Analogy for This Season

[Tenspro2002]

I was thinking about this last night -- I feel like in sports we often see cases where a team comes on unexpectedly strong and wins a championship one year, comes back next year and dominates the regular season and looks poised to repeat, but then falls short. Obviously I have this year's team in mind. The 2015-2016 Warriors are an example, as are the 2011-2012 Packers.

In college basketball this is rarer given the turnover from year to year, but then I thought about the counter-example, the last repeat champions.

The 2006 Florida Gators were a somewhat unexpected champion in a season defined by dominant #1 seeds, none of whom made the Final Four. Florida actually started that year hot and were undefeated and ranked #2 into January. Then they hit a skid in conference play before rebounding and finishing strong into the Tournament, where they were a #3 seed. Then they romped, winning by 26, 22, 4, 13, 15, and 16. Sound familiar?

They came back in 2007, lost a couple of early games before going on a run and returning to the #1 ranking in January into February. Sound familiar? They ended up losing a few SEC road games before winning the conference tournament and getting a #1 seed before going on to win the championship.

So there is precedent in a very similar pathway to what this program has taken, which culminated in a second championship.

Or we could end up as one of those other teams whose year of dominance ran out before a second crown.

 

[BGesus4]

I was thinking about this last night -- I feel like in sports we often see cases where a team comes on unexpectedly strong and wins a championship one year, comes back next year and dominates the regular season and looks poised to repeat, but then falls short. Obviously I have this year's team in mind. The 2015-2016 Warriors are an example, as are the 2011-2012 Packers.

In college basketball this is rarer given the turnover from year to year, but then I thought about the counter-example, the last repeat champions.

The 2006 Florida Gators were a somewhat unexpected champion in a season defined by dominant #1 seeds, none of whom made the Final Four. Florida actually started that year hot and were undefeated and ranked #2 into January. Then they hit a skid in conference play before rebounding and finishing strong into the Tournament, where they were a #3 seed. Then they romped, winning by 26, 22, 4, 13, 15, and 16. Sound familiar?

They came back in 2007, lost a couple of early games before going on a run and returning to the #1 ranking in January into February. Sound familiar? They ended up losing a few SEC road games before winning the conference tournament and getting a #1 seed before going on to win the championship.

So there is precedent in a very similar pathway to what this program has taken, which culminated in a second championship.

Or we could end up as one of those other teams whose year of dominance ran out before a second crown.

That Florida team was exactly the same roster two years in a row. It became evident by the end of the 2006 season they were the best team then they returned everyone despite some being projected lottery picks the following year.

 

[willie99]

I'm a simple man, we're good, really good

We have a chance

 

[jibsey]

We're good, and if healthy and well rested I like our chances.

 

[RJScootin]

Hurley has a program. UConn isn’t going away anytime soon.

 

[Deepster]

I see it this way.

You control the controllables.

Seeding, health, draw in the brackets, a rolled ankle, an off night from 3, etc, etc. All things outside anyone's control.

From what we CAN control? A++ so far. Multi-faceted offense that can assassinate you a number of ways. Not reliant on one player. Combo of great O and D (I think there are 4-5 teams in the Top 15 of both and we're one?). Their mental state and the way they've taken the bullseye on their back and THRIVED because of it? We are doing everything possible as far as what we can control and that's all you can ask.

 

[Sphinx]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

 

[NJHusky]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

I like the Fla analogy better

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Because of how we ended last season, this season is like experiencing deja vu, but even better than last season, because this is a better team.

 

[nomar]

There’s precedent. It happened 17 years ago, but there’s precedent!

We’re a great team and we’ve probably got a better chance to win than anyone else, but even watching UConn win 5 titles hasn’t made me forget how ridiculously hard it is to win 6 tournament games in a row—much less 12. Just enjoying the ride!

 

[Dove]

I was thinking about this last night -- I feel like in sports we often see cases where a team comes on unexpectedly strong and wins a championship one year, comes back next year and dominates the regular season and looks poised to repeat, but then falls short. Obviously I have this year's team in mind. The 2015-2016 Warriors are an example, as are the 2011-2012 Packers.

In college basketball this is rarer given the turnover from year to year, but then I thought about the counter-example, the last repeat champions.

The 2006 Florida Gators were a somewhat unexpected champion in a season defined by dominant #1 seeds, none of whom made the Final Four. Florida actually started that year hot and were undefeated and ranked #2 into January. Then they hit a skid in conference play before rebounding and finishing strong into the Tournament, where they were a #3 seed. Then they romped, winning by 26, 22, 4, 13, 15, and 16. Sound familiar?

They came back in 2007, lost a couple of early games before going on a run and returning to the #1 ranking in January into February. Sound familiar? They ended up losing a few SEC road games before winning the conference tournament and getting a #1 seed before going on to win the championship.

So there is precedent in a very similar pathway to what this program has taken, which culminated in a second championship.

Or we could end up as one of those other teams whose year of dominance ran out before a second crown.

Damn. You lost me at "Or we could end up as one of those other teams..."

 

[Tenspro2002]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

Thank you, another great example.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Enjoying the ride!

 

[StllH8L8ner]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

I was quite young but I remember thinking that the championship game was fixed that year bc Larry Johnson and a couple of others were smiling and laughing after the loss. I mean they knew they were headed to the pros in a few months but it just stuck me as weird to be as happy as they were.

 

[ctchamps]

I was thinking about this last night -- I feel like in sports we often see cases where a team comes on unexpectedly strong and wins a championship one year, comes back next year and dominates the regular season and looks poised to repeat, but then falls short. Obviously I have this year's team in mind. The 2015-2016 Warriors are an example, as are the 2011-2012 Packers.

In college basketball this is rarer given the turnover from year to year, but then I thought about the counter-example, the last repeat champions.

The 2006 Florida Gators were a somewhat unexpected champion in a season defined by dominant #1 seeds, none of whom made the Final Four. Florida actually started that year hot and were undefeated and ranked #2 into January. Then they hit a skid in conference play before rebounding and finishing strong into the Tournament, where they were a #3 seed. Then they romped, winning by 26, 22, 4, 13, 15, and 16. Sound familiar?

They came back in 2007, lost a couple of early games before going on a run and returning to the #1 ranking in January into February. Sound familiar? They ended up losing a few SEC road games before winning the conference tournament and getting a #1 seed before going on to win the championship.

So there is precedent in a very similar pathway to what this program has taken, which culminated in a second championship.

Or we could end up as one of those other teams whose year of dominance ran out before a second crown.

They had a Donovan. We have a Donovan.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Well they were from Vegas and it was before social media….i mean ten years ago the general public would have raised a collective eyebrow at a Super Bowl in Vegas. Everything UNLV was doing during that time seemed a bit shady, but I even then I was rooting for them to beat Dook. I just realized I have always hated Dook even before it became a “thing” for UConn fans.

 

[Scrutineer]

That Florida team was exactly the same roster two years in a row. It became evident by the end of the 2006 season they were the best team then they returned everyone despite some being projected lottery picks the following year.

Two of their best three players had wealthy professional athlete fathers so they could come back and enjoy another year without needing to leave for the money so that was a bit different than our team.......but maybe NIL money helped us?

 

[Scrutineer]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

I think I like the broken nexus more than a denouement..........

 

[Sphinx]

I think I like the broken nexus more than a denouement..........

...... or both, being hanged by the nexus until denouement sets in.

 

[huskyjawz]

A memorable precedent on the down side would be Tarkanian's UNLV team of 1990-91. After winning the title in 1990,, they went into the tournament undefeated in 1991 and took a 34-0 record into the semi-final against Duke -- the same Duke team they had crushed in the final the year before. UNLV looked like a juggernaut, starting Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt. Duke was not chopped liver, with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner. Duke won 79-77, when Anthony's buzzer-beater trey rimmed out.

The comparison is relevant (sort of) because in the Calhoun years I heard many more comparisons of UConn to UNLV than to the sacred list of blue bloods. Like UNLV, UConn was regarded by some as outsiders, intruders in the pantheon, and more than once I heard Calhoun compared to Tarkanian, both in court demeanor and recruiting ethics. The comparison was unfair then and has been pretty much dismissed since. Our five natties, and UNLV's prolonged mediocrity -- have broken any nexus that might have persisted in a few minds.

Still, the downfall of the unbeaten defending national champs in 1991, a team of future NBA stars, is precedent for what can happen to the mightiest of juggernauts in a series of sudden deaths.

I don't know how anyone could compare Calhoun's and Tark's on court demeanor.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Seems like an appropriate time to ask: are we going to be 2007 Florida or 1991 UNLV?

When a team wins a championship, we often hear the lazy cliche about how "they could be even better next year." It's usually laughably wrong. This year, for us, it's actually been true.

The question is: can we carry it all the way to another championship or is this going to be a dominant regular season that falls short of repeating, like many others?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Seems like an appropriate time to ask: are we going to be 2007 Florida or 1991 UNLV?

When a team wins a championship, we often hear the lazy cliche about how "they could be even better next year." It's usually laughably wrong. This year, for us, it's actually been true.

The question is: can we carry it all the way to another championship or is this going to be a dominant regular season that falls short of repeating, like many others?

Very good historical examples.

 

[fatlucy]

DOOMED!

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Two of their best three players had wealthy professional athlete fathers so they could come back and enjoy another year without needing to leave for the money so that was a bit different than our team.......but maybe NIL money helped us?

Huge difference there. There are very few wealthy former pro fathers by percentage.
Everyone gets to use NIL.

 

[auror]

Let's just hope we're not 2022 Baylor. They were 26-5 at the end of the season, shared their conf regular season champ, was a #1 seed in NCAAs. Lost first game of B12 tourny and 2nd round of NCAAs.

They had a returning veteran guard who was a former transfer (Flagler/Newton), a key veteran transfer guard (Akinjo/Spencer), a 5* freshman wing (Kendall Brown/Castle), a veteran stretch 4 stepping into a bigger role (Mayer/Karaban) and a returning center (Thamba/Clingan).

If we lose our last 2 road games, we're also be 26-5, just saying.

 

[uconn_jack]

There are 2 reasons we have a chance to repeat. 1) We won it last year. 2) We have a really good team, one of the top in the country. That's it. There is no analogy, if it happens, it will have its own story.

 

[mauconnfan]

Too many variables to take away from what already is a special follow up season. They lost 3 starters to the NBA and were sitting here with a week of regular season left with just 3 losses. We’re not done but things happen. There’s going to be some really good 8-9 seeds never know. Same with 2-3-4 depends who you get, your health and how you shoot it and defend. I have faith the one thing we will see is fight like no other team This team, the way they share the ball has been special. They care for each other it’s so noticeable.

They’re not done but I can say they’ve already showed me how special they are in the UConn legacy. They won’t settle for anything but W’s so I’m thinking their focus will be fun to watch in the dance.

We will see, we’re lucky to even be discussing a repeat but it’s not a must for me, just a bonus.

 

[Dibbie]

Too many variables to take away from what already is a special follow up season. They lost 3 starters to the NBA and were sitting here with a week of regular season left with just 3 losses. We’re not done but things happen. There’s going to be some really good 8-9 seeds never know. Same with 2-3-4 depends who you get, your health and how you shoot it and defend. I have faith the one thing we will see is fight like no other team This team, the way they share the ball has been special. They care for each other it’s so noticeable.

They’re not done but I can say they’ve already showed me how special they are in the UConn legacy. They won’t settle for anything but W’s so I’m thinking their focus will be fun to watch in the dance.

We will see, we’re lucky to even be discussing a repeat but it’s not a must for me, just a bonus.

I agree with so much of what you said, but I feel this team has the expectations to with it all, just like the 2004 team. 2011, 14, 23 were bonus Natties. While I really appreciate this year’s team, it would be heartbreaking if they didn’t get #6 this year.

 

[JungleLobo]

One time I was petting my cat “Gus” in the dark and I was scratching her chin and I was like "wow why is your fur so rough" and then I realized I was scratching her butthole and she was letting me and I think that’s analogous

 

[jibsey]

Hard to compare this but as UConn fans let’s just recognize what we have had the last 2 seasons is unbelievable. Just ask the fans of the other so called “best teams” out there. Purdue, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas who have taken a back seat to us in these 2 seasons for Gods sake!
No guarantee that we can win it against the other 68 teams that want it and are working feverishly just as hard to get it, but damn we’ve had it good.