538: Current UConn team may be best ever but parity is coming

[HuskyNan]

This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

With graphs and charts and stuff.

Reminder - don’t drag politics into this thread. Ignore this at your own risk.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

But this season’s team might have been the best Connecticut squad in recent history — which is really saying something, considering that the 2015-16 Huskies were possibly the greatest women’s college basketball team of all time. As dominant as that Breanna Stewart-led team was, this year’s version is slightly better, according to HerHoopStats’ net efficiency ratings:


This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

 

[Mister2]

This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

538 thinks so!

What is interesting in this article is that they've calculated the "schedule adjusted" offensive and defensive efficiency, which indicate that the 2018 team is even better than the Stewie years.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

NO.

 

[Longtime fan]

This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

538 thinks so!

What is interesting in this article is that they've calculated the "schedule adjusted" offensive and defensive efficiency, which indicate that the 2018 team is even better than the Stewie years.

Good to hear that 538 people think this is the best UCONN women's team, ever. But the other 600,000 who look in on this blog disagree. Including me. Oh well.

 

[Sonny44]

This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

538 thinks so!

What is interesting in this article is that they've calculated the "schedule adjusted" offensive and defensive efficiency, which indicate that the 2018 team is even better than the Stewie years.

You've got to be kidding!

 

[SVCBeercats]

This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever
538 thinks so!
What is interesting in this article is that they've calculated the "schedule adjusted" offensive and defensive efficiency, which indicate that the 2018 team is even better than the Stewie years.

538 can take this year's team and I'll take Stewie, Mo, and Morgan and 3 other UCONN players they had played with like Big Mama Steph and the Big Eraser Kiah and oh yeah KML. Don't see this year's team beating Stewie et al.

 

[bballnut90]

Very good team, far from best ever. When ranking UCONN teams, I’d put them behind 2014-2016, 2002, 2009 and 2010. Probably about on par with last year’s team or 2000. Last year’s squad took a little bit to get going and had hiccups along the way, but they were darn good. Not too dissimilar from this year’s team.

 

[scubadog]

Very good team, far from best ever. When ranking UCONN teams, I’d put them behind 2014-2016, 2002, 2009 and 2010. Probably about on par with last year’s team or 2000. Last year’s squad took a little bit to get going and had hiccups along the way, but they were darn good. Not too dissimilar from this year’s team.

I agree on most counts. However, this year's team is far better than last year's, given the improvement of Danger and everyone else, and the huge addition of Z.

 

[bballnut90]

I agree on most counts. However, this year's team is far better than last year's, given the improvement of Danger and everyone else, and the huge addition of Z.

This year's team has more talent, but I thought last year's team played better as a unit. I think players had more established roles (and there were no significant health issues) and as a result, they played more confidently throughout 2017. Williams and Collier have had some ups and downs, both were more impactful last season. Sophomore Dangerfield is a slight upgrade from senior Chong, but in terms of running the team they're doing a very similar job-- their numbers are quite similar too. Nurse started the year scorching hot but overall is having a very similar year to last season, and Samuelson is much improved. Stevens has definitely been a difference maker inside and gives UCONN size and shot blocking. Her presence is the biggest difference. If UCONN finishes the job this year I'd put them a notch ahead of 2017, but overall I think the teams are very similar.

 

[hussybulldog]

No. They are out of sort more often than one expected this year. To some degree, I appreciate last year’s team better. On paper this year’s team is better than last year’s , but better than two years ago? No

 

[chrissaran]

This is the most versatile UConn team ever. More players can cover more positions than any other team. That's why the defense is so difficult to score against. Also, you have two defensive players of the year.

 

[huskyd]

I agree on most counts. However, this year's team is far better than last year's, given the improvement of Danger and everyone else, and the huge addition of Z.

Geno's take exactly, scubadog. Coach says this team is an improvement over last year's for the very reasons you cite, plus that this group is more experienced.
As for the parity business, I don't object to more and better competition. I am not, however, one of the converts to "the better team won last year." The better team LOST last year; it was a fluke, MissSt was more than a 20-point underdog; UConn was poised to win but, as Geno has said repeatedly, played poorly. As for SC winning the NC, they did because the Huskies were not in the NC game. The Gamecocks have never even come close to beating UConn on their best day.

 

[bags27]

 

[f1f1ferrari]

I won't argue which is the best UConn team ever, but I do love when 538 comes up with these graphs that show how much better UConn is than the rest of the pack!

 

[SVCBeercats]

View attachment 29363

He was quoting Benjamin Disraeli.

 

[bags27]

He was quoting Benjamin Disraeli.

wow: good to know. but maybe not, huh?

The term was popularised in United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Several other people have been listed as originators of the quote, and it is often erroneously attributed to Twain himself.[1]
Lies, damned lies, and statistics - Wikipedia

 

[SVCBeercats]

wow: good to know. but maybe not, huh?

The term was popularised in United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Several other people have been listed as originators of the quote, and it is often erroneously attributed to Twain himself.[1]
Lies, damned lies, and statistics - Wikipedia

Who writes down everything they say? It was a toss off line. He got a few laughs and forgot about it. He said and did far more important things worthy of being documented.

 

[bags27]

Who writes down everything they say? It was a toss off line. He got a few laughs and forgot about it. He said and did far more important things worthy of being documented.

maybe. but I don't think Twain was ever in the U.K. while Disraeli was alive (at least not that I could find quickly), so it wouldn't have been directly from him. So, Twain would have been repeating hearsay that Disraeli said it, and we know how accurate that is: great quotations are often attached to great individuals, whether they said them or not.

 

[Los24]

But this season’s team might have been the best Connecticut squad in recent history — which is really saying something, considering that the 2015-16 Huskies were possibly the greatest women’s college basketball team of all time. As dominant as that Breanna Stewart-led team was, this year’s version is slightly better, according to HerHoopStats’ net efficiency ratings:


This May Be The Best UConn Team Ever

Let's wait to see if they win a championship, because if they do not then there are automatically 11 other teams that are better than them regardless of stats, analysis or anything else that can be evaluated.

 

[CL82]

(Still Doomed!)

 

[geneticrex]

Best UCONN team ever???

Not even close.

 

[Psyjaxx]

Very good team, far from best ever. When ranking UCONN teams, I’d put them behind 2014-2016, 2002, 2009 and 2010. Probably about on par with last year’s team or 2000. Last year’s squad took a little bit to get going and had hiccups along the way, but they were darn good. Not too dissimilar from this year’s team.

Pretty much agree. But disagree with this year's team being on par with last year's team. All of the top players on this year's team were on last year's team (except for Saniya) AND we have Azura (who would be a starter on any other NCAA women's basketball team in the nation) plus an emerging Megan Walker.

 

[chrissaran]

Agree, Psyjaxx. Saniya for Azura, a much more experienced and polished Crystal, and Megan Walker, who if she can find consistency, could explode offensively. Also, last year's players have one more year of experience. Remember, they're just finding their groove with Azura as the sixth player. That took a lot of adjusting for last year's players and Azura.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I think people forget that all the great Stewart teams had a bump or two on the way. One of them even lost a game! There were close or relatively close games with Maryland, Notre Dame, St. John's, South Carolina, and Baylor. This year's team isn't the only one with a few of those results.