Voepel picks Stanford over UConn

[BostonBay]

Has she said anything good about the UConn program?? The hatred runs deep.

 

[JonathanXIV]

That's a perfectly reasonable take and one that she has had since the beginning of the tournament.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Stanford is long and tall. I was unimpressed by Cameron Bink in Team USA but she is a ball player now and that is the least of it. You don't have to be biased to see Stanford over our Huskies, but before we get to that question we have to subdue Arizona.

 

[Drumguy]

Stanford is long and tall. I was unimpressed by Cameron Bink in Team USA but she is a ball player now and that is the least of it. You don't have to be biased to see Stanford over our Huskies, but before we get to that question we have to subdue Arizona.

And they South Carolina!

 

[Longtime fan]

It is just as reasonable as the position many took by favoring Baylor in the elite 8 game against UCONN. If Didi Richards doesn't get injured...let's face it....UCONN was in trouble, and likely would have lost. Happily we'll never know for sure. We only know what happened and we won. Stanford is ranked number one for a reason. They have had amazing recruiting classes for several years in a row, and those players are delivering to their talent. They have great coaching. Selecting a winner is just a guessing game anyway. Stanford is a reasonable guess. And this is a UCONN team that can beat Baylor and South Carolina, but lose to Arkansas. I know who I want to win the next two games, but that has no bearing on the outcome either. So I cover my head, hide in the closet, and await the outcomes. Go UCONN !

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Absent injuries next year we just may get back to being bad, bad, bad for WCBB with 538 applying 91% type probabilities to our taking home the bacon.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Absent injuries next year we just may get back to being bad, bad, bad for WCBB with 538 applting 91% type probabilities to our taking home the bacon.

What about the other really good teams? Stanford, South Carolina, and Maryland basically have everyone back.

 

[Longtime fan]

What about the other really good teams? Stanford, South Carolina, and Maryland basically have everyone back.

I still believe that the jaw-dropping, shock of the tournament, no matter who wins the trophy ( unless it is Arizona ) , is the fact that Maryland managed to get beaten by Texas.

 

[mattlow710]

Everyone have their pick ,i respect
even many BYer here get many opinion,
but just relax , we win over Baylor
thats fact , i enjoyed it
and i get ready to see Uconn overcome UA at friday night
GOGOGO

 

[Ozimoto]

I can't get too upset about this. I think a reasonable person could come to the same conclusion. I don't think the idea that UConn is the underdog for the title this year could be an advantage if you think about it. These kids can go in and just play without the expectation that they are going to win. That can be an advantage for a team with minimal tournament experience. The pressure will be on whoever is across the floor from them.

This is why Arizona could be a problem. No one expects them to win so they can go into the game with a go for broke, nothing to lose mindset and pull the upset.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

What about the other really good teams? Stanford, South Carolina, and Maryland basically have everyone back.

Why rain on my daydreams? Just kidding. As for South Carolina absent a huge fitness regime Boston isn't all that much, though they have some stellar guards coming in next year. I see them as the biggest threat next year. If Azzi's knees hold up the combination Azzi, Kid Bueckers and Firing Fudd, Ducharme, Poff The Magic Dragon CW Nika and (hopefully) Evina provide an unheard of amount of fire power.

 

[j66kicker]

It is just as reasonable as the position many took by favoring Baylor in the elite 8 game against UCONN. If Didi Richards doesn't get injured...let's face it....UCONN was in trouble, and likely would have lost. Happily we'll never know for sure. We only know what happened and we won. Stanford is ranked number one for a reason. They have had amazing recruiting classes for several years in a row, and those players are delivering to their talent. They have great coaching. Selecting a winner is just a guessing game anyway. Stanford is a reasonable guess. And this is a UCONN team that can beat Baylor and South Carolina, but lose to Arkansas. I know who I want to win the next two games, but that has no bearing on the outcome either. So I cover my head, hide in the closet, and await the outcomes. Go UCONN !

Stanford is not ranked #1.

2023-24 Women's College Basketball Rankings - ESPN

Find the 2023-24 NCAAW rankings on ESPN, including the Coaches and AP poll for the top 25 NCAAW teams.

www.espn.com

 

[AmeriConn]

Has she said anything good about the UConn program?? The hatred runs deep.

She is not the only one to pick Stanford.

 

[DefenseBB]

Voepel picking Stanford keeps our karma going, after all she did pick Baylor so she's consistent. Wishing for a programs demise is sort of her schtick now and eventually, she will probably be right. Just not anytime while Geno is alive and coaching...

 

[Veteran]

My bottom line is, I'm rooting for UConn and I really don't care what Voepel or anyone else predicts. I'll see whether I'm rooting for the eventual champion or not after UConn plays it's last game this year.

 

[jazz]

The problem with Voepel, is that she has yet to understand that we have PB and they don't!

 

[Charliebball]

first things first............can UConn get past Arizona and Stanford get past South Carolina before we have this discussion? The way south Carolina is playing right now, there's no guarantee that Stanford is going to reach the finals and UConn still has to earn it's victory against what Geno says is the second best defense UConn will see this season.........

 

[schmendrick]

Mechelle to my mind is the personification of the mediocrity of middle managers. Nothing imaginative or out-of-the-box in her analysis or writing. I assume she's stuck around at ESPN for so long bc she's been bland enough to give them no reason to let her go.

That said, I take no issue with her choosing Stanford (and Baylor) over UConn. She's entitled to her opinion.

 

[huskyd]

It is just as reasonable as the position many took by favoring Baylor in the elite 8 game against UCONN. If Didi Richards doesn't get injured...let's face it....UCONN was in trouble, and likely would have lost. Happily we'll never know for sure. We only know what happened and we won. Stanford is ranked number one for a reason. They have had amazing recruiting classes for several years in a row, and those players are delivering to their talent. They have great coaching. Selecting a winner is just a guessing game anyway. Stanford is a reasonable guess. And this is a UCONN team that can beat Baylor and South Carolina, but lose to Arkansas. I know who I want to win the next two games, but that has no bearing on the outcome either. So I cover my head, hide in the closet, and await the outcomes. Go UCONN !

If Didi Richards doesn't get injured...let's face it....UCONN was in trouble, and likely would have lost.

Hogwash. If you watch the Baylor game carefully, you'll see that Paige was doing unto DiDi what she has done unto others: got her screens and scored; ran around Richards and scored. The idea that the Bears lost because DiDi went out is pure, unmitigated bunk. It may have deflated Baylor to lose one of its key players, but what Slim wants to do she does.

 

[RedStickHusky]

All good. Frankly, if/when we cut down nets this year, we'll be ahead of schedule. And it's nice to see more than a two-team race.. I think there were five legitimate contenders this year, maybe six. Three are left along with one dangerous long shot.

 

[GoUconn7961]

In the presser after the Baylor game I didn't realize she was the one who asked Geno about the no call (or whatever; let's not go there again) mentioning that LeBron and "even" Geno's daughter tweeting that it was a foul His answer was the best and really put her in her place.

 

[Waquoit]

Has she said anything good about the UConn program?? The hatred runs deep.

I like what a poster wrote on The Athletic (now that's a place with a hair across about UConn). It's not hatred, it's UConn fatigue.

 

[JoePgh]

Hogwash. If you watch the Baylor game carefully, you'll see that Paige was doing unto DiDi what she has done to others: got her screens and scored; ran around Richards and scored. The idea at the Bears lost because DiDi went out is pure, unmitigated bunk. It may have deflated Baylor to lose one of its key players, but what Slim wants to do she does.

It was not Didi's defensive impact on Paige that was missed (although Paige got and missed a lot of good shots in the last five minutes -- if she had made them, that might have been the case).

The big impact on Baylor is that Sarah Andrews (#24), who subbed in for Didi, was a freshman who was not ready for the moment, and who made a lot of mistakes. She did not maintain the pace that Kim Mulkey wanted to see, and she let Christyn have a layup near the end that Didi would probably not have allowed. That was why the momentum shifted.

 

[huskyd]

It was not Didi's defensive impact on Paige that was missed (although Paige got and missed a lot of good shots in the last five minutes -- if she had made them, that might have been the case).

The big impact on Baylor is that Sarah Andrews (#24), who subbed in for Didi, was a freshman who was not ready for the moment, and who made a lot of mistakes. She did not maintain the pace that Kim Mulkey wanted to see, and she let Christyn have a layup near the end that Didi would probably not have allowed. That was why the momentum shifted.

Since DiDi never scores--not ever--outside of her D what exactly does she contribute? A freshman "not ready for the moment," huh. Very sad to have such an inexperienced player on a team. Oh, wait: we have 2 (at least).

 

[RedStickHusky]

I like what a poster wrote on The Athletic (now that's a place with a hair across about UConn). It's not hatred, it's UConn fatigue.

Michelle V has used that too. I get it, it's totally understandable. It's gonna get worse before it gets better. A little ironic maybe that I would not have bet on UConn reaching the F4 last year...