A Baylor Fan's Thoughts on the "UConn Myth"

[Kibitzer]

@UcMiami. The Cole I know doesn't coach in Oklahoma.

Permit a complementary comment to your astute analysis. There's nothing quite like a little snarky condescension from Waco to generate a powerful adrenalin rush in Boneyarders at their keyboards.

 

[pinotbear]

Snakepants!!!

Yup, dead reptiles!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

It is a shame going into the NCAAs that the thread getting attention is from a troll with a theme that was worn to death about 7 months ago.

 

[UcMiami]

Hmmm ... well, behind all this posturing by Bear fans and Husky fans, there is a somewhat interesting issue to debate.

If a team is an NC contender, is it better served (in terms of preparation for The Dance) by loading up its schedule with the toughest competition (in conference and out of conference) that it can possibly arrange, or is it better to play only a few challenging games and use the remainder of the schedule to "rest up" and work on player development in games where the outcome is a foregone conclusion?

It is my perception that Geno would prefer the former but is stuck with the latter. I do not think his preferences are universally shared among WCBB coaches.

It is also my perception that almost every player on the current UConn roster would greatly prefer the former. I don't think they get much enjoyment or satisfaction out of 40-point in-conference blowouts.

However, fans of other teams (at least some of them) seem to think that UConn derives a competitive advantage from its soft in-conference schedule, because that means that UConn will be "fresh as a daisy" for the tournament. I think it is more likely that a team that is accustomed to being challenged by capable opponents in nearly every game will be better prepared for the tournament.

Having said that, what conference could UConn play in where the majority of the games would be at all competitive? Yes, in the P5 conferences, the blowouts would be by 25 points instead of 40 or 50, but most games would still be blowouts. UConn beat by 12 (and was up by 17 with 1 minute left) the team that is undefeated in the SEC. It beat by 10 the team that is undefeated in the ACC (and was up by 20 after three quarters). It beat by 10 the team that won the Big 10, and beat by 30 the only other team in the Big 10 that beat that team. Last year in the Sweet Sixteen round, it beat this year's 2nd best team in the Big 12 by 50 points -- and that team was Baylor's best competition this year (in conference or out).

So in the real world, I'm not sure where UConn could have played its in-conference schedule that would not have left it "fresh as a daisy" for this year's NCAA tournament, even if that was an involuntary condition.

Nice and similar to my thoughts.
The advantage Uconn has is that regardless of their schedule, the coaching staff does not let the players slide - if the lead is twenty, the expectation for the players on the floor is the exact same as if the lead is 5 or the team is down 5. And because of that the lead tends to go from 20 to 30, and the expectations remain the same, so it goes from 30 to 40. And if the bench is fairly competent the lead may not progress quite so quickly from 30 to 40, but it generally won't go from 30 to 20 either. And that is different from most other teams - when the lead is 30, things get sloppy, if there are 5 minutes left and the lead is 20, the final margin against mediocre teams may end up at 12, or 8. And it is also the reason that undefeated seasons are not uncommon, and Uconn owns 4 of the five longest winning streaks - they don't take plays off, they don't take quarters off, and they respect the game and the opponent all the time.

There really was a lot of discussion the last two years by talking heads about Uconn being unprepared for good teams, or untested in tight games leading into the NCAA - that transformed into discussion of Uconn's practice style, and coaching style against weak or strong teams being the same and how that attention to detail makes the weakness of opponents or lack of tight games irrelevant. That is the new 'meme' .

The idea that actual game play is tiring to players is propagated by fans who don't realize the percentage of a season that is devoted to practice vs game play or maybe by former players on teams where practice was a cake walk. Games for Uconn players and most D1 players are like vacation from 2+ hours of running at practice. Starters in games occasionally run for 40 minutes with frequent breaks, most of them only run for 25-30 minutes, and by run, it isn't suicides, it is short bursts with frequent moments to catch your breath. Do that three days in a row, and it might start to wear, but that happens only once or twice a year in conference or in-season tournaments. And after the conference tournament you get 10+ days to recover.

 

[toadfoot]

That is INCORRECT!

Apologies. You're correct in that 3 games I identified as home were actually on neutral courts, however the main thrust of my post stands:

1. Comparing common and similar opponents, UConn shows a clear edge.
2. It's farcical that a D1 power with national championship aspirations would not play a single away game in their OOC schedule. As I said in another thread, the NCAA going forward should make it clear that such scheduling will be penalized at seeding time.

I also want to make it clear that I'm not trying to pick on Baylor. I only used Baylor because the thread was started relative to Baylor and that I'm not aware of any other D1 power that had a similar OOC schedule.

 

[chrissaran]

When Britney Griner committed to Baylor is was practically guaranteed that they would win four National Championships. Then Odyssey Sims committed to Baylor and surely they would win three. I can't quite recall, but how many NCs did Baaylor win? Wasn't it just one? Seems right to me. Shove your opinion you know where!

 

[HuskyNan]

It is a shame going into the NCAAs that the thread getting attention is from a troll with a theme that was worn to death about 7 months ago.

Hence the rule about "dragging over". Those threads never end well.

 

[Charliebball]

Hence the rule about "dragging over". Those threads never end well.

I was seeking to provide a little fun food for thought but I underestimated how many folks here would develop a case of indigestion...as I told my daughter when she lost her first basketball game when she was six years old....'never forget, it's just a game"

 

[HuskyNan]

I was seeking to provide a little fun food for thought but I underestimated how many folks here would develop a case of indigestion...as I told my daughter when she lost her first basketball game when she was six years old....'never forget, it's just a game"

We have a lot of people here and reactions can vary widely. It doesn't take much to start a flame war, though. . I know some get annoyed with me for shutting down threads but it's easier to avoid a problem than solve one.

 

[Geno-ista]

I was there and the whole crowd stood and clapped from the moment Geno came into sight until he walked across the floor to the bench. It was a special moment and one I was proud to be a part of.

Wow- The only reason I/we knew about it was Jeff Van Gundy mentioning it just prior to the tap! Awesome! And as for Kim- I love her! I love her clothes! I love the fire and intensity she has! Heck- she's a character like Geno is- and we need more "characters" like them to help grow the game. Oh yea- and she can coach. She beat ND in the regionals w Odyssey the first yr Griner left. She just couldn't beat the officials too! And that's the truth!