Badgers Meet WNIT foe Villanova in Paradise Jam
April 29, 2008 | Women's Basketball
The University of Wisconsin will meet 2008 WNIT foe Villanova in the first round of the Paradise Jam Tournament Nov. 27-29 on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is the second visit to the island area for the Badgers, who placed third in the 2001 Paradise Jam Tournament.
Eight division I women's basketball teams will participate in the 9th annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands. Seven of the eight participants reached the post season in 2008: the three NCAA tournament participants include Baylor, California and Iowa. Four played in the post-season WNIT including: South Florida, Texas Tech, Villanova and Wisconsin. Central Florida rounds out the eight team field.
Baylor and California both advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling. Baylor beat Wyoming in the first round before succumbing to Pittsburgh in second round action. California advanced to the second round with a win over San Diego, but fell to George Washington in the second round. Iowa fell in the first round to Georgia.
Texas Tech and Villanova both reached the third round of the post-season WNIT before falling to TCU and Colorado respectively. Wisconsin lost to Villanova, 60-54, in the second round. The two will face off on Thanksgiving Day in the islands. South Florida fell in the first round of the WNIT. Central Florida rounds out the eight-team Paradise Jam field, making it one of the most competitive, neutral court, early season tournaments in America.
The Paradise Jam consists of two separate tournaments. Each is a four-team, three-game round robin event. One is called the "Island Division Tournament' and the other is called the 'Reef Division Tournament.' Both are Multiple Team Event (MTE) tournaments. An MTE tournament counts as only two games against a team's annual maximum of 29 games, despite playing three games at the tournament. The
The Paradise Jam Island Division Tournament includes one NCAA tournament participant in Baylor and two Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) participants in Villanova and Wisconsin. The field is completed by Central Florida.
Competition begins November 27th at 2:00 p.m. with a matchup between Villanova and Wisconsin, followed by the 4:30 p.m. game where Central Florida will play Baylor. Games continue on November 28th with Wisconsin vs. Central Florida at 2:00 p.m. and Baylor vs. Villanova at 4:30 p.m. Competition concludes on November 29th at 2:00 p.m. (Central Florida vs. Villanova) and 4:30 PM (Wisconsin vs. Baylor).
All game times are listed in Atlantic Standard Time, which is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Games will be played at the U.V.I. Sports and Fitness Center, the Caribbean 's premier basketball facility.
In 2007 Paradise Jam action, Connecticut defeated Duke to claim the St. Thomas crown. Stanford narrowly defeated Temple for third place and Old Dominion finished ahead of Purdue with a win in the consolation game. All six teams competed in the 2008 NCAA tournament, which saw Stanford defeat Connecticut to advance to NCAA Championship game.
The remainder of the UW women's schedule is not available for release until mid-late summer.
