Any way UConn isn't a complete mismatch for Cal?

[alexrgct]

Another ranked opponent for UConn, this time a Cal team with some rough games this season:

• A 12-point loss to the Duke team UConn just beat by 22.
• A 75-72 loss to George Washington.
• A four-point win over mighty Idaho.
• A two-point nail-biter against Pacific.

Not trying to be a wet blanket, but if this is the best Cal can do (notwithstanding last year's trip to the Final Four), the show UConn puts on at MSG is not going to be the showcase for WCBB I'd like to see. I mean, I'll have fun watching- come on, it's a UConn game- but is there a reason to expect anything less than a blowout?

 

[rford53]

Another ranked opponent for UConn, this time a Cal team with some rough games this season:

• 
  [ ]A 12-point loss to the Duke team UConn just beat by 22.
  [ ]A 75-72 loss to George Washington.
  [ ]A four-point win over mighty Idaho.
  [ ]A two-point nail-biter against Pacific.

Not trying to be a wet blanket, but if this is the best Cal can do (notwithstanding last year's trip to the Final Four), the show UConn puts on at MSG is not going to be the showcase for WCBB I'd like to see. I mean, I'll have fun watching- come on, it's a UConn game- but is there a reason to expect anything less than a blowout?

There is no reason to expect anything less than a blowout! However, if you love great basketball execution(pun intended) you will enjoy the sharper play of UConn, the second game back from exams and 12 days off. The 8 minutes of less than perfect play at Duke will be reduced to that much time on the court for TLaw and Polly when they are up by 40 in the second half
UConn 95 Cal 55

 

[pinotbear]

no

 

[Frodo]

Another ranked opponent for UConn, this time a Cal team with some rough games this season:

• 
  [ ]A 12-point loss to the Duke team UConn just beat by 22.
  [ ]A 75-72 loss to George Washington.
  [ ]A four-point win over mighty Idaho.
  [ ]A two-point nail-biter against Pacific.

Not trying to be a wet blanket, but if this is the best Cal can do (notwithstanding last year's trip to the Final Four), the show UConn puts on at MSG is not going to be the showcase for WCBB I'd like to see. I mean, I'll have fun watching- come on, it's a UConn game- but is there a reason to expect anything less than a blowout?

NO!! I've been down this road before...a couple of weeks ago I wrote that

'As for Cal, they are all done for this year. They will be well outside the top 20 by the end of the year...they're already down to #34 in Sagarin's ratings, which is a much more accurate reflection of their team than either their #7 RPI or their #21 poll ranking. They were way overrated last year...keep in mind that they made it to the FF last by beating, in order, #76 Fresno State, #54 South Florida, #33 LSU, and #19 Georgia, and the latter two weren't as good as their RPI...and they barely got by the last three, beating both USF and Georgia in OT. I'd bet that if you were willing to do the research (I'm not) you'd find that Cal had one of the easiest draws to the FF in recent NCAA history.'

They lost their best scorer to graduation and their best post player to a leave of absence. Their 4 most prolific 3 point shooters are Jemerigbe, Abdelkader, Boyd and Jefflo who shoot 24%, 37%, 12% and 29% respectively. The team shoots a woeful 23% as a team from 3 and an incredible 37% of all their shots, which ranks them #262 in the country in field goal %. Having seen them play a few times I can attest that this number is not a fluke...they are one of the worst shooting teams you ever want to see. Compare that to UConn's 37% and 52%, the latter is #1 in NCAA. Cal also has more turnovers than assists and at 67% they're not even a good free throw shooting team. They do rebound, but in the games I've seen they get a lot of them off their own misses from 3 feet. Sagarin has Cal at #46 currently and a 25 point spread, but I'd be surprised if it's that close.

P.S. 'mighty Idaho' is the same Idaho that UConn beat by 70 in the first round of the NCAA last year playing w/o Stewart. I was at that game and I can tell you with absolute confidence that the game wasn't nearly as close as the score. With Stewart on the floor and if Geno were the type of coach to want to run it up I think UConn probably could have won that game 130-20. And I mean that literally.

P.P.S. Cal is a really good school and I wish they could become more of a permanent factor in the PAC-12. I've taken several computer science courses online from Cal and they've all been very good, they just don't play very good basketball.

 

[ThisJustIn]

No.

BUT, I get to see the team live, and THAT is pretty fantastic!

 

[ochoopsfan]

Being a Pac-12 fan (West Coast Bias) I can say I hope Cal can keep it close, maybe a 20 point loss. However, I don't see it that way. Last years teams success was a result of 3 years of no real success from one of the top rated recruiting classes for the 2009 year(I think it was a top 5 class by Hoopgurlz). However, that class shouldn't have taken 4 years to gel. The 2009 class was Clarendon, Brandon, Stallworth(now with KY), Caldwell, Pierre and Rogers(who never played a game due to a heart condition). The following year added in Jemerigbe(who in some mock WNBA drafts have her going in the 3rd round--I dont think she is that good), Sherbert(now at Gonzaga) and Lyles, followed by the 2011 class that added in pg Boyd, and PF Gray. During that 3 year period they won the WNIT, lost early in the WNIT, made the NCAA(lost to NDame in the 2nd round), and finally last years FF.
I think Cal will be stronger next year, adding in two very good players, but this year without Brandon, they are borderline top 25. Even with Brandon, they shouldn't be able to be in the same solar system as UConn.

 

[Kibitzer]

I think Cal will be stronger next year, adding in two very good players, but this year without Brandon, they are borderline top 25. Even with Brandon, they shouldn't be able to be in the same solar system as UConn.

Jeez, even our own TonyC couldn't come up with a line like this.

 

[Phil]

Jeez, even our own TonyC couldn't come up with a line like this.

Don't give him ideas

 

[Zorro]

To sum it up in one word, Ain't no Way. (Line stolen from Juaquin Andujar and modified slightly.)

 

[meyers7]

To sum it up in one word, Ain't no Way. (Line stolen from Juaquin Andujar and modified slightly.)

You never know.

F%$#&*@ Denkinger.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Checking latest Sagarin, UConn would be almost a 25 point favorite, but since UConn was a 1 point underdog there against Duke and won by 22, I think the margin could be adjusted to 48 without difficulty, without even tossing in the anti-rust element which should be coating UConn by the time Dec. 22 comes. Cal has no wins against a top 50 team this year, with its lone game being the loss to Duke. This margin could well be 50.

 

[pap49cba]

This margin could well be 50.

Geno has never run up the score like that on an opposing team with perhaps one exception.... (think of an orange-colored fruit).

 

[intlzncster]

Geno has never run up the score like that on an opposing team with perhaps one exception.... (think of an orange-colored fruit).

It happens all the time (1st 3 games this year). Especially to teams who don't belong on the same floor. He/They don't do it on purpose though.

 

[pap49cba]

It happens all the time (1st 3 games this year). Especially to teams who don't belong on the same floor. He/They don't do it on purpose though.

Bull. You think he 'ran up the score' against Jen? Running up the score is leaving your starting five on the floor with 2 minutes to go when you're up 30 pts. Or pressing with 2 minutes to go. You do not see Geno do that sort of stuff.

 

[intlzncster]

Bull. You think he 'ran up the score' against Jen? Running up the score is leaving your starting five on the floor with 2 minutes to go when you're up 30 pts. Or pressing with 2 minutes to go. You do not see Geno do that sort of stuff.

Yeah but the original post was about putting up a 50pt margin against Cal. Which you then, in jest of course, equated to "running up the score".

That's why I said "He/They don't do it on purpose though." If you win by 70+ you've automatically run up the score whether you use your starters or not. We are quibbling on "running up the score" definition, from a joke no less. Not worth hand ringing.

 

[pap49cba]

Yeah but the original post was about putting up a 50pt margin against Cal.

That's why I said "He/They don't do it on purpose though." If you win by 70+ you've automatically run up the score whether you use your starters or not. We are quibbling on "running up the score" definition. Not worth hand ringing.

I'm not quibbling. Just curious... What is the team supposed to do? Leave the court? Stand still?

 

[intlzncster]

I'm not quibbling. Just curious... What is the team supposed to do? Leave the court? Stand still?

I've got no problems with how those games go. If we beat Cal by 50, I'll have no problem with that either.

I guess what I was trying to say, was that I don't consider hanging 50 point margins on Cal to be running up the score. Which you did in your OP in jest. Hence why we are quibbling over nothing.

I'll make no claims on clarity in my original rebuttal btw.

 

[Zorro]

You never know.

F%$#& @ Denkinger.

Actually, Juaquin's great line was; "To sum it all up in one word, you never can tell." His other great line was; "Where is my head today?" to which there was, of course, no answer.

 

[msf22b]

No.

BUT, I get to see the team live, and THAT is pretty fantastic!

Just got my tix

 

[pap49cba]

I've got no problems with how those games go. If we beat Cal by 50, I'll have no problem with that either.

I guess what I was trying to say, was that I don't consider hanging 50 point margins on Cal to be running up the score. Which you did in your OP in jest. Hence why we are quibbling over nothing.

I'll make no claims on clarity in my original rebuttal btw.

For the sake of clarity I never mentioned 50 pts., it was DobbsRover.

 

[intlzncster]

For the sake of clarity I never mentioned 50 pts., it was DobbsRover.

No I know, you just quoted his "This margin could well be 50" line. So I assumed you were directly referring to that.

 

[slug25]

This ain't the rec league. It's D-I hoops and the opponents are all recruited scholarship athletes. Take your medicine.

 

[chrissaran]

I don't see the Huskies losing the rest of the year. Louisville will be their toughest competition and I just don't see them beating us. I just don't. Come tournament time, ND and UT our toughest competition. Would love to beat UT in the final at their place and take sole hold of the mantle.

 

[Geno-ista]

I don't see the Huskies losing the rest of the year. Louisville will be their toughest competition and I just don't see them beating us. I just don't. Come tournament time, ND and UT our toughest competition. Would love to beat UT in the final at their place and take sole hold of the mantle.

I've had a premonition since our recent tournament victory, that we would beat Tenn, for some reason in the semi finals in Nashville, and then go on to win their/our 9th! This will be my first Final Four, and I think it will be Epic!

 

[DobbsRover2]

For the sake of clarity I never mentioned 50 pts., it was DobbsRover.

For the sake of more clarity, top UConn teams are capable of running up 40 to 50 point margins on teams. The 2009-2010 team was a great team, and it won 15 games by margins of 39-70 points, and some of those victims included big schools like Clemson, North Carolina, Villanova, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Florida State (E8 game). I have no idea how the next game will play out and what Cal can do, but anyone who thinks that UConn is incapable of lighting up a sliding Cal by 50 points is not watching these games very closely.