AP rankings

[LwrcasefaN]

Can UConn fans really point fingers at another team’s inconsistency?

In the sense that he has had consistently great talent and has kind of been in neutral for a while...I think so. Any team with inconsistency in the past two years...I give a pass. I would underperform too with someone digging up my nose every day.

 

[oldude]

Can UConn fans really point fingers at another team’s inconsistency?

If it was just this year, no. My comment is over several years.

 

[Littlemin]

I agree with Stymie. As I said before, I am uncomfortable with the comment that we had only 6 players available. We have two 6'5" players on the bench that contribute their best in practice and are standing by and eager to contribute. Consider how they would feel if they thought they were considered as non-existent.

I had an assistant on the coaching staff when I played in HS who went on to a coach at a NJ state school and is in the state HOF. When talking with people who would recommend players to him, his reply to comments touting them because of height, athleticism, non-game shooting ability, etc. his stock question was “Yeah, but can they play?”
I am not saying or intimating that the two players can or can’t play because I don’t have the vaguest ideal but Auriemma, as all good coaches, has standards that need to be met to get on the court. I don’t believe for a second there is a reason other than that for their non-use. As for the two young ladies, their enthusiasm on the bench during games leads me to believe they both clearly understand their respective situations, although that is totally supposition on my part.

 

[tchalla1]

They also have TWO players that Geno pretty much neglects to play.
They are at least as much members of this team as Aubrey.
They practice every week and are in uniform, with sneakers on, and on the sideline ready to contribute.
It is impolite and inaccurate not to categorize them as active and available.
So more than 6.
Coach often chooses to play only 6.
But more than 6.

You make an important statement--I don't know whether Geno "neglects them" or not because I don't know what's being told them in practice, but it is a disservice to them for us to omit them from the team and talk about having only six players... Thanks for reminding us of this oversight.

 

[Biff]

Like this?

No. Like this.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

No. Like this.

View attachment 73330

Magic Man with making adjustments to these things!!!!

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Tennessee moved up?

Only because someone moved down. Maybe they'll climb back to a 1 seed and leave the first weekend in style.

 

[LoTrader]

Oregon not in the Top 25 is LOL. I get that they lost to Arizona and OSU recently, but does anyone think on a neutral floor they are not a top 25 team? Iowa's only top 50 win is Nebraska. FGCU just lost to Stetson and their only top 50 win was Kim's second game helming LSU.

Also think UConn is a bit underranked. Winning games when you have six total players available is a bit like winning with one hand tied behind your back. And speaking as the competition, I'm really not excited when that other hand is finally back from COVID/injury, because the one hand is packing quite a lot of punch already!

Agreed, UO should be in top 25. I'm sure someone or someones will ridicule this comment, but it will be shown again that the PAC-12 conference play prepares their teams best for the NCAA Tournament because it is the toughest conference top to bottom (bottom to top). Stanford, AZ, UO will all be tough outs in the NCAA Tournament. There are other teams in the PAC-12 that will make the tournament, and will be bracket busters. It has been this way for the past 4 years.

 

[oldude]

No. Like this.

View attachment 73330

I’m a bit confused. If Captain Marvel (Paige) has superhuman durability & strength, how could she ever be dealing with a tibial plateau fracture? I have a bad feeling that Yon-Rogg, the Kree Warrior, was somehow involved in this….

 

[CL82]

Can UConn fans really point fingers at another team’s inconsistency?

Yes.

It’s like you don’t know us at all anymore.

 

[HopJim]

Initially Oregon stumbled out of the gate due to Covid. We all thought the Ducks were back after the UConn beat down and several other big wins. But Oregon has stumbled several times since. You just never know which team is going to show up.

Which takes me to Kelly Graves. A few years ago, with Ionescu running the show, many believed it was just a matter of time before Graves won a national championship. Now, I honestly wonder if he will ever reach that goal at Oregon. Graves is a great recruiter to be sure. But his teams are inconsistent.

Dude, agree with your Graves assessment and want to add one point. Kelly has recruited some great players but rarely has a complete team (i.e. more than 7-8 players who can step in when injuries hit). Always seems to be missing 1-2 key components. Sound familiar?

 

[BobbyJ]

Because they are in a P5 conference...

FGCU is in the Atlantic Sun Conference which is no P5 conference.

 

[Plebe]

Still can't see why Louisville is ahead of State in both this poll and the BY Poll.

I assume you mean NC State? They were ahead of Louisville ... until they lost to those wayward wannabes from the wastelands of northern Indiana. Bad actions have consequences.

By contrast, what happened to the WWFTWONIs when they played Louisville?

 

[Plebe]

If Rhode Island doesn't make the tourney, then something needs adjusting.

RI currently sits atop the A10 but has to play Dayton (half game back) twice in the
next four games. For what it's worth Charlie Creme has Dayton as the automatic
qualifier from the A10 and no other A10 team in the field. Looks like it will all depend
on the A10 tournament.

From what I'm seeing, Creme's latest — as of 2/11, which was before Dayton lost to VCU yesterday — has Dayton as the AQ and listed Rhode Island as among the "first 4 out". This suggests URI would be very near the cut line if they lose in the A-10 tournament.

For now RI's best wins are over Princeton and UMass, but they also have losses to Buffalo, Long Beach State (ouch) and Holy Cross (holy ouch!).

Beating Dayton in at least one, and preferably both, of their upcoming two games will go a long way toward supporting Rhode Island's at-large prospects.

 

[Centerstream]

FGCU is in the Atlantic Sun Conference which is no P5 conference.

Please read the post that I was replying to. It was referring to a specific list of schools.

 

[TCC Kid]

Oregon not in the Top 25 is LOL. I get that they lost to Arizona and OSU recently, but does anyone think on a neutral floor they are not a top 25 team? Iowa's only top 50 win is Nebraska. FGCU just lost to Stetson and their only top 50 win was Kim's second game helming LSU.

Also think UConn is a bit underranked. Winning games when you have six total players available is a bit like winning with one hand tied behind your back. And speaking as the competition, I'm really not excited when that other hand is finally back from COVID/injury, because the one hand is packing quite a lot of punch already!

Neutral Floor? It is often reported that the home court offers a 10 point home advantage. Uconn's better teams seemed to play their best basketball with "away homie fans"
That 10 points only works when your team, on that day, is a 10 point better team.

 

[jchusky]

Initially Oregon stumbled out of the gate due to Covid. We all thought the Ducks were back after the UConn beat down and several other big wins. But Oregon has stumbled several times since. You just never know which team is going to show up.

Which takes me to Kelly Graves. A few years ago, with Ionescu running the show, many believed it was just a matter of time before Graves won a national championship. Now, I honestly wonder if he will ever reach that goal at Oregon. Graves is a great recruiter to be sure. But his teams are inconsistent.

man I'm so glad someone else calls this out, the excuses he gets. Same goes with Walz, the guy has choked with teams that he had talent to win and go further. Neither to me I see winning a ntl title.

 

[TCC Kid]

Please read the post that I was replying to. It was referring to a specific list of schools.

You aren't serious are you?? Expecting people to read? The next thing, pushy you, will want is comprehension!

 

[TCC Kid]

After the Ducks beat Arizona and then beat us decidedly, I had high expectations for them. But they have been underwhelming since then. For some reason, they are lacking consistency. I agree that their potential is top-10 or so, but they need to find it.

At this point, I'm as worried about Caroline and Liv as I am about Paige. Buckets looks really good inI "warmups." If we get healthy, I think we are a clear top-3 team, as we were in November.

I'm taking the rest of the season, thusly: Paige isn't game healthy yet. When she returns how long before she is "game" ready? SO,
My personal, not yours or anyone elses, for the rest of the year. Uconn plays with the 8 top players until the end. The possibility of a FF is good, beyond that, Paige or no, I think FF is the best UC WCBB can expect. NEXT YEAR, we can start calling ourselves, Dem Bum's

 

[MSGRET]

I assume you mean NC State? They were ahead of Louisville ... until they lost to those wayward wannabes from the wastelands of northern Indiana. Bad actions have consequences.

By contrast, what happened to the WWFTWONIs when they played Louisville?

There is only one team that I despise more than the one from Knoxville, and that's the one from South Bend. I like the naming them the Wayward Wannabes from the Wastelands of Northern Indiana.

 

[triaddukefan]

There is only one team that I despise more than the one from Knoxville, and that's the one from South Bend. I like the naming them the Wayward Wannabes from the Wastelands of Northern Indiana.

I thought he was talking about Valpo at first.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

TODAY's AP Poll already getting blown up... #5 Indiana just got beat by unranked Nebraska by 17 points... 72 - 55

Dominoes continue to fall.

 

[GoCardinal]

Well, I said I wasn’t convinced Indiana was a top 5 team and they proceed to get whacked by Nebraska. I think to think I wasn’t the jinx

 

[Skins87]

Well, I said I wasn’t convinced Indiana was a top 5 team and they proceed to get whacked by Nebraska. I think to think I wasn’t the jinx

They are missing their best player

 

[GoCardinal]

They are missing their best player

All the more reason why they shouldn’t have been voted top 5.

 

[cferraro04]

I believe that if UConn was at full strength they would probably be ranked 3 or 4 in this poll. It is hard to look for a silver lining during this period where the injury bug as infected UConn's top players however, it has been a blessing in disguise for Caroline Ducharme, Dorka Juhasz and Azzi Fudd as they have all gotten valuable minutes that they more than likely wouldn't have gotten if everyone was healthy and two players didn't transfer during the season. Even Christyn, Aliyah, Evina and Olivia have had to step it up and play at a higher level in the absence of UConn's top players. I smile inwardly at the thought of everyone being healthy...I mean yesterday we had Olivia, Bueckers and Caroline on the bench...why that is 40-45 points on any given night...and UConn still beat Marquette by 14 and DePaul by 24...scoring 84 and 72...and that is with 45 points on the bench...it is truly amazing when you think about it. You basically have UConn beating teams with only 6 players and arguably 3 of the best players at their positions on the bench.

I see no team in the top 10 that I am worried about if we are at full strength...except South Carolina and Stanford. We played Louisville without Bueckers, Fudd and Muhl...and with Edwards who hadn't yet found her stride. We will absolutely win that game in a rematch if we are at full strength. I think it matters not where UConn gets placed in the NCAAs...they are at worse a legit 2 seed and probably a 1 seed. I don't think anybody wants UConn in their bracket... I look for Geno to turn in his best coaching job ever...and UConn gets to the final four with a legit shot at championship.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think Louisville still has a real shot against us even at full strength but I agree we might be favored in that instance. They have trended up recently.

Indiana's best player isn't coming back this year either. They probably trend down going forward.

A lot of this depends on how healthy everyone is in the playoffs. Covid, injuries will continue to impact teams and who knows the situation then.

I like our chances if we are slotted with NC State. I'm not discounting them as they have been very successful but I think we match up well. I also like our chances against the other teams currently slotted in Bridgeport ( ESPN projections ).

 

[Barkin Out]

Not convinced Iowa State, Baylor, Indiana, Michigan and LSU should be as high as they are.

I agree. These are all flawed teams that lack depth and a complete starting 5- much like I our own injury depleted team. They do have one or two very strong players. Truth is that most of these teams have played a soft out of conference schedule, and they are just now playing each other. So as they win and beat each other up, things should clear up a bit.

While many talking heads in WCBB love to talk about parity this year, I see the same pattern that we’ve seen for years: a top 3-5 very strong teams, with a sizable gap down to the next 10 teams, which are almost interchangeable in terms of ranking. The range of Massey’s ratings for the 5th through 15th ranked teams is very tight- very little separation. And there is a big jump up to the “elite” teams.

Every ranking tool has its weakness- but the NET quadrant concept is particularly troublesome when there is as significant of a gap between the 24th ranked team and the 4th ranked team. These Big 10/12 teams mostly have avoided the top 5 so they have avoided the scars which we suffered.

The next 3 weeks will be like shaking up a snow globe for the#5-15 teams. There is,IMO opinion, a good chance that a healthier recovered UCONN team will settle out at the top of this group.

 

[Skeets]

There is only one team that I despise more than the one from Knoxville, and that's the one from South Bend. I like the naming them the Wayward Wannabes from the Wastelands of Northern Indiana.

Not the teams so much as their fans (although I do hate the color orange). Perhaps that was what you meant? Thanks for explaining the acronym.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

From what I'm seeing, Creme's latest — as of 2/11, which was before Dayton lost to VCU yesterday — has Dayton as the AQ and listed Rhode Island as among the "first 4 out". This suggests URI would be very near the cut line if they lose in the A-10 tournament.

For now RI's best wins are over Princeton and UMass, but they also have losses to Buffalo, Long Beach State (ouch) and Holy Cross (holy ouch!).

Beating Dayton in at least one, and preferably both, of their upcoming two games will go a long way toward supporting Rhode Island's at-large prospects.

Today Creme has Rhode Island in as the AQ and Dayton First out. So...clearly the message is one of them isn't dancing.