2009-10 UConn/Stanford and 2012-13 Baylor/UConn

[alexrgct]

As I think about this upcoming season, a comparison to the 2009-10 season keeps coming to mind.

In 2009-10, UConn was the defending champion. They'd finished the previous season undefeated and unchallenged, and although Renee was gone, the thought was that if Tina could maintain her level of play from the end of the previous season, UConn would be in great shape. As it turned out, Tina put up a monster season pillar-to-post, and, as I'm fond of saying, she and Maya became the unbeatable pair of aces.

Stanford, meanwhile, was the clear #2 team in the country. They were (I believe) the only team to lead UConn at halftime that season (a feat they accomplished twice), and were the only team over a two-year period to come within single digits of the Huskies. That Cardinal squad was extremely talented and would have won a national championship in many seasons.

Heading into the 2012-13 season, I think Baylor is like UConn was in 2009-10, and UConn is in a similar position to Stanford that season. UConn is a clear #2, and I highly doubt that anyone other than Baylor can touch the Huskies.

There are also some differences. Whereas Stanford needed a last second drive and score to get past Xavier in the regionals in 2009-10, I'm not sure that anyone other than Baylor is going to be competitive with the team Geno fields. Meanwhile, Baylor has a pair of aces of its own without losing anyone close to the caliber of Renee from their undefeated team. However, Baylor's 2011-12 season wasn't at the level of UConn's 2009-10; Baylor won five games by single digits to UConn's zero.

I suppose what I'm saying is this: if you're playing prognosticator vis a vis the upcoming season, an interesting pair of questions would be "how much better than the 2012-13 Lady Bears, if at all, was UConn 2009-10?" and "how much better than the 2009-10 Stanford Cardinal can UConn 2012-13 be?"

The nice thing is that I don't think there are any other squads out there that can keep us from determining definitively the answers to these questions. Stay tuned.

 

[easttexastrash]

I'll have to wait to see how good the 2012-13 Baylor team is before I can answer that question. It's hard for me to compare the know quantity of the UCONN team to the Baylor team that we haven't seen perform yet.

 

[sarals24]

It is extremely hard to sustain a level of success over that period of time. Baylor looks poised to do it, and Mulkey has had success in the past, obviously. But back to back undefeated seasons are very tough. Everyone is giving you their best game. Injuries, fatigue, team chemistry, etc all play a role. Baylor had their share of tough games last season. I'm not saying they weren't dominant, they obviously were. And Griner is a once-in-a-lifetime player.

No point to this really other than to say that if Baylor can pull it off I will be impressed. And I can't wait for UConn-Baylor, part 4 (of the Griner era) Could UConn be the only team with a winning record against her?

 

[easttexastrash]

Baylor got everybody's best shot last year so next season will not be much different in that respect. They were the clear number 1 team all year and had the target on their backs all year long. UCONN clearly has a great shot at beating Baylor next season. I will not be surprised to see either team go undefeated next year.

 

[UConnCat]

It is extremely hard to sustain a level of success over that period of time. Baylor looks poised to do it, and Mulkey has had success in the past, obviously. But back to back undefeated seasons are very tough. Everyone is giving you their best game. Injuries, fatigue, team chemistry, etc all play a role. Baylor had their share of tough games last season. I'm not saying they weren't dominant, they obviously were. And Griner is a once-in-a-lifetime player.

No point to this really other than to say that if Baylor can pull it off I will be impressed. And I can't wait for UConn-Baylor, part 4 (of the Griner era) Could UConn be the only team with a winning record against her?

And as UConn showed in the championship game against Stanford, the pressure of consecutive undefeated seasons can weigh on even the best teams. It'll be fascinating to watch how Baylor handles that next season. BTW, I didn't realize this until recently, but Stanford is scheduled to play Baylor in a holiday (Thanksgiving, I think) tournament in Hawaii next season. I'm sure Tara is busily watching and re-watching video of every game Brittany Griner ever played at Baylor.

 

[sarals24]

Baylor got everybody's best shot last year so next season will not be much different in that respect. They were the clear number 1 team all year and had the target on their backs all year long. UCONN clearly has a great shot at beating Baylor next season. I will not be surprised to see either team go undefeated next year.

Not saying they didn't. But going in as the defending national champions is slightly different.

 

[easttexastrash]

And as UConn showed in the championship game against Stanford, the pressure of consecutive undefeated seasons can weigh on even the best teams. It'll be fascinating to watch how Baylor handles that next season. BTW, I didn't realize this until recently, but Stanford is scheduled to play Baylor in a holiday (Thanksgiving, I think) tournament in Hawaii next season. I'm sure Tara is busily watching and re-watching video of every game Brittany Griner ever played at Baylor.

Stanford without Nneka is going to have a tough time with Baylor.

 

[easttexastrash]

Not saying they didn't. But going in as the defending national champions is slightly different.

The close games last year were probably good for the team. They learned how to win the close games and by the time the NCAA tourney rolled around they were at their best. They learned how to play with the pressure of the "undefeated' tag and performed quite well under that pressure.

But I see your point. Going undefeated a second year in a row would be quite a feat, especially with the team that UCONN is putting together and playing at game AT UCONN. And with the game being in February UCONN's young players have a chance to jell with the rest of the team before playing Baylor.

 

[easttexastrash]

And as UConn showed in the championship game against Stanford, the pressure of consecutive undefeated seasons can weigh on even the best teams. It'll be fascinating to watch how Baylor handles that next season. BTW, I didn't realize this until recently, but Stanford is scheduled to play Baylor in a holiday (Thanksgiving, I think) tournament in Hawaii next season. I'm sure Tara is busily watching and re-watching video of every game Brittany Griner ever played at Baylor.

Was the pressure of a second undefeated season or the pressure of winning a national championship game. Do you really think that while they were on the court they ever even thought about being undefeated? I am guessing that all they thought about was winning that game.

 

[cardfan]

And as UConn showed in the championship game against Stanford, the pressure of consecutive undefeated seasons can weigh on even the best teams. It'll be fascinating to watch how Baylor handles that next season. BTW, I didn't realize this until recently, but Stanford is scheduled to play Baylor in a holiday (Thanksgiving, I think) tournament in Hawaii next season. I'm sure Tara is busily watching and re-watching video of every game Brittany Griner ever played at Baylor.

Been there, done that in 2011. She prepared too much for Baylor instead of A&M. In Denver, I thought her game plan against Baykor was effective (Nneka attacking Griner), but they started it too late in the game and didn't go after Griner when she was in foul trouble. Every single non Stanford fan I spoke with in Denver said Nneka outplayed Griner. Obviously, Nneka is gone, so we'll have our hands full.

 

[Bestiarius]

The problem with Baylor going undefeated next year isn’t the pressure of last year’s undefeated season. The problem is that the games are only 40 minutes long. That’s not long enough to overcome a stretch of bad shooting/rebounding/fouling/defending at a time when the inferior team shoots/rebounds/defends better than their average.
There is a lot of truth to Vince Lombardi’s, “We didn’t lose the game we just ran out of time.” The longer the game, the greater the chance a superior team will win. Same principle that Vegas operates on. Sit at that blackjack table for 39 hours in a row and you’re guaranteed to lose. Sit there for one hour 39 times and you’ll probably have a few winning sessions. Baylor is Vegas in this game.