WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Cleveland regional strong -- maybe too strong

Pat Summitt doesn't like being in a bracket with North Carolina.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- All that's missing is the national championship trophy. Nearly everything else about this NCAA regional screams Final Four.
There's the No. 1 team (North Carolina), and the program (Tennessee) every other one in America aspires to be.
There are two Hall of Fame coaches (Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer), who have combined for more than 1,600 victories and whose friendship stretches over four decades.
There's the only woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game (Lady Vols center Candace Parker did it twice), the squad with some off-the-court issues (Purdue), and the Energizer bunny of a point guard (North Carolina's little Ivory Latta), who smiles at opponents as she speeds past them.
One year before Cleveland hosts the women's Final Four, it's holding an impressive dress rehearsal.
"Everybody's coming to the same party," Stringer said. "We're all here."
Tough matchups
Tennessee (30-4), making its 25th consecutive trip to the round of 16 under Summitt, will face No. 3 seed Rutgers (27-4) in today's first regional semifinal at Quicken Loans Arena (noon) followed by top-seeded North Carolina (31-1) against fourth-seeded Purdue (26-6).
The winners will play Tuesday for a spot in the Final Four at Boston on April 2-4.
It's hard to imagine the foursome that makes it to Massachusetts being any better than this quartet.
When the NCAA tournament committee set the 64-team field a few weeks back, Summitt, who has led the Lady Vols to six national titles and 912 wins in 32 years, took offense to her team being given a No. 2 seed.
She felt Tennessee deserved better than to be placed in the same bracket with the Tar Heels, the top overall seed in the tournament.
At the time, Summitt called it a "slap in the face." She appears to have gotten over the perceived snub and any thoughts of a conspiracy theory.
"This one is a tough, tough bracket," she said before the four teams practiced Saturday. "Coaches always think their bracket is the toughest one.
"But if you're going to win a national championship you are going to have to beat the best teams along the way. Sometimes you have to do that in a regional instead of a Final Four."
Harsh assessment
Stringer, on the other hand, was much harsher with her assessment of the lopsided pairings.
"It really made me laugh," said Stringer, whose team was eliminated by the Lady Vols in the regional final last year. "I hate to say this, but I could guess that was what was going to happen. It didn't surprise me one bit. It's disappointing. I don't know what anyone was thinking about when they decided to do this.
"I thought they were trying to spread the talent so the four best teams could arrive at that one spot in Boston."
Purdue coach Kristy Curry, who may interview for the Texas Tech job once the Boilermakers' season is completed, said that all the grumbling about seedings and sites has gone on long enough.
"There has been too much complaining and criticizing of the committee, and it's time to play," she said. "The bottom line is if you sit around and complain and criticize, you're missing a good tournament. Stop complaining and play."
Like her fun-loving and fast-footed team, North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell isn't worrying about much these days. For her pre-practice news conference, Hatchell wore a powder-blue T-shirt that said: "Rockin' and Rollin' and Reboundin' in Cleveland, Ohio."
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