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much longer than I intended....sorry....you can skip to the very last line for the conclusion. I hope someone with greater rigor in logic than I (which is probably most on this board) can respond, modify, negate....
I think every person in this country who owns a television or computer acknowledges that, if UConn "brings its A game," it will win. That's as close to a tautology as exists in sports today. But: What is UConn's "A" game? Did UConn bring it against Miss St? Some would say that was an "A" game, but I believe it was (at least) an A+ game. In his post-game presser, Geno acknowledged that that sort of coordination among players is quite rare, so he also probably would have agreed with me. Did UConn bring it against Texas? I would have said B/B+. But Geno was actually pretty happy with it, believing TX was better this year and that the Elite Eight is a rough game. He's grading his team on a curve and effectively giving them an "A"--not for technical performance, but for general comportment relative to the challenge. So, "A" games, like your mileage, may vary.
Just as relative as the letter grade is the verb "bring". Sounds cool, but is misleading. Like "burn a time out": coaches want to strategically call/use, not burn, their times out; do you think the head coach ever turns to the ass't coaches and says: "let's burn a time out"? Burning likely began as "wasting", but that slang is now applied in every instance.
What we probably mean by bringing the A game is: "play at the highest levels that they've played this year with this personnel on a neutral court against a then (say) top 10 opponent." (personnel can change because of injury, etc; the venue can affect performance; opponents fall in and out of the top 10). So you may want to bring your "A" game, but variables have a lot to say about actual performance.
But the variables that determine one's "A" game over the course of a ~35 game season are not precisely the
variables of the tournament--which is why Geno was happy with the game against TX during the tournament, but might not have been had his team played that way in the regular season. Tournament variables complicate the absolutes, and so we find that tournament seeding reflects the past, but often says little about the future. What would have been shocking upsets for USC, Baylor and ND during the regular season, during the tournament were, though still surprising, significantly less so. Vegas odds are little help here: they are based largely on past performance and designed to produce betting.
Variables which affect a team "bringing" its "A game" to the post-season include: the outlying single game brilliant performance of an opposing player or team who, over 35 regular games, does not perform that way; the pressure of one-and-done; freshmen overcoming or succumbing to nerves under the brightest of lights; and with UConn specifically, a team chasing destiny and potentially (I am not saying it will happen!) panicking under stress and looking around, hoping that someone on the team will carry them to it (2007 Patriots).
My very long-winded point is that it's not simply UConn "bringing" its regular season "A" game vs. another team "bringing" its regular season "A" game--that is, even were it possible to "bring" (which it isn't!) one's game. Quite obviously, if UConn plays its "best", it will win, but that's the kind of thing we say (I say it constantly!) to comfort ourselves, but it is fraught with assumptions.
Executive Summary: stuff happens.
I think every person in this country who owns a television or computer acknowledges that, if UConn "brings its A game," it will win. That's as close to a tautology as exists in sports today. But: What is UConn's "A" game? Did UConn bring it against Miss St? Some would say that was an "A" game, but I believe it was (at least) an A+ game. In his post-game presser, Geno acknowledged that that sort of coordination among players is quite rare, so he also probably would have agreed with me. Did UConn bring it against Texas? I would have said B/B+. But Geno was actually pretty happy with it, believing TX was better this year and that the Elite Eight is a rough game. He's grading his team on a curve and effectively giving them an "A"--not for technical performance, but for general comportment relative to the challenge. So, "A" games, like your mileage, may vary.
Just as relative as the letter grade is the verb "bring". Sounds cool, but is misleading. Like "burn a time out": coaches want to strategically call/use, not burn, their times out; do you think the head coach ever turns to the ass't coaches and says: "let's burn a time out"? Burning likely began as "wasting", but that slang is now applied in every instance.
What we probably mean by bringing the A game is: "play at the highest levels that they've played this year with this personnel on a neutral court against a then (say) top 10 opponent." (personnel can change because of injury, etc; the venue can affect performance; opponents fall in and out of the top 10). So you may want to bring your "A" game, but variables have a lot to say about actual performance.
But the variables that determine one's "A" game over the course of a ~35 game season are not precisely the
variables of the tournament--which is why Geno was happy with the game against TX during the tournament, but might not have been had his team played that way in the regular season. Tournament variables complicate the absolutes, and so we find that tournament seeding reflects the past, but often says little about the future. What would have been shocking upsets for USC, Baylor and ND during the regular season, during the tournament were, though still surprising, significantly less so. Vegas odds are little help here: they are based largely on past performance and designed to produce betting.
Variables which affect a team "bringing" its "A game" to the post-season include: the outlying single game brilliant performance of an opposing player or team who, over 35 regular games, does not perform that way; the pressure of one-and-done; freshmen overcoming or succumbing to nerves under the brightest of lights; and with UConn specifically, a team chasing destiny and potentially (I am not saying it will happen!) panicking under stress and looking around, hoping that someone on the team will carry them to it (2007 Patriots).
My very long-winded point is that it's not simply UConn "bringing" its regular season "A" game vs. another team "bringing" its regular season "A" game--that is, even were it possible to "bring" (which it isn't!) one's game. Quite obviously, if UConn plays its "best", it will win, but that's the kind of thing we say (I say it constantly!) to comfort ourselves, but it is fraught with assumptions.
Executive Summary: stuff happens.
