Best case scenario for UConn (and Big East) | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Best case scenario for UConn (and Big East)

Lafayette said:
I don't see Seton Hall getting in. Realistically UConn, St. John's, Villanova.

But every year is different. Give it a year, and the Big East might get some better talent and get 5 teams in.
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Not according to Nostradomos aka Ruff Ruff 😉
 
Tenspro2002 said:
The league officiates like the Big East is doing UConn a favor by allowing us to exist.

The league clearly sees their identity as synonymous with the plucky urban Catholic schools and accepts UConn as a necessary evil.
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Because they know we leave if we get a p4 invite
 
shizzle787 said:
We all know the Big East is having a down year, but the league can salvage something respectable if the following happens:

1. UConn wins out until Selection Sunday. We would finish 33-1 (20-0). That would cement us as a #1 seed and I think pass Duke as I think they will slip up two or three times the rest of the way.

2. St. John's goes 0-3 against us and beats everybody else (losing to us in the BET final). They would finish 26-8 (17-3). That would put them in the conversation for a #4 seed.

3. Villanova loses to us and St. John's 2x (once in BET semifinal). They would finish 25-8 (15-5). That would put them on the #6 line (which is perfect for setting up an Elite 8 run- avoids overpowered #1 seeds this year until regions final).

4. Seton Hall loses to us 2x (once in BET semifinal) and St. John's once. They would finish 23-10 (12-8). That would put them in the field as a #10 seed.

That is what we should be rooting for. It is unlikely all of this will come to fruition, but that is the game plan.
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These are big asks especially the 3 losses to St. John’s.
 
I honestly don't care about anyone other than UConn this year - only real interest are teams that can actually make a F4 run. If you're not hanging banners for the league, don't care. Maybe StJ has an off chance. Nova getting in, or SHU sliding in as an 11, does nada for me other than avoid some league embarrassment which I've over.
 
shizzle787 said:
We all know the Big East is having a down year, but the league can salvage something respectable if the following happens:

1. UConn wins out until Selection Sunday. We would finish 33-1 (20-0). That would cement us as a #1 seed and I think pass Duke as I think they will slip up two or three times the rest of the way.

2. St. John's goes 0-3 against us and beats everybody else (losing to us in the BET final). They would finish 26-8 (17-3). That would put them in the conversation for a #4 seed.

3. Villanova loses to us and St. John's 2x (once in BET semifinal). They would finish 25-8 (15-5). That would put them on the #6 line (which is perfect for setting up an Elite 8 run- avoids overpowered #1 seeds this year until regions final).

4. Seton Hall loses to us 2x (once in BET semifinal) and St. John's once. They would finish 23-10 (12-8). That would put them in the field as a #10 seed.

That is what we should be rooting for. It is unlikely all of this will come to fruition, but that is the game plan.
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Why exactly are you giving Duke 2 or 3 slip ups. I definitely don’t agree. I believe Duke
shizzle787 said:
We all know the Big East is having a down year, but the league can salvage something respectable if the following happens:

1. UConn wins out until Selection Sunday. We would finish 33-1 (20-0). That would cement us as a #1 seed and I think pass Duke as I think they will slip up two or three times the rest of the way.

2. St. John's goes 0-3 against us and beats everybody else (losing to us in the BET final). They would finish 26-8 (17-3). That would put them in the conversation for a #4 seed.

3. Villanova loses to us and St. John's 2x (once in BET semifinal). They would finish 25-8 (15-5). That would put them on the #6 line (which is perfect for setting up an Elite 8 run- avoids overpowered #1 seeds this year until regions final).

4. Seton Hall loses to us 2x (once in BET semifinal) and St. John's once. They would finish 23-10 (12-8). That would put them in the field as a #10 seed.

That is what we should be rooting for. It is unlikely all of this will come to fruition, but that is the game plan.
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Why exactly are you giving Duke 2 or 3 slip ups. I definitely don’t agree. I believe Duke will go undefeated in ACC play and easily cruise to the #1 overall seed. Duke is on a mission this year to silence all the critics.
 
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WeAreUCONN said:
Why exactly are you giving Duke 2 or 3 slip ups. I definitely don’t agree. I believe Duke

Why exactly are you giving Duke 2 or 3 slip ups. I definitely don’t agree. I believe Duke will go undefeated in ACC play and easily cruise to the #1 overall seed. Duke is on a mission this year to silence all the critics.
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Still doing this?
 
NJHusky said:
Because they know we leave if we get a p4 invite
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I you think about it, it makes sense. Since we have no place to go, not catering to UConn is unlikely to cause us to leave. We will accept the first P4 offer to come our way, and there's nothing Val and the conference could do to change that. Thus, it's kind of logical that the big east will screw us over at every opportunity. There's no downside to it since we have no place to go and no upside to treating us well since nothing they can do would prevent us from leaving. Much better to curry favor with the programs that are likely to be around long-term.
 
CL82 said:
I you think about it, it makes sense. Since we have no place to go, not catering to UConn is unlikely to cause us to leave. We will accept the first P4 offer to come our way, and there's nothing Val and the conference could do to change that. Thus, it's kind of logical that the big east will screw us over at every opportunity. There's no downside to it since we have no place to go and no upside to treating us well since nothing they can do would prevent us from leaving. Much better to curry favor with the programs that are likely to be around long-term.
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It’s worrisome because Hurley and his magnificent staff and program that he’s built still needs players AND competition. Sure he can schedule big non con but he’s going to need to do it in Jan and Feb if possible too if we stay. Gotta cut back conference games. Is that a possibility? We gotta leave, no way around it. Who will likely take our football?
 
jibsey said:
It’s worrisome because Hurley and his magnificent staff and program that he’s built still needs players AND competition. Sure he can schedule big non con but he’s going to need to do it in Jan and Feb if possible too if we stay. Gotta cut back conference games. Is that a possibility? We gotta leave, no way around it. Who will likely take our football?
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I don't see anything happening until the dust settles in the ACC. So, for the next four years, at least we won't be going anywhere. I do think that this next round of conference alignment may, for all practical purposes, be our last opportunity to get into a power conference.
 
Agreed CL82. This is it, are the powers that be going to decide to end it for UCOnn forever, or give them a chance in a P2-4? The biggest reason to NOT give us a chance is because they know we would blow by more than half the P2-4 within 2 years. Even before we get full $$$.
 
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AllHusky said:
Agreed CL82. This is it, are the powers that be going to decide to end it for UCOnn forever, or give them a chance in a P2-4? The biggest reason to NOT give us a chance is because they know we would blow by more than half the P2-4 within 2 years. Even before we get full $$$.
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The biggest reason to keep us out of the club is that we aren't already in the club. That's what kept us out of the big 12 the last go round. If the powers that be decide to monetize basketball, or think they might at some point in the future, then we may have a chance.
 
CL82 said:
The biggest reason to keep us out of the club is that we aren't already in the club. That's what kept us out of the big 12 the last go round. If the powers that be decide to monetize basketball, or think they might at some point in the future, then we may have a chance.
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The B12 is the only league thinking creative enough to find a way to bring us in for hoops. ACC is entirely reactive.

Yormark just said he was unleashing some new concept around the B12 tourney. Guy is always spinning something new. I'd love an invite, but we would be such a cultural oddball there. They already have so much strength in hoops as it is, not sure how much value we bring. I can't see it being for the NY Market or hosting in NY, too many teams way out in the midwest/Texas.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
The league officiates like the Big East is doing UConn a favor by allowing us to exist.

The league clearly sees their identity as synonymous with the plucky urban Catholic schools and accepts UConn as a necessary evil.
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Can you tell me more about this inferiority complex / "everyone is out to get me" attitude you have despite having multiple NC's from the past couple years?
 
MU in MKE said:
Can you tell me more about this inferiority complex / "everyone is out to get me" attitude you have despite having multiple NC's from the past couple years?
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Sure. First, pretty much every fan base in the country believes "everyone is out to get them" and that the refs treat them unfairly, etc. In our case, the fact BE refs allow an unprecedented amount of hand checking, jersey grabbing, and bumping off the ball limits our ability to run our offense effectively. Meanwhile, Connecticut gets called for many fouls often, resulting in a 3 to 1 differential. Thus Connecticut often struggles in a conference that has difficulty getting people to the dance, never mind out of the first weekend.

On the other hand, Connecticut has won two of the last three national championships setting MOV records along the way. Once games are officiated in a more evenhanded manner we seem to be pretty successful.

Hope this helped!
 
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CL82 said:
Sure. First, pretty much every fan base in the country believes "everyone is out to get them" and that the refs treat them unfairly, etc. In our case, the fact Bet refs allow an unprecedented amount of hand checking, jersey grabbing, and bumping off the ball limits our ability to run our offense effectively. Meanwhile, Connecticut gets called for many fouls often, resulting in a 3 to 1 differential. Thus Connecticut often struggles in a conference that has difficulty getting people to the dance, never mind out of the first weekend.

On the other hand, Connecticut has won two of the last three national championships setting MOV records along the way. Once games are officiated in a more evenhanded manner we seem to be pretty successful.

Hope this helped!
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It's a fascinating theory - potential conspiracy.
 
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RuffRuff said:
How are you feeling about the future of your MU squad, while we have you?
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TL;DR version: Will be much improved next year - maybe bubble team if we're lucky - but really HUGE potential for following season if Shaka keeps the roster consistent.



Admittedly, I’m of a more optimistic mindset than most of the currently melting down MU fanbase. This year was a culmination of the seniors not stepping up and a junior class that imploded with on and off court issues.

The Sophomores and Freshman, while going through the typical fr/So. ups and downs, have shown incredible growth in the last few weeks. Royce Parham is finally starting to live up to his potential (we're talking some level of all BE team) and Demarius Owens is getting more consistent after 12 months of injury setbacks.

The best news is the backcourt freshmen have really taken advantage of the down year and made this “their” team and are far ahead of where they’d otherwise be. Specifically, Nigel James Jr. would easily be a strong candidate for BE freshman of the year if it weren’t for him being on such an awful squad. On top of that, we have some redshirt freshman and incoming ’26 class that should have immediate impact.

On the flip side, the 5 is going to be a gaping weak spot unless Shaka bucks his own system and hits the portal OR we see some surprising growth from within. So next year is going to be a vast improvement, but still maybe not tournament level. Either way, we won’t be a drag on the BE like this year.


All that being said, we should have an AP ranked team again the year following – assuming Shaka continues his history of roster continuity. We’ll have a few exits this year, but hopefully none of those exciting underclassmen!
 
MU in MKE said:
TL;DR version: Will be much improved next year - maybe bubble team if we're lucky - but really HUGE potential for following season if Shaka keeps the roster consistent.



Admittedly, I’m of a more optimistic mindset than most of the currently melting down MU fanbase. This year was a culmination of the seniors not stepping up and a junior class that imploded with on and off court issues.

The Sophomores and Freshman, while going through the typical fr/So. ups and downs, have shown incredible growth in the last few weeks. Royce Parham is finally starting to live up to his potential (we're talking some level of all BE team) and Demarius Owens is getting more consistent after 12 months of injury setbacks.

The best news is the backcourt freshmen have really taken advantage of the down year and made this “their” team and are far ahead of where they’d otherwise be. Specifically, Nigel James Jr. would easily be a strong candidate for BE freshman of the year if it weren’t for him being on such an awful squad. On top of that, we have some redshirt freshman and incoming ’26 class that should have immediate impact.

On the flip side, the 5 is going to be a gaping weak spot unless Shaka bucks his own system and hits the portal OR we see some surprising growth from within. So next year is going to be a vast improvement, but still maybe not tournament level. Either way, we won’t be a drag on the BE like this year.


All that being said, we should have an AP ranked team again the year following – assuming Shaka continues his history of roster continuity. We’ll have a few exits this year, but hopefully none of those exciting underclassmen!
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You missed the key question - will Shaka use the portal this year?
 
CL82 said:
Sure. First, pretty much every fan base in the country believes "everyone is out to get them" and that the refs treat them unfairly, etc. In our case, the fact BE refs allow an unprecedented amount of hand checking, jersey grabbing, and bumping off the ball limits our ability to run our offense effectively. Meanwhile, Connecticut gets called for many fouls often, resulting in a 3 to 1 differential. Thus Connecticut often struggles in a conference that has difficulty getting people to the dance, never mind out of the first weekend.

On the other hand, Connecticut has won two of the last three national championships setting MOV records along the way. Once games are officiated in a more evenhanded manner we seem to be pretty successful.

Hope this helped!
Expand ...
I don’t think it is so much a “conspiracy” as a mid-match in styles. As I’ve said a million times, the NBE wants to be seen as a rough, urban, physical almost thuggish league. It’s a marketing thing. You hear play by play guys and other media types mention it all the time (listen to Donny Marshall some time ). The referees call games in keeping with that model and most of the teams play a version of hero ball/hack and grab which fits with that style of officiating. Oddly hand checking is not allowed. But grabbing a shirt is. UConn plays different style of game based on ball and player movement. It works well in the non-conference where grabbing kicking and eye gouging are not allowed. But it is more easily disrupted in the “rough tough New Big East.”
 
RuffRuff said:
You missed the key question - will Shaka use the portal this year?
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Can't fully answer that because it will totally depend on who decides to leave. Shaka has said in the past that he's not anti-portal, but the player has to meet the need and fit the mold of his system. I'm betting that will continue to be his stance again this year.

(Yes, I know that answer was a cop out)
 
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The “refs are out to get us” bit is an embarrassing cliche.
 
If (when) SJU beats Xavier tonight, we'll have to share first place in the BE.
 
Actually you'd be in 2nd place(for now). Damn head to head tie breaker
 
That's if they win, I'm getting let down game vibes from the Johnnies in this first half.
 
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