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

[Kibitzer]

Well it really doesn't matter who plays who and where they play them. UConn will beat every team by double digits and the only question is can any team come with in double digits of UConn. There is a reason Kim didn't schedule UConn this season and she did for next season.

Well it really doesn't matter who plays who and where they play them. UConn will beat every team by double digits and the only question is can any team come with in double digits of UConn. There is a reason Kim didn't schedule UConn this season and she did for next season.

You can say that again!

Oh, wait. . . .​

 

[Monte]

I think Kim made a major error in not scheduling UCONN this year. If she had the Baylor players would have seen how UCONN plays and the loss would have been well worth it. Now if they should meet in the final four, Baylor has absolutely no chance of winning.

But, she jumped all over the chance to play them NEXT year, after the nation's 2 top players have graduated from the Huskies!

 

[Carnac]

Well if we wind up in the Big 12, Baylor will have their hands full every year! Not sure Kim wants to deal with that.

Kim would not like that. She very much likes being the "Queen Bee" in that hive.

 

[Carnac]

But, she jumped all over the chance to play them NEXT year, after the nation's 2 top players have graduated from the Huskies!

Kim is VERY calculating, and very shrewd. She knows exactly what she is doing. I agree 100% that she did not want to play UConn THIS year. The odds were clearly not in her favor. If memory serves, Baylor lost the last match up with UConn in Waco (01/13/2014) 66-55.

Say what you will (I did) about the embarrassingly soft OOC schedule she played this season. It worked. She finished the season with only 1 loss (Oklahoma State), on the road with her starting PG missing the game due to injury.

She was able to secure a 1 seed in the tournament. They're hosting the first round in Waco, and and like UConn, don't have to leave the state for regional play (Dallas). If Kim could answer the critics (haters), she might say: " How you like me now"?

I'm sure other members of the Nation will join me in wishing/hoping that UConn tears them a new one, when when next they meet.

 

[UCAP_Fan]

While trolling on the Baylor Basketball Forum came across a rather detailed analysis of the "weakness" of Huskies basketball schedule. I have included some actually fair minded responses just to prove that there are some intelligent basketball fans on that board.

• 
  I’m sick of hearing about UConn’s "winning streak" It’s totally irrelevant when you consider who they play for the vast majority of their yearly schedule.
  To wit:
  
  All information below gleaned from this site:
  http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_conf_Women.html
  
  Women's Basketball - American Athletic (2015-2016)
  Conf. RPI Rank: 9
  Conf. SOS Rank: 7
  Only games against Division I opponents are counted.
  Last updated - Tue Mar 8 08:10:02 PST 2016
  
  RPI Rk American Athletic Conf All
  3 Connecticut 21-0 32-0
  20 South Florida 16-5 23-9
  71 Temple 14-6 20-11
  73 Tulane 12-8 21-11
  111 Memphis 12-7 18-12
  149 East Carolina 7-13 13-19
  193 Tulsa 9-11 12-19
  195 SMU 8-12 13-18
  239 Cincinnati 4-15 8-22
  277 UCF 4-15 7-23
  285 Houston 2-17 6-24
  
  Overall AA Conference RPI rank average: 1616/11 teams = 147th
  Taking UConn out of the equation: 1613/10 teams = 161st
  Only 2 of the 11 teams (18%) ended up ranked in the Top 50.
  
  So...of their 18 conference games, outside of the 2 games against #20 USF, UConn played the other 16 games against teams ranked nationally by RPI, from 71st to 285th!
  
  Note also that of the 11 conference teams, 6 (55%) have losing records for all games played.
  
  Is there any doubt then, that UConn would have to be the most rested, least worn down team of any in the major conferences when it took on the 4-5 out of conference ranked teams?? Sure, they did win those games, but every game to the point of playing those few ranked teams were no more than practice sessions to hone their craft. UConn's starters and top reserves would all be fresh as daisies by the time they played any top teams out of conference, and when they begin the NCAA's.
  
  By comparison, let’s look at the Big 12 Conference:
  
  Women's Basketball - Big 12 (2015-2016)
  Conf. RPI Rank: 3
  Conf. SOS Rank: 2
  Only games against Division I opponents are counted.
  Last updated - Tue Mar 8 08:10:02 PST 2016
  
  RPI Rk Big 12 Conf All
  2 Baylor 20-1 33-1
  7 Texas 17-4 28-4
  22 West Virginia 13-7 24-9
  29 Oklahoma 12-8 21-10
  30 Oklahoma St. 11-8 21-9
  48 Kansas St. 8-11 18-12
  107 TCU 8-11 16-14
  128 Iowa St. 5-14 13-17
  137 Texas Tech 4-16 13-18
  220 Kansas 1-19 6-25
  
  Overall Big 12 Conference RPI rank average: 730/11 teams = 73rd
  Taking Baylor out of the equation: 728/9 teams = 80th
  
  6 of the 10 teams (60%) ended ranked in the Top 50
  
  Note that of the 10 conference teams, only 3 (30%) have losing records. Which means that teams in the B12 typically have at least one very tough conference game every week of their schedules. It takes major management skills by a head coach to balance rest vs. needed practice for the long grind of highly competitive games in the Big 12. Not so, UConn.
  
  I’m not saying UConn isn’t very good, and extremely talented - they are both of those things. But when I hear about their long "undefeated" record/winning streak, I have to put an asterisk beside it, since no fewer than 16 of their league games are basically walkovers and totally uncompetitive matchups that 95% of Big 12 teams in any given year would be undefeated against. I wouldn’t be surprised to see UConn win every game in their conference until Geno succumbs from boredom. So, every time I hear commentators gush about UConn’s conference win streak, I want to yell "BOGUS BS!". Because it is a totally worthless and meaningless statistic.
  
  That is all...
  
  
  
  • 
    I believe they have won 3 Natty's in a row, looking for number 4.
    That might have something to do with it.
  • 
    UConn fan
    
    (39 points)
    
    
    Posts
    21
    I'll take a stab at answering.
    It's true that the AAC is not a very strong conference. Geno counters that with their OOC schedule. They have played South Carolina, Notre Dame, Maryland and Ohio St, among others, in their OOC schedule.
    Teams ranked 10-50 are, in general, not going to be the ones that beat UCONN in all likelihood.
    It will probably come from one of the other top 5 ranked teams.
    Which would you consider the most difficult schedule for a #1 ranked team ? A schedule filled with teams ranked between 30-50 or a schedule with most of the games against teams ranked at 200 and above but with 5 games against top 10 teams ?
    I assure you that the former schedule would be ranked much higher but the #1 team probably wouldn't break a sweat. The latter schedule, while lower ranked, would present a real challenge of the #1 team for 5 games.
    It's interesting that when UConn left the big East, it's critics forecast trouble for the Huskies because their weak conference schedule would not have them prepared for NCAAT play.
    (They did have a record of success while in the Big East, which was the toughest wcbb conference for years)
    When that theory didn't turn out to be very accurate, the critics made a 180 and said thatUConn's success was because of their weak conference schedule!!
    Sometimes you just can't win, even when you're undefeated.

My tern. .

 

[Geno-ista]

Those 16,000 Baylor fans gave Geno a stdg Ovation his first time out of the tunnel at Baylor Univ- that doesn't happen everywhere! He and Kim rec'd a 2nd one when they met court side. One of the classiest things I've ever heard.

 

[Waquoit]

But, she jumped all over the chance to play them NEXT year, after the nation's 2 top players have graduated from the Huskies!

One of Geno's 5 phones is probably just for Mulkey. She not shrewd, just chicken.

 

[FairView]

It does suck that Kim didn't play us, but that is not a reflection of Baylor fans. I check out they Baylor board and I like it. As others have said there are some really good posters on there. There are a few blowhards (can I say that, Mods?) but every board has those. Another refreshing thing about the board is that they genuinely love their players. That's nice.

 

[Zorro]

Well it really doesn't matter who plays who and where they play them. UConn will beat every team by double digits and the only question is can any team come with in double digits of UConn. There is a reason Kim didn't schedule UConn this season and she did for next season.

Well, Tone, I expect that there will be some teams that will come within double digits of the Huskies. (Prolly none within single digits though!) Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[easttexastrash]

I can say that without doubt more negative comments have been made about Baylor and Kim in this one thread than I have seen about UCONN and Geno on the Baylor board for the past 5 years. Almost every Baylor fan has immense respect for what Geno and UCONN have done over the years, but let one a-wipe start an ignorant thread and the claws come out as if that OP represents Baylor fans as a whole.

 

[geneticrex]

I can say that without doubt more negative comments have been made about Baylor and Kim in this one thread than I have seen about UCONN and Geno on the Baylor board for the past 5 years. Almost every Baylor fan has immense respect for what Geno and UCONN have done over the years, but let one start an ignorant thread and the claws come out as if that OP represents Baylor fans as a whole.

Nature of the internet and perhaps a by-product of Baylor being nowhere to be found this year and their somewhat soft out of conference schedule. Then again, perhaps not.

It appears next year, they're 'all in' for a game. Coincedence???

 

[easttexastrash]

Those 16,000 Baylor fans gave Geno a stdg Ovation his first time out of the tunnel at Baylor Univ- that doesn't happen everywhere! He and Kim rec'd a 2nd one when they met court side. One of the classiest things I've ever heard.

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.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I can say that without doubt more negative comments have been made about Baylor and Kim in this one thread than I have seen about UCONN and Geno on the Baylor board for the past 5 years. Almost every Baylor fan has immense respect for what Geno and UCONN have done over the years, but let one a-wipe start an ignorant thread and the claws come out as if that OP represents Baylor fans as a whole.

Fear the Bears... I can smell it

 

[easttexastrash]

Nature of the internet and perhaps a by-product of Baylor being nowhere to be found this year and their somewhat soft out of conference schedule. Then again, perhaps not.

It appears next year, they're 'all in' for a game. Coincedence???

Thanks for the olive branch.

 

[geneticrex]

My memory seems to have failed me, so if someone would be so kind, please refresh it.

When UCONN was entrenched in the most dominant conference in the history of women's b-ball and they were pounding the crap out of the 'legends', loading up on national and conference championhips and stringing together record win streaks, what was the excuse du jour???

 

[easttexastrash]

Pretty ironic comments from a Baylor fan considering the fact that Baylor not only played a mediocre OOC schedule, but every single OOC game was played at HOME!

That is INCORRECT!

 

[Blueballer]

I can say that without doubt more negative comments have been made about Baylor and Kim in this one thread than I have seen about UCONN and Geno on the Baylor board for the past 5 years. Almost every Baylor fan has immense respect for what Geno and UCONN have done over the years, but let one a-wipe start an ignorant thread and the claws come out as if that OP represents Baylor fans as a whole.

Yeah it's unfortunate that the "bored" OP decided to share that quote here (Along with the other Louisville topic they posted). Of course if you look around you're going to find all kinds of internet hatred for the top teams. I don't see the need to take it out on you ETT. Sad to see. Keep your chin up.

 

[easttexastrash]

Fear the Bears... I can smell it

This is just a PSA for those planning a camping trip in the mountains.

 

[DaddyChoc]

This is just a PSA for those planning a camping trip in the mountains.

Mountains = UConn Huskies... very few has reached the top

 

[SCGamecock]

It is actually an interesting thread over on the Baylor site - an interesting site to visit that is well run and full of intelligent posters. And as someone says, most of the Baylor posters as well as the visitors are pretty solid in support of the excellence of uconn.
The one interesting slant that does get trotted out, like it used to be with TN fans, is how much more rested the Uconn team is entering the NCAA because they don't have to play a tough conference schedule. This is the new refrain after the one from a few years ago that the media trotted out, that Uconn not being challenged in the AAC would leave them unprepared for NCAA competition.

18-22 year olds who all get ten days off before the NCAAs really shouldn't be tired entering the tournament. Bruised and battered happens regardless of competition and is much an issue in practice as it is in games. Injured ... that is a crap shoot and is just bad luck - very few injuries in WCBB come from 'tough competition' and many happen in a 'vacuum' - meaning without contact from anyone.

What's the .com address for the Baylor board?

 

[calpedaler]

What's the .com address for the Baylor board?

Link

 

[easttexastrash]

What's the .com address for the Baylor board?

We just use string and tin cans.

 

[JoePgh]

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.

 

[FairView]

We just use string and tin cans.

And when older strings and cans need to be replaced, the environmentally conscious Bears recycle the old ones into skirts, jackets, blouses and slacks for Kim's wardrobe.

 

[SCGamecock]

We just use string and tin cans.

Oh no worries, I doubt I ever post there and if I did it would only be respectful. We'll probably never play Baylor in real life.

I'll just use it to take the temperature on any future Texas recruits Dawn may be going after....