AP poll. S.Carolina, ND, UConn ... | Page 2 | The Boneyard

AP poll. S.Carolina, ND, UConn ...

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easttexastrash said:
I think that UCONN's starting 5 is the best in the country. But SC is the best squad from top to bottom, in my opinion. What they bring off the bench is better than what UCONN and ND bring off the bench. A game with foul trouble on both sides would play in SC's favor.

It will all get worked out in the next two months. UCONN will beat ND and will then get a chance to beat SC.
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SC is ranked number 1 and UConn is the best team in the country.
 
Tonyc said:
SC is ranked number 1 and UConn is the best team in the country.
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The first step to proving this comes this weekend. If it weren't for that Stanford loss I would vote UCONN a clear number 1. But I have to see them win a big matchup to show me that the Stanford game was not a fluke, especially since Stanford has gone on to lose two games.
 
Sluconn Husky said:
I don't begrudge. I'm saying that there's enough subjectiveness that goes into the polls that there shouldn't have been consternation over UConn receiving 1st-place votes after losing to Stanford. Or possibly moving to #1 if they were to win in South Bend.

Remember the coach who gave Baylor a 1st-place vote after UConn won the title two years ago because she felt Baylor was the best team? Polls are fun to look at but not exactly scientific.
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Nope, don't remember that at all. But that sounds like a smart coach.

These rankings mean a lot more to fans than the teams. Although saying you are the number 1 ranked team may sound good when recruiting, though not as good as "we've win 9 titles."
 
Texas has had the most impressive results so far. Beating top ten teams at the time they played them, Stanford at Maples Pavilion and Tennessee at home in Austin. The upcoming So. Carolina-Duke game this Sunday should prove insightful. I like Duke in this game by the slimmest of margins.
It will be SC's first road game of the season (they've played 2 at a neutral site) and it should be a fairly vocal crowd.
 
Early in the season which is where we are, there is more room for voters to change their vote based on quality of wins rather than simply on losses. Relative strength is hypothetical at the moment since almost no one at the top has played common opponents yet and many have only played cupcakes. That is why Stanford's win over Uconn propelled them to the top on a number of ballots, and their subsequent loss dropped them back down. If ND were to beat Uconn, many voters would see that as proof that they are in fact better than SC just because they have been more fully tested and that is probably a legitimate reaction - if the SC game happened before the ND game the reverse would also be true for the folks that are currently voting ND as #1
 
Some of it is the reluctance to give UConn the number one back. They all know we won't give it up again.
So don't expect to get it by beating ND. BUT we all know it's NOT about earning it as much as it is about forcing the voters to not be able to vote against UConn. So SC will keep it for a while.
IT REALLY DOES NOT MATTER. Let them have their fun. Reality has a way of intruding all by itself. Waa Ha Haaa Ha
 
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The great thing about College basketball is, at the end of the year, you actually have to win the championship, not have someone award you the championship.
 
easttexastrash said:
The first step to proving this comes this weekend. If it weren't for that Stanford loss I would vote UCONN a clear number 1. But I have to see them win a big matchup to show me that the Stanford game was not a fluke, especially since Stanford has gone on to lose two games.
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See that's the difference. UConn plays ND to prove something and SC doesn't. SC will play Duke. No comparison.
 
baggerbob said:
The great thing about College basketball is, at the end of the year, you actually have to win the championship, not have someone award you the championship.
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Are you forgetting that College Football now has a playoff and Championship Game? What percentage of sports "award you the championship"?
 
I agree that all precedent says that South Carolina will remain #1 until they lose. When and if they lose (even if it is to UConn), they will probably drop below at least a few other one-loss teams. You could argue that a South Carolina loss to UConn is a "better" loss than UConn's loss to Stanford, and that therefore they should retain the #1 spot even then, but that won't happen. #1 teams always stay #1 until they lose, and they lose #1 when they lose. That behavior in the polls is virtually cast in stone.
 
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UcMiami said:
Early in the season which is where we are, there is more room for voters to change their vote based on quality of wins rather than simply on losses. Relative strength is hypothetical at the moment since almost no one at the top has played common opponents yet and many have only played cupcakes. That is why Stanford's win over Uconn propelled them to the top on a number of ballots, and their subsequent loss dropped them back down. If ND were to beat Uconn, many voters would see that as proof that they are in fact better than SC just because they have been more fully tested and that is probably a legitimate reaction - if the SC game happened before the ND game the reverse would also be true for the folks that are currently voting ND as #1
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UcMiami is right on here-this early in the season, the quality of the wins and losses, surely is more important than simply number of W/L's. I agree that SC deserves #1 right now, but I feel that the winner of the ND/UCONN game this weekend should get the #1 rank REGARDLESS of the SC/DUKE game.

Why? I think it is well known that there is a huge drop off in talent in WCBB after the first 3-4 teams. A teams results playing these heavyweights is so much more telling than wins over the 2nd tier teams or the teams ranked #10-25th. Uconn or ND is going to win a big early season test of WCBB giants and they should get #1 because they earned it against a top 3 team. SC can earn it back when they beat a top ranked team!!

Had so much fun in Nashville in April that my wife and I just booked our flights to South Bend for this weekend-I'm bringing my lucky Uconn #23 shirt signed by BOTH Maya and KML!!! Go Huskies!!!
 
Tonyc said:
See that's the difference. UConn plays ND to prove something and SC doesn't. SC will play Duke. No comparison.
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Yet SC will play UCONN to prove something...or some may say have something proven to them. Just because SC's test comes later than UCONN's or ND's does not invalidate it.
 
JoePgh said:
I agree that all precedent says that South Carolina will remain #1 until they lose. When and if they lose (even if it is to UConn), they will probably drop below at least a few other one-loss teams. You could argue that a South Carolina loss to UConn is a "better" loss than UConn's loss to Stanford, and that therefore they should retain the #1 spot even then, but that won't happen. #1 teams always stay #1 until they lose, and they lose #1 when they lose. That behavior in the polls is virtually cast in stone.
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It is a long way off to predict where SC will be in two months if they lose to UCONN on the road. If that game were in the next week or two I think that would be a discussion worth having, but to project their ranking in two months on an assumed loss to UCONN is taking this to an entirely new level of ridiculousness.
 
Seems to me that people are expecting South Carolina to have a cake walk on Dec 7, but I expect otherwise.

People are counting their Chickens before they hatch ;)


Fightin Choke said:
And UConn will play Duke as well. It's all a bit confusing. I'm not sure if I understood Tony's point.
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And Duke will play ND too :p
 
It is December...I think the team ranked number 1 should be crowned as champion today. :D
 
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triaddukefan said:
Seems to me that people are expecting South Carolina to have a cake walk on Dec 7, but I expect otherwise.

People are counting their Chickens before they hatch ;)




And Duke will play ND too :p
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I'm not; I expect a road game at Duke to be very difficult. I'm very much looking forward to attending my first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
 
JoePgh said:
I agree that all precedent says that South Carolina will remain #1 until they lose. When and if they lose (even if it is to UConn), they will probably drop below at least a few other one-loss teams. You could argue that a South Carolina loss to UConn is a "better" loss than UConn's loss to Stanford, and that therefore they should retain the #1 spot even then, but that won't happen. #1 teams always stay #1 until they lose, and they lose #1 when they lose. That behavior in the polls is virtually cast in stone.
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I guess the football committee is different than the cast-in-stone polls. Undefeated defending national champion Florida State dropped to #4 today, below 3 one-loss teams. FSU is the only undefeated team in the top 25.
 
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Tonyc said:
To me it doesn't matter. Yes it does matter..
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I love how you really take a stand there, Tony!! ;) Seriously though, as several of you pointed out, all that matters right now is bragging rights. I think it's very unlikely that UCONN (or ND for that matter) are not 1 seeds. And you are right - we do control our own destiny... Beat ND and SC and we will be THE 1 seed and best team in the nation...
 
ericsandiego said:
Seriously though, as several of you pointed out, all that matters right now is bragging rights.
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I don't agree. It means much more to UConn than to the Irish at the moment. After all the consternation and anxiousness following the loss to Stanford, the last thing the Huskies need is to lose with their retooled starting lineup. It's not end of the world stuff, but another loss in South Bend after throwing the previous two away would be highly deflating.
 
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Sluconn Husky said:
I don't agree. It means much more to UConn than to the Irish at the moment. After all the consternation and anxiousness following the loss to Stanford, the last thing the Huskies need is to lose with their retooled starting lineup. It's not end of the world stuff, but another loss in South Bend after throwing the previous two away would be highly deflating.
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I was talking about the polls. The only people who care about them are the fans. You really think Geno and the staff and the team care one iota about who is ranked #1? I don't think so.

As for the game against the Irish, it's #2 vs. #3. Both sides could argue the game is a big deal, but that isn't what I was talking about.
 
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