AP Poll 12/20

[Cuango]

If the AP ranked them 7 the week before and they lose in a close game to the number 6...how does that justify a 4 level drop? Inquiring minds want to know.

Gotta kick em while their down! Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. It’s a small thing. We’ll see where we are at season’s end. Barring further misfortune, I doubt seriously we’ll be at #11!!

 

[Lynx23]

I can't take the polls too seriously. Whoever does the rankings isn't taking into account the fact that UCONN is currently and temporarily undermanned. Maryland, ranked ahead of us, has three losses too. Two of our losses were to #1 and #3, but I'm preaching to the choir. I was at Mohegan Sun yesterday and watched Michigan v. Baylor. I wasn't impressed with either team, both of which are currently ranked ahead of UCONN. In fact, Louisville v. UCONN looked like a whole other level of basketball even if we didn't play our best game. I think we'll be fine with Big East play, and have our whole squad back in time for the postseason, assuming Griffin also returns. I'm assuming (hopefully) that Paige will.

 

[Vowelguy]

I can't take the polls too seriously. Whoever does the rankings isn't taking into account the fact that UCONN is currently and temporarily undermanned. Maryland, ranked ahead of us, has three losses too. .

1) And yet the BY poll, by people on this board, has UConn about the same (#9).
2) Why should pollsters take into account longterm injuries? They are asked to rank the best teams. UConn is not one of those teams today. If things work out and players get healthy then hopefully we will be.

 

[CocoHusky]

The real gut punch for me is seeing TN ranked ahead of UCONN.

 

[Tonyc]

This Poll is a Joke.

 

[Aluminny69]

 

[Aluminny69]

This Poll is a Joke.

Tony, I think this is your most succinct post, ever!

 

[hard2please]

something tells me that IF paige comes back and azzi is healthy, and maybe even ag, we will be back in the hunt a whole lot better for it

 

[Ozimoto]

I can't argue with it given the state of things AT THIS POINT IN TIME. As always, it will all sort itself out by tournament time. There is still much time left to right the ship, assuming it can be righted.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I can't take the polls too seriously. Whoever does the rankings isn't taking into account the fact that UCONN is currently and temporarily undermanned. Maryland, ranked ahead of us, has three losses too. Two of our losses were to #1 and #3, but I'm preaching to the choir. I was at Mohegan Sun yesterday and watched Michigan v. Baylor. I wasn't impressed with either team, both of which are currently ranked ahead of UCONN. In fact, Louisville v. UCONN looked like a whole other level of basketball even if we didn't play our best game. I think we'll be fine with Big East play, and have our whole squad back in time for the postseason, assuming Griffin also returns. I'm assuming (hopefully) that Paige will.

Maryland also has 3 more wins than we do. At some point you have to rank the teams based on their records, and we have a lot less wins than every other team that's ranked except for Iowa. Some teams have 5 more wins than we do already. I'd consider #11 a gift.

 

[cferraro04]

Let's be honest here...as bad as it is to be without the services of our all everything point guard Paige Bueckers, our ace freshman shooting guard Azzi Fudd, our spunky, give no quarter back-up point guard Nika Muhl and our athletic freak small forward Aubrey Griffin the silver lining is this unfortunate set of circumstances gives our remaining players the opportunity to round out into tournament form....their new motto at this point should be, "If it is meant to be, it is up to me". After all, they are all we have right now the magnificent seven: (Olivia Nelson-Ododa; Dorka Jurasz; Evina Westbrook, Christyn Williams and Caroline Ducharme; Aliyah Edwards and Amari DeBerry). Clearly, there is no room for error here.

What started out as a pretty deep team quickly turned into a very talented team with almost zero depth thanks to the IR (injured reserve) list which has claimed four of our impact players and the Transfer portal which claimed two more players who could have provided minutes if needed. I haven't forgotten about Piath Gabriele who seems to me lounging somewhere in the Netherland where players reside if they haven't earned the confidence of the coaching staff and are only limited to getting minutes at garbage time.
Unfortunately, for Piath at this time with our shortened bench there hasn't been an abundance of garbage minutes to go around.

The next 4-6 weeks ought to give Evina a chance to cement her position as a vocal leader at the point guard position. She is an exciting player who will play hard, get rebounds, create assists and can knock down the three pointer. She needs to become a more consistent scorer and if she does then when Paige and the others come back she will be a reliable option causing Husky opponents to have to play defense on her.

Olivia has to establish herself in the next 6 weeks as a consistent double / double threat. She is a very good high post option and can pass into the high/low causing defenses to come out on her and opening up the middle for slashers such as Christyn and Caroline as well as our other bigs, Dorka and Aliyah who can then post up in the middle. She must stay out of foul trouble as not having her on the floor really allows other teams to capitalize on our lack of depth.

Somewhere in the UCLA game Dorka realized what her role is on this team. She could be a consistent double - double and the combination of Dorka and Olivia could be something special as they continue to build chemistry between them. Dorka gives us a big body who has a nose for scoring and who can box out and rebound. Her passing will continue to improve and we will see more back door passes like the one she made with Caroline Ducharme in the Louisville game.

Christyn Williams is best at moving without the ball, slashing to the basket, scoring and picking up fouls. Sadly her outside shot just hasn't developed to where it should be and 30 percent isn't going to cut it. She needs to become a lock-down defender, someone who can set a screen and roll to the basket and a slasher. I still think she should be an 18 to 20 points per game player as her ability to score at times is incredible. She should not and can not become reliant on her 3 point shot...it just isn't there at this time.

Caroline Ducharme over-performed in her break-out game against Louisville. She showed us what she is capable of doing...but I would expect her to do those numbers every game. But, her style of play will result in rebounds, steals, blocks, assists and points. She will be a stat-stuffer type of player. Some games if she gets open shots she will knock down threes and score on put backs and cuts to the basket. She is a big body guard who will disrupt opponents offenses. She is still a freshmen with a steep learning curve in front of her but based on what she has given us so far the future is bright. With both Azzi and Bueckers slated to return this season Caroline will become an important part of a very potent offense.

All in all, this team is struggling now as any team who has lost 6 players in the first month of the season would but, they are a talented group and the next 6 weeks will give them all a chance to grow together and when the rest of the team begins to return UConn will be at a place as a team that I believe will be far better than they would be without their current adversity.

 

[msf22b]

I'm not sure I'd want to be the three seniors knowing that they are unfortunately a part of this team dropping out of the top 10. Somehow I think that's more pressure than maintaining streaks. But, there's still time to turn it all around. What they do with this white board motivation remains to be seen. It will show a lot if they are unable (or able) to respond.

In a different thread GOTU, in response to they're doing the best they can pleas...I disagreed.

But maybe he's (she's) right maybe they are doing the best they can....

E is physically diminished, playing too many minutes, and playing out of posiion.
The two, true, UConn seniors are playing much as they always have
Yes and No, good and bad, disappearing and re-appearing
We all know the drill. Completely consistent with past performance...

What will be interesting (at least to me) is their performance at the next level.
Players have been known to improve a lot in the pros (some):

-Think Danger, much more dangerous (wonderful word) as a pro.
-Think grumpy Mercedes Russell, a total bust at Tennessee...ok, not a total bust but a disappointment. now a solid, contributing, joyous player.

Will Christyn respond better to a different coaching style? Will Olivia?
Stay tuned...

 

[BostonBay]

It's official. UCONN is back to the Dark Ages...

 

[Blue Huskie]

If the AP ranked them 7 the week before and they lose in a close game to the number 6...how does that justify a 4 level drop? Inquiring minds want to know.

It doesn't make any sense to me either but it will motivate them more.

 

[Blue Ghost]

If everyone was healthy and we were still at 6-3 then maybe there would be reason to worry. But we have 3 guards and a wing out and still beat UCLA and gave Louisville everything they could handle. When all the girls come back healthy, we will start to get things rolling into tournament time! No team would want to play us then.

 

[Darnell17]

UConn does not have a signature win this season. Texas beat Stanford and is ranked 12. What has UConn done this season to earn #11 spot, other than past reputation? A win over #18 USF.

Maryland beats Baylor,but Baylor then loses to lower ranked team,so does that diminish Maryland‘s win?

 

[Orangutan]

Visitingcock I’m curious about your semi-unbiased opinion. Does that feel like too big a drop to you? Our loss to Louisville was a neutral site loss by less than five points to a higher ranked opponent. Not that it matters one way or another, but I’m curious how a fan of another program would view it.

(Note: I referred to your opinion as “semi-unbiased” because given the time you spend on The Boneyard I know you’re really familiar with the program and I think South Carolina and UConn fans have a considerable amount of respect for each others programs.)

I understand why UConn is out of the top 10 but I also have no doubt in my mind that UConn is one of the ten best teams in the country. Louisville and South Carolina are legit. And GA Tech was a perfect recipe for disaster: a strong defensive team with great chemistry playing at home against UConn in UConn's first game without Paige.

 

[TheFarmFan]

If everyone was healthy and we were still at 6-3 then maybe there would be reason to worry. But we have 3 guards and a wing out and still beat UCLA and gave Louisville everything they could handle. When all the girls come back healthy, we will start to get things rolling into tournament time! No team would want to play us then.

Assuming all three can come back and play this season, and play like they did before they were injured, I think this actually really enhances UConn's chances at a championship. Ducharme and Dorka would not get to develop as quickly as they have been if Paige had been running the offense 37 minutes per game. At this point, I think we've seen the ceiling on the three seniors' potential (which, I have to say, is actually a bit disappointing given that they were the nos. 1, 3, and 5 players in their classes), but Ducharme and Dorka are visibly improving by the game.

 

[Alydar]

It's official. UCONN is back to the Dark Ages...

You can only invoke that after the season is over. The 2003 or 2004 team lost their 3rd game about 3 or 4 days later than the UL loss this year.
UConn has been incredibly fortunate with regards to major injuries. UConn hasn't taught jump steps for example. In fact I don't see that much at all in wcbb anymore. As bad as things seem now it is far from desperate times.

 

[Vowelguy]

Maryland beats Baylor,but Baylor then loses to lower ranked team,so does that diminish Maryland‘s win?

For me, MD gets credit for playing SC tighter than any team this year.

 

[Plebe]

For me, MD gets credit for playing SC tighter than any team this year.

... and doing so in Columbia.

To me that carries far more weight than the other key games where they were down 3 key players and lost badly.

 

[Boreifs]

If the AP ranked them 7 the week before and they lose in a close game to the number 6...how does that justify a 4 level drop? Inquiring minds want to know.

Louisville also slaughtered Michigan, who is now ranked ahead of UConn. These ratings are totally unscientific. Massey has Louisville seven and UConn eight, which feels right to me.

 

[SJF]

The whole world of WCBB is enjoying our misfortune and basking in it. It’s like the scene from “Airplane” when everyone lines up to take a wack at the lady that is freaking out. But deep down they are all seeing this team developing posts and CD arriving on the scene and they all know if everyone comes back healthy the giant will be back and no one will want to play this team come March.

 

[visitingcock]

So, if you are a voter, do you rank teams by:

(1) where they are right now

OR

(2) where you think they will end up?

 

[jpp13]

So, if you are a voter, do you rank teams by:

(1) where they are right now

OR

(2) where you think they will end up?

1, and don't know why people don't get it. The only quibble is i would put us ahead of Baylor which has only played two ranked teams (Maryland was down Masonious and Benzan, with those two i don't think it's as competitive) and lost both. We at least have two wins there.