HOUSTON - Houston Baptist had one of the worst weekends in women’s college basketball history.
It hurts to look at the scores. The Huskies got hammered 104-35 by Duke on Friday night, then got demolished 109-30 by TCU on Sunday.
Coach Todd Buchanan would do it again. Gladly.“It was incredible,” Buchanan told The Associated Press by phone. “I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”
The women’s basketball season is only a few days old and already there have been plenty of blowouts, including No. 1 Connecticut’s 70-point trouncing of Northeastern. There have been five routs of at least 69 points after only three such lopsided games all of last season, according to STATS LLC.
It’s easy to understand since there’s still a huge disparity in talent between the top teams and the rest. UConn’s 11th player is still better than a lot of other school’s star.
But despite the one-sided affairs, no one on either side seems to be complaining.
Why are these coaches happy after getting routed?
· Exposure. An overmatched team, like Northeastern, may still want to give its players a chance to see how it feels to play at the top level.
· Recruiting. High school prospects who aren’t being courted by
UConn, Duke or Tennessee might like the chance to play against them.
· Guarantees. A smaller school can make up to $25,000 to play at a bigger venue, money that can help fill the budget down the road. Iona, which is playing at Notre Dame this weekend, is also getting tickets to see the Fighting Irish’s football game vs. Connecticut.
Houston Baptist, which is transitioning from NAIA to Division I, was thrilled to have the then-No. 6 team in the country come and play them in their tiny 1,500-seat arena—one of the smallest in the country.
“I felt like once they called us it was an absolute win-win in every way,” Buchanan said. “It’s a great marketing tool for our university and program. If we can get people to come out for whatever reason, let them come see us. I’ve already got people wanting to come back.
“We’re trying to give our fundraising efforts the vision, energy and exposure and let them see how desperate and needy we are for a new facility.”
The Blue Devils were trying to find a game near the hometown of junior Karima Christmas. When no one else in the area would play them, Houston Baptist stepped up.
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie was impressed with the atmosphere at the small school.
“It was absolutely crazy and insane and like a party,” McCallie said. “They didn’t stop cheering even when we were up 30, they were still screaming. You’d much rather play in a place like that than a quiet, half-empty gym.”
Houston Baptist gave its fans something to cheer about early on.
The Huskies led 2-0, and still had a two-point lead 5 minutes in.
“When we came into that first media timeout the place erupted,” Buchanan said. “We were given a standing ovation for the entire media timeout.”
That just seemed to spur the Blue Devils, who went on a 57-8 run.
UConn didn’t even give Northeastern a glimmer of hope, scoring the game’s first 28 points in the 105-35 rout Saturday. Despite the 70-point loss, Northeastern coach Daynia La-Force Mann wouldn’t hesitate to play UConn again.
“It is never a nightmare playing against the University of Connecticut,” the coach said after the loss. “I wanted my team to have a feel for this championship atmosphere and I think any coach who does not take the opportunity to do so is foolish.”
Buchanan also has a plan in mind. His team will become eligible for the NCAA tournament when his young players are juniors and seniors. The game against Duke gave his team a taste of what the NCAA tournament atmosphere might be like.
“I want them to experience it now. This experience is priceless in the big picture,” he said. “It’s my thought process in doing it.”
LSU coach Van Chancellor saw his team beat Centenary 92-19 over the weekend.
“You’re caught out there with games where there’s not as much talent to go around,” he said. “Some programs are in a rebuilding mode. With 13 minutes to go we got our third team in. They go in there and want to prove something. You’re not going to ask them to let up.”
Chancellor is friendly with Centenary coach Bojan Jankovic, and hoped the Ladies got something out of the game.
“You play in our building, it’s an arena that Centenary doesn’t get to play in all the time. We had local TV, local newspaper, lot of people covering the game,” he said. “They normally don’t get to play in a 14,000-seat arena. Those are the things that benefit.”
