Central Michigan University Athletics
Sweet Sixteen routine: Practice, film and interviews
3/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Day two in Spokane started with a team breakfast. Adidas provided shoes and a jacket to team members. Some players visited a mall to for a quick shopping trip. The Chippewas returned to Gonzaga University for a mid-day practice.
There were more interviews for CMU coach Sue Guevara as the 11th-seeded Chippewas (30-4) move closer to the 6 p.m. ET game Saturday against No. 2 seeded Oregon (32-4). Regional television and the Associated Press interviewed her Tuesday. The New York Times checked in on Wednesday. Today, ESPN reporters needed time.
Guevara and her staff watched film of Oregon on the flight to Spokane, and the research continued once they were on the ground.
"What is it we are going to try and take away?" Guevara said Tuesday. "What is it we are going to try and disrupt? And then how are we going to exploit some of things they do offensively? Until I have something firmer in my brain, that's all I can tell you."
The Spokane Regional schedule
Saturday, March 24
- 4 p.m.ET: Notre Dame (31-3) vs. Texas A&M (26-9)
- 6 p.m. ET: Oregon (32-4) vs. Central Michigan (30-4)
Monday, March 26
- 9 p.m. ET: Elite Eight game
All games will be on ESPN with announcers LaChina Robinson and Dave Pasch. WMHW-FM, 91.5 will broadcast the CMU-Oregon game.
Who are the Ducks?
Oregon enters the game on an 11-game winning streak. Like Ohio State, the Ducks enter as a regular-season and league tournament champion. The Ducks haven't lost since Feb. 4 when Stanford beat them, 78-65. All four of the Ducks' losses came against ranked teams - Louisville, Mississippi State, Oregon State and Stanford.
Oregon reached the Elite Eight last season as a No. 10 seed. Earlier this week, Oregon coach Kelly Graves said he was impressed by CMU's second-round 95-78 victory against Ohio State.
"It was an upset in seed line only," Graves said. "After watching them as much as I have, I'll tell you, they are really good. They can all shoot it, they can all handle it, they can all pass it, play unselfishly and play hard. It's a good team."
Oregon reached the Elite Eight last season as a No. 10 seed. Graves, in his fourth season at Oregon, has an idea of what the Chippewas are going through.
"The advantage we have is that we were that team last year."
Oregon is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.2 percent), first in 3-point percentage (40.6 percent) and sixth in assists (19.4 per game).
CMU has 310 3-pointers this season, the 10th best total in the nation. Oregon has 321 and ranks ninth. CMU is seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 82.7 points a game. Oregon is eighth at 82.6.
"They're big, 6-4, 6-4, All-American guard in (Sabrina) Ionescu, all five can shoot the three," Guevara said. "They love to run, I think they have four players in double figures - we have five. They are very similar to what we are in that they love to get out, and they have five people that can shoot the three, love the transition and they love the fast style of play."
Oregon has several weapons, starting with Ionescu:
- Sabrina Ionescu, a 5-11 sophomore guard. Ionescu is a first-team All-American, a finalist for the Wooden Award, the Wade Trophy, the Dawn Staley Award and the Nancy Lieberman Award. She leads Oregon in scoring with 19.6 points a game, 3-pointers, assists and steals.
- Ruthy Heberd, a 6-4 sophomore forward. Heberd leads the Ducks in rebounding, grabbing 8.8 per game, and blocks, with 52. She also scores 17.5 points a game.
- Maite Cazorla, a 5-10 junior guard. Cazorla, whose hometown is Las Palmas, Spain, averages 10.9 points a game and has 50 steals and has made 59 3-pointers.
- Satou Sabally, a 6-4 freshman forward. Satou, from Berlin, Germany, has started 27 games and averages 10.8 points a game and is third on the team in rebounding and fourth in 3-pointers.
- Lexi Bando, a 5-9 senior guard. Bando has started 27 games and is the only senior who sees significant playing time for the Ducks. She averages 10.3 points a game and has made 75 3-pointers, second only to Ionescu.
Sweet Sixteen shirts for CMU fans
A maroon jersey with a gold and white "Sweet 16" design is available online or in person from the CMU Bookstore. The store also offers Team 50, road to Final Four and MAC champions shirts.
