TN over ND

[JS]

Expect mixed feelings on the BY.

Wonder how many anticipate a slaughter, how many a competitive game.

 

[noirwestern]

ND from last year or the year before? No reason to even ask the question regardless of whatever Tn tries to do. This year's version, who knows?

 

[pacific 44]

My message to Tennessee:May the farce be with you.

 

[HGN]

I think the Irish take this one After mild resistance . Got to give Holly credit for even scheduling this game though , knowing that the LadyVols had little chance of winning.

 

[calpedaler]

I'm hoping for an unprecedented lose lose result.

 

[DaddyChoc]

at Tennessee, I got the Lady Vols

 

[rvwsleep]

at Tennessee, I got the Lady Vols

You have the LV's ? The same team that just lost to Ole Miss. ?
If ND doesn't win by double figures, there is truly something wrong in South Bend.

 

[JavaMan]

Notre Dame by a BUNCH.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

Got to give Holly credit for even scheduling this game though , knowing that the LadyVols had little chance of winning.

Kudos, yes. It's the closest she could come to scheduling UConn without undermining The Legacy, IMO.

LVs will give them a good game, and it is a Nationally Televised game...is there someone on the TN roster who LOVES the spotlight?

ND by 5 at the half, by 17 at the end. Hoping for a BIG game by DD, big enough to convince her to go pro after the season, and let Holly rebuild that team without that distraction.

 

[HuskyNan]

I dunno. Tennessee has beaten Stanford and Kentucky but has lost to Penn State, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss. They seem perfectly capable of playing up to the competition and perfectly capable of having no interest in playing that day. Which team will show up?

Notre Dame is the better coached team by about a mile but there's something wrong I can't put my finger on. The players play hard but sometimes the Irish go into a weird funk offensively. I haven't seen them play recently, though, so perhaps Muffet's got that problem straightened out.

If both teams play their best, I would expect ND to win by a pretty good margin. We'll see what happens.

 

[oldude]

The inconsistency of Tenn is staggering and their recent loss to Miss inconceivable. Tenn will continue their roller coaster season tonight by beating the Irish in a squeaker, followed by a loss to whoever the next unranked team they play.

 

[bags27]

Notre Dame is the better coached team by about a mile but there's something wrong I can't put my finger on. The players play hard but sometimes the Irish goes into a weird funk offensively. I haven't seen them play recently, though, so perhaps Muffet's got that problem straightened out.

My thoughts exactly. Way, way, way too early to declare this, but I'm wondering whether Muffet herself is starting on the downside of her career. I know she has lots of energy left, but everyone faces new challenges, mental and physical, in their 60s and it's hard in any profession--much less an extremely visible coach--to keep up the focus and intensity. Muffet's career, ultimately, will be measured by the same yardstick as is Geno's: national championships. And this must weigh on her. It's an incredibly brutal occupation: to recruit 12 months/year and play 6 months/year, with all the travel and crisis-solving and press conferences, etc, and then have the entire year's work ultimately evaluated by whether or not you win the NC.

Only a very small handful of coaches are blessed/cursed with that burden of expectations. But Geno has sucked all the air out of the room, and the one who is probably most vulnerable to feeling dismayed sometimes has to be Muffet. When they were in the same conference, she had her chance to have UConn in her sights constantly, and now that's no longer nearly so immanent. It must be very, very hard for her to keep up the energy and focus, even as Geno keeps inventing new ways to be in the national limelight.

 

[reno tony]

I'm hoping for Geno's whooping tonight.... but I won't say on which team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

but there's something wrong I can't put my finger on

Agreed. It makes a Tenn win plausible. This ND team seems to lack an identity.

 

[Intpseeker]

Polarities are to be considered.

If the best ut team I have seen this year shows up and the weirdly inept version of nd witnessed this year makes an appearance, the lv's might take this. It will be a game.

If the typical lv team ends up seeing a green team playing anywhere close to its potential, Katie bar the door, the gutters of Rocky Top will run orange.

 

[JavaMan]

Notre Dame by a BUNCH.

The money currently has Notre Dame by 10½. Sooo, maybe it won’t be a BUNCH. On the other hand ...maybe it will.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I think it will be ND by single digits but I would not be surprised if UTenn pulled an upset. I'll be rooting for ND.

 

[oldude]

Geno has sucked all the air out of the room, and the one who is probably most vulnerable to feeling dismayed sometimes has to be Muffet.

I believe Geno had the same effect on Pat Summit, although her level of championship success at Tenn exceeded every other coach with the exception of the short Italian guy in Storrs. Over the coming years, it will be interesting to see if the "Geno effect" takes its toll on Kim, Brenda and Dawn as well.

 

[BostonCanuck]

To echo what some of you have said so far...

You never know which version of Tennessee you're going to get, and for how long. If it's good Tennessee for most of the 40, then they have real a chance to pull this thing off. If bad Tennessee shows up, especially late in the game, it will be Notre Dame by at least a baker's dozen.

Regarding Muffet, my feeling is that she's a great coach who now just seems to lack killer instinct, which is a necessary component of winning. Case in point, the 2015 NCAA final, when they were within five or six of us with upwards of two minutes left in the game, and Muffet chose not foul. Dave O'Brien brought it up it twice during the play-by-play, calling it a "head-scratcher", and Doris Burke agreed.

Speaking of Dave and Doris, they have the call tonight.

 

[PhillyCoach]

My thoughts exactly. Way, way, way too early to declare this, but I'm wondering whether Muffet herself is starting on the downside of her career. I know she has lots of energy left, but everyone faces new challenges, mental and physical, in their 60s and it's hard in any profession--much less an extremely visible coach--to keep up the focus and intensity. Muffet's career, ultimately, will be measured by the same yardstick as is Geno's: national championships. And this must weigh on her. It's an incredibly brutal occupation: to recruit 12 months/year and play 6 months/year, with all the travel and crisis-solving and press conferences, etc, and then have the entire year's work ultimately evaluated by whether or not you win the NC.

Only a very small handful of coaches are blessed/cursed with that burden of expectations. But Geno has sucked all the air out of the room, and the one who is probably most vulnerable to feeling dismayed sometimes has to be Muffet. When they were in the same conference, she had her chance to have UConn in her sights constantly, and now that's no longer nearly so immanent. It must be very, very hard for her to keep up the energy and focus, even as Geno keeps inventing new ways to be in the national limelight.

Hey Bags - You have been the first person I know of (or ran across) that recognized MM COULD be on the downside. Nan also mentioned that "something is missing" at ND. As one of the Seinfeld characters stated, "There's something missing all right." But what?
That would be a great thread. Back to you Bags--I agree MM and ND is missing the fire, and yes, the hope and desire. I can now see how MM felt unappreciated when she and her team whooped UConn 7 times in a short period and really DID NOT GET MUCH love for that herculean effort. ND has been fired up for the last 5 years, but hit the brick wall of Geno Genius. No NC is a real downer. This year I did not see as much fire and hope. Turner looks bewildered, Allen is missing the spark, Wesbeld and M2 seem slower than usual.
As an older coach Bags you know the feeling of --it's not quite as much fun, or its a chore butting heads with this new generation ( Louisville entitlement syndrome .) Seems like MM is going a little soft and tired and can't demand the elite practices and performances. I don't see her asst. coaches stepping in and doing it for her. Again, fortunately for UConn Geno has CD and staff.

 

[skilz]

ND by 11

 

[Orangutan]

Regarding Muffet, my feeling is that she's a great coach who now just seems to lack killer instinct, which is a necessary component of winning. Case in point, the 2015 NCAA final, when they were within five or six of us with upwards of two minutes left in the game, and Muffet chose not foul. Dave O'Brien brought it up it twice during the play-by-play, calling it a "head-scratcher", and Doris Burke agreed.

Didn't exactly happen that way. Check the play-by-play. Notre Dame vs. Connecticut - Play-By-Play - April 7, 2015 - ESPN

ND was last within 6 points at 4:58 left, at which point KML went on a personal 7-0 run that put UConn up 13 2:38 to go.

Mabrey hit a 3 with 1:34 left to cut it to 10. Maybe at that point ND could have fouled and I suppose most coaches would. Do as anyone really think that UConn would have missed enough free throws to let ND back in. Or that ND having scored 53 points in 38.5 minutes could suddenly score 10+ in 1:34?

 

[Ozimoto]

If the good Tennessee shows up it will be a game. Too close to call if that is the case. If the bad Tennessee shows up it will be over after the first half. The Irish are not playing that well, but they are more consistent then Tennessee is.

 

[Orangutan]

My thoughts exactly. Way, way, way too early to declare this, but I'm wondering whether Muffet herself is starting on the downside of her career.

You are right. It *is* way to early to declare that. ND is 16-2 against the 3rd-toughest schedule in the country (per Sagarin, 2nd hardest per Massey). Muffet is starting to be on the downside of her career why? Because of a loss to a senior-laden NC State team that has also beaten Sagarin #4 FSU and Sagarin #10 Duke in recent weeks?

 

[Orangutan]

I think people want to make too much of ND not being quite as good as they have been over the last few years. I don't think "something is wrong". ND just isn't as great as people thought they would be. ND of recent years has been lead by scoring guards (Diggins, Novosel, McBride, Loyd, Cable). That role is now being filled by two sophomores and freshman (Mabrey2, Arike, Young). The transition from Cable/Mabrey1 to Arike/Mabrey2 hasn't been quite as smooth as expected. I think the contributions of Mabrey1, Cable and to a lesser extent Huffman were vastly underrated and their departures written off by many as relatively insignificant compared to the young talent of Mabrey2, Arike, and Young.

Talent is surely important but so too is experience. Cable and Mabrey1 were highly experienced seniors who knew their roles within the offense perfectly. I think Arike and Marina are still finding their way to an extent. I think, for example, Turner has missed the passing of Mabrey1 as ND has struggled to successfully make entry passes to her.

I think things are coming along. ND has shot 50% or better in each of the last three games. I think Jackie Young has got back to her pre-injury form and her upside is immense. Mabrey2 looks better after a slow start (e.g. 15 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl v. Miami). Ali Patberg is starting to contribute.

Now that's not to say that everything is perfect. For example, ND does this weird thing where they'll get out to a healthy lead and then play even the rest of the way.

So if things go to form... I expect ND to open it up to 10-12 by half and then probably play the 2nd half even. There will probably be a mild scare when Tenn. hits a 6-0 or 8-0 run at some point in the 2nd half. ND will eventually counter and restore the 10ish point lead and go on to win. Boneyard posters will remark that ND won but they didn't look good doing it and continue to try "put their finger on" what is "wrong" with ND.