bids School Record Conference Boise State 24-8 WAC Bowling Green 28-3 MAC Chattanooga 25-7 Southern Drake 14-18 MVC East Carolina 19-13 Conference USA Gonzaga 24-9 West Coast Harvard 14-12 Ivy League Holy Cross 15-17 Patriot League Marist 27-5 MAAC UMBC 16-16 America East Middle Tennessee 28-3 Sun Belt North Carolina 30-3 ACC Oklahoma 24-4 Big 12 Old Dominion 24-8 CAA Oral Roberts 21-10 Mid-Continent Purdue 28-5 Big 10 Prairie View 19-13 SWAC Rutgers 22-8 Big East Southeast Missouri 24-7 Ohio Valley Stanford 28-4 Pacific-10 Vanderbilt 27-5 SEC Xavier 26-7 Atlantic 10 Brackets Data source (*) - Number of asterisks denotes number of overtimes. Dallas Regional   First round March 17-18 Second round March 19-20 Regional semifinals March 25 Regional finals March 27                                       1  North Carolina 95   16  Prairie View A&M 38     1  North Carolina 60   Pittsburgh, PA   9  Notre Dame 51   8  California 59 9  Notre Dame 62     1  North Carolina 70     5  George Washington 56   5  George Washington 76   12  Boise State 67     5  George Washington 59 Los Angeles, CA   4  Texas A&M 47   4  Texas A&M 58 13  Texas - Arlington 50     1  North Carolina 84   2  Purdue 72 6  Iowa State 79   11  Washington 60     6  Iowa State 56 Minneapolis, MN   3  Georgia 76   3  Georgia 53 14  Belmont 36     3  Georgia 65   2  Purdue 78   7  Georgia Tech 55   10  DePaul 54     7  Georgia Tech 63 Minneapolis, MN   2  Purdue 76   2  Purdue 63 15  Oral Roberts 42   Dayton Regional   First round March 17-18 Second round March 19-20 Regional semifinals March 25 Regional finals March 27                                       1  Tennessee 76   16  Drake 37     1  Tennessee 68   Pittsburgh, PA   8  Pittsburgh 54   8  Pittsburgh 71 9  James Madison 61     1  Tennessee 65     13  Marist 46   5  Middle Tennessee St. 85   12  Gonzaga 46     5  Middle Tennessee State 59 Stanford, CA   13  Marist 73   4  Ohio State 63 13  Marist 67     1  Tennessee 98   7  Mississippi 62 6  Marquette 87   11  LA-Lafeyette 58     6  Marquette 47 Austin, TX   3  Oklahoma 78   3  Oklahoma 74 14  SE Missouri State 60     3  Oklahoma 82   7  Mississippi 90   7  Mississippi 88   10  TCU 74     7  Mississippi 89 Hartford, CT   2  Maryland 78   2  Maryland 89 15  Harvard 65   Fresno Regional   First round March 17-18 Second round March 19-20 Regional semifinals March 24 Regional finals March 26                                       1  Connecticut 82   16  UMBC 33     1  Connecticut 94   Hartford, CT   9  Wisconsin–Green Bay 70   8  New Mexico 52 9  Wisconsin–Green Bay 59     1  Connecticut 78     4  N.C. State 71   5  Baylor 68   12  Chattanooga 55     5  Baylor 72 Raleigh, NC   4  N.C. State 78*   4  N.C. State 84 13  Robert Morris 52     1  Connecticut 50   3  LSU 73 6  Xavier 52   11  West Virginia 65     11  West Virginia 43 Austin, TX   3  LSU 49   3  LSU 77 14  UNC-Asheville 39     3  LSU 55   10  Florida State 43   7  Old Dominion 75   10  Florida State 85     10  Florida State 68 Stanford, CA   2  Stanford 61   2  Stanford 96 15  Idaho State 58   Greensboro Regional   First round March 17-18 Second round March 19-20 Regional semifinals March 24 Regional finals March 26                                       1  Duke 81   16  Holy Cross 44     1  Duke 62   Raleigh, NC   8  Temple 52   8  Temple 64 9  Nebraska 61     1  Duke 52     4  Rutgers 53   5  Michigan State 69   12  Delaware 58     5  Michigan State 57 East Lansing, MI   4  Rutgers 70   4  Rutgers 77 13  East Carolina 34     4  Rutgers 64   3  Arizona State 45 6  Louisville 80   11  BYU 54     6  Louisville 58 Los Angeles, CA   3  Arizona State 67   3  Arizona State 57 14  UC Riverside 50     3  Arizona State 67   7  Bowling Green 49   7  Bowling Green 70   10  Oklahoma State 66     7  Bowling Green 60 East Lansing, MI   2  Vanderbilt 59   2  Vanderbilt 62 15  Delaware State 47   Final Four - Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio   National Semifinals April 1 National Championship April 3                   DAL 1  North Carolina 50   DAY 1  Tennessee 56       DAY 1  Tennessee 59   GRE 4  Rutgers 46 FRE 3  LSU 35 GRE 4  Rutgers 59   Regional Initials: DAL-Dallas; DAY-Dayton; FRE-Fresno; GRE-Greensboro. Television and radio As it had every year since 2003, ESPN and ESPN2 televised all 63 games. The first two rounds were presented on a regional basis. In some cases, a complete game of interest to a particular region were shown. However, most of the telecasts were in a "whip-around" format, with the specific game being shown changed on occasion and the endings to all close games or potential major upsets included.[1] [2][3][4] All games not shown on either ESPN or ESPN2 in a local market area were available to subscribers of ESPN Full Court, a pay-per-view package available on most major cable and satellite providers. Select games were also simulcast on ESPNU and ESPN360. All games from the regional semifinals forward were televised nationally on either ESPN or ESPN2, in both standard-definition and high-definition formats. The Final Four was on ESPN. In addition, the championship game was presented in the ESPN Full Circle format. ESPN had three announcers at each site: a play-by-play announcer, a color commentator, and a sideline reporter. (In contrast, CBS Sports, which covers nearly every game of the men's tournament, did not use sideline reporters until the Final Four.) Mike Patrick, Doris Burke, Holly Rowe and Mark Jones had those respective roles at the Final Four site in Cleveland. Patrick, Burke and Rowe also covered the Greensboro regional. Burke, who had been a sideline reporter at previous Final Fours, replaced Ann Meyers, who had that role for at least the last four years. Meyers is now the general manager of the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. Other regional broadcast teams were: Dallas regional - Jones, Nancy Lieberman, and Rebecca Lobo Dayton regional - Dave Pasch, Brenda VanLengen, and Heather Cox Fresno regional - Pam Ward, Jimmy Dykes, and Beth Mowins Some of the other ESPN commentators during earlier rounds included Linda Cohn, Dave Revsine, Dave Barnett, Fran Fraschilla, and Van Chancellor. Trey Wingo was the studio host, with analysts Kara Lawson and Stacey Dales. Mowins and Debbie Antonelli called the Final Four action on Westwood One radio. Comments Judy Southard, an athletics administrator at Louisiana State University, is the head of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee, which selected and seeded the teams for this event. Southard carried on her duties despite an ongoing scandal in which the head women's basketball coach, Pokey Chatman, resigned after it was alleged that she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her former players. When asked about the scandal on the ESPN program announcing the tournament field and matchups, Southard declined to comment, saying that she wanted the focus to be on the players and teams in the tourney. This was the first tournament since the NCAA began sanctioning women's basketball in which Louisiana Tech is not a participant. This leaves Tennessee as the only program to appear in all 26 events. Texas was not in the tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in its history. (At about the same moment that the selections were announced, Jody Conradt, who won 900 games and a championship during her tenure, resigned as the team's head coach.) Marist College was the first current MAAC participant to win in the NCAA tournament. The MAAC was previously 0-21 in the tournament under its current membership. Marist also matched the record for the lowest seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen as a 13 seed. Texas A&M did so in 1994 and Liberty also accomplished this in 2005. The Final Four logo features a guitar that resembles the Fender Stratocaster, marking the fact that Cleveland serves as the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also, the opening teases on the ESPN telecasts featured an actress playing a disc jockey and mock-up vinyl album covers with players and coaches pictured, to further advance the theme. At the Final Four, a picture of a guitar was applied onto the playing surface with a wood finish, and ESPN used classic rock and roll and R&B songs to lead out into some of the commercial breaks. Rutgers' cinderella performance in the NCAA tournament was the indirect catalyst of a chain of events that led to CBS Radio firing nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus and to a car accident that nearly killed New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. After their underdog performance, Don Imus mentioned the Rutgers women's basketball team in his radio program, where he referred to the team as "nappy-headed hos." This led to CBS radio firing Don Imus. In an attempt to apologize to the Rutgers' basketball team, Don Imus apologized to the Rutgers team in person at the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton, New Jersey. The meeting was also to be attended by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, but on his way to the meeting, he was involved in an auto accident that left him in critical condition. See also 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament 2007 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Notes External links