THE ONE IN THE 1-ON-1 TOURNAMENT

Valentine’s Day is for lovers and for lovers of great basketball!

On Saturday night, the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament concluded with the semifinals and finals. In the first semifinal matchup, it was a Team USA/Las Vegas Aces showdown as former teammates Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray faced off.

Leading up to the semis, Gray defeated Natasha Cloud, Jackie Young, and Paige Bueckers while Plum beat Natisha Hiedeman and Kelsey Mitchell. Plum gave her former teammate a heck of a battle and jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but Gray rallied and advanced with a 12-8 win.

The other semifinal matchup was a battle of South Carolina Gamecocks. To get to this matchup, Allisha Gray defeated Saniya Rivers and Rae Burrell. On the other side, Aliyah Boston beat Breanna Stewart and Aaliyah Edwards.

The class of 2017 defeated the class of 2023, 12-10. Gray jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but Boston went on a 10-0 run of her own to take the lead. Gray battled one of the best bigs in basketball, and it certainly took a lot to come away with the win

The Finals were set as the two stars faced off for the $200,000 prize

The game was a battle of will and toughness throughout. I love when you see the desperation and resolve kick in during a close game. It shows just how much the players want to win, and as a viewer, it’s what you want to watch in a game with stakes.

For Chelsea, this win was extra special.

“I think this one is just different because I keep on defying expectations, man, and that's what I'm all about,” Gray said in the postgame. “I'm trying to just be great every single time I step on the floor.”

The tournament was a success for Unrivaled. We got to see players showcase their expansive skill sets in a series of great games. And with the postseason coming soon, the weekend will serve as a springboard to even more exciting basketball.

THE DUKE RESURGENCE CONTINUES!

Here’s the latest in the AP’s Top 25 rankings:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14

HOW WILL THE LONGHORNS RESPOND?

Sometimes, you just have a feeling. Deep in your gut, you know something is wrong and you can’t figure out how to fix it. You see the problem, want to fix it, but you just can’t. It’s an unsettling feeling and one you hope doesn’t come back to hurt you. For Vic Schaefer and the University of Texas, they’ve got a feeling that they can’t quite shake.

On February 12, Texas went on the road to face Vanderbilt in a Top 5 showdown. There were a lot of expectations that this latest installment of the SEC Rumble would be a thriller. However, Texas had its worst showing of the season, losing 86-70.

The 16-point margin doesn’t tell the whole story of Vanderbilt’s dominance, as they led by as much as 26 points during the game. It was a disappointing effort for the Longhorns, and one that Vic Schaefer wasn’t going to stand for.

Following the game, Schaefer joined the postgame press conference and got down to business immediately. He began by crediting Shea Ralph and Vanderbilt for their toughness and effort. But for his team? This is how he began:

“Quite frankly, we had no heart.”

Oh dear. Schaefer bemoaned the team’s lack of aggressiveness and physicality in the game, took the blame for the loss, called them the softest team he’s ever had, questioned their heart, was frustrated with the team not sticking to the scout the coaching staff developed over the past two weeks, etc. With another tough road game waiting for them in Tennessee, here’s how he ended the opening statement part of the presser:

“We're going to have to bring our hearts with us. Some of us left our heart back in Austin, Texas.”

With that, Texas made its way to Knoxville for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Volunteers. This was the third Sunday matchup against a Top 5 team this month for Kim Caldwell’s club. How did the first two games go?

A 30-point loss to Connecticut on February 1 and the worst margin of defeat in school history, a 43-point defeat to South Carolina on February 8. Two disastrous losses like that were enough for Kim Caldwell to share an uncomfortable truth about her team.

"We just had a lot of quit in us tonight," Caldwell said following the South Carolina game. "And that's been something that's been consistent with our team is ― we're not comfortable, and things don't go our way, and I have a team that'll just quit on you. And you can't do that in big games, can't do that anytime in the SEC, but you certainly can't do that at a program like this."

We’ve got two teams desperately in need of a win and a national TV showcase to shake off the recent stigma surrounding their teams. Texas looked like itself for much of the night and had a ten-point lead with around 3:36 to go.

However, Tennessee went on a bad dash to the finish line and had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Tennessee couldn’t get a shot up to tie as Texas's tremendous help defense disrupted its final possession, leading to a 65-63 Longhorns victory.

After the game, some of the discussion centered on the coaches’ comments during the week. Here’s Schaefer:

The road to the Final Four is arduous. The pressure is always on, the margin for error is minimal, and one bad stretch can end your season.

Texas has a lot of pressure on them to win, and they’re going to need to stick together if they want to reach their goals.

ROAD TRIP!

Unrivaled in Philadelphia was such a hit that they’ve decided to raise the stakes.

On February 13, the league announced that the semifinals of this year’s playoffs will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The games will take place on Monday, March 2, and the winners will advance to the Final on March 4.

Philadelphia was announced months in advance, which helped lay the groundwork for the January games. This trip is more spur-of-the-moment, a fact not lost on Unrivaled leadership.

“This is very much a pop-up,” Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell told Front Office Sports. “We’re not going to judge our success the same way we would Philly. But of course, we want to sell as many seats as possible.”

Barclays Center has been a tremendous host for women’s basketball with the New York Liberty and various women’s college basketball events.

It’s shaping up to be a great women’s basketball week in New York City as Connecticut will play St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on March 1 and Unrivaled the next day.

The Brooklyn games will be crucial for Unrivaled. Big arenas like Barclays will go a long way in helping Unrivaled build its fanbase. Brooklyn is a great atmosphere and will add even more to the games. Another great showing will power Unrivaled into an exciting future.

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

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