The Aggies (25-6) have been awarded a home game against Idaho (19-13) on Thursday the 15th in the first round of the 64 team WNIT. Game time is TBA.
This great news for this very deserving team especially after the heartbreak of losing in the Big West Tournament. This is also the first post-season home game for any Aggie basketball team in the D1 era.
The tournament has a 3 game guarantee which is really nice for all the teams. I wish they did that for the men too.
WNIT Format
The event features a three-game guarantee format. All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools at their home facility.
The initial round of the event involves eight sites hosted by participating institutions. The winner’s bracket looks identical to past Preseason tournaments.
First Round Winners
The eight Round One winners will continue on in traditional bracket play, with half of them hosting the other half in separate host sites. The winning teams will continue on, with separate host sites throughout the semifinals and championship. The two teams in the championship game will play four games in the tournament.
Round 1 Losers
The eight teams that lose their first games will be re-grouped into “Consolation bracket quads,” which will be two four-team pools. The teams may be re-shuffled from their original sides of the bracket, so they could play any other first-round loser in the tournament. One team in each pool is selected to host the other three teams. Each team will play two games for a total of three in the tournament. These are called Consolation Rounds 1 and 2.
Round 2 Losers (from original bracket)
Of the four Round 2/quarterfinal losing teams, two teams will be selected to host one of the other quarterfinal round losers in a single game at separate sites. The teams may be re-shuffled from their original sides of the bracket, so they could play any other Round 2 loser in the tournament. This game provides the third game for each of these schools. This round is Consolation Round 3.
We need to get a good crowd out to the Pavilion for the game to support the Ags. I think the WNIT committee considers crowd size as a factor for getting a second home game also. I know that is something they consider in awarded the first round home sites.
Here is the ticket info:
Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday (March 13) at Noon online at UCDavisAggies.com, in person at the UC Davis athletics ticket office at Aggie Stadium on campus, and over the phone by calling (530) 752-AGS1. Courtside seats are available for $15, reserved seats are $13, with general admission tickets going for $11.
I believe that BigWestTV will stream the game from the Pavilion. I just looked at the page which shows they intend to provide links but haven't yet updated the links.
Lets get as many Aggie supporters, Students, faculty and staff to this game! I assume the Chancellor and wife will be attending....These group of outstanding college women have performed at a high level all year long.... I just returned from practice and these ladies are playing great!!!!
I have secured my tickets to the game as well as whole row of folks in section 110!
G-man
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest money. I didn't know until I started looking at the websites this year that the WNIT has nothing to do with the NIT other than some commonality of name and initials.
The NIT was founded in 1938 and was owned and operated by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Ass'n. In 2005 the NIT was sold to the NCAA which has operated it ever since. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Invitation_Tournament
The WNIT began with the National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) which operated from 1969 to 1996. Wikipedia's cannot come up with a sponsor for the original NWIT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Women%27s_Invitational_Tournament In 1994 a business called Triple Crown Sports in Ft. Collins, CO, created a pre-season women's tourney called the WNIT. As noted above the NWIT folded in 1996. In 1998 Triple Crown Sports resurrected the NWIT post season tournament and the following year changed the name to the WNIT. The WNIT is still run by Triple Crown Sports, not the NCAA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_National_Invitation_Tournament
I suspect that the WNIT doesn't have the funds yet to do a lot of seeding, and still has to consider travel, the ability and willingness of schools to host games, etc.
I love my Lady Ags so much. I wish them the best tonight. Saw their team picture. I think they are the best and most beautiful bunch of successfully athletic young woman I have ever seen. Psychiatrist friend of mine once said that there is a very strong correlation between woman’s attractiveness and intelligence (look at some Hollywood stars: Reese, etc.) but also with athleticism. We have it both here with this team. Win or lose tonight I will always love this special team.