Big East vs AAC

[DEpup]

My biggest hope right now for the women’s team is that other big east teams use being in a conference with UConn in order to get better. Was hoping for the same thing in the AAC and it never really worked out that way. It’s definitely going to take time, but I would love to see Depaul and Marquette move up the rankings a little bit and make the conference stronger.

I agree and would add Villanova to that list. Prestigious school. Coach is in her first year with renovated facilities and a couple good players. Add another player or 2 and they are also right there too.

 

[rollskies]

I agree and would add Villanova to that list. Prestigious school. Coach is in her first year with renovated facilities and a couple good players. Add another player or 2 and they are also right there too.

Totally agree! I was very impressed with the competition Nova gave us in the first half last night. It was obviously not sustained throughout the game, but they definitely have a great foundation right now.

 

[bluedevil]

My biggest hope right now for the women’s team is that other big east teams use being in a conference with UConn in order to get better. Was hoping for the same thing in the AAC and it never really worked out that way. It’s definitely going to take time, but I would love to see Depaul and Marquette move up the rankings a little bit and make the conference stronger.

As much fun are 100-52 beat downs..I'd like to see a 75 to 70 score once in a while..

 

[Plebe]

My biggest hope right now for the women’s team is that other big east teams use being in a conference with UConn in order to get better. Was hoping for the same thing in the AAC and it never really worked out that way. It’s definitely going to take time, but I would love to see Depaul and Marquette move up the rankings a little bit and make the conference stronger.

These things take time. How long did it take for the former Big East to become what might be described as a strong league? And that was with an influx of highly funded athletic departments.

As I see it, one major factor that should bode well for the trajectory of the current Big East is how highly competitive it is in men's basketball. While this guarantees nothing, there are certainly benefits of synergy to be reaped.

Another great asset for the Big East is Val Ackerman, who's as good of a conference leader as there is.

 

[Plebe]

As much fun are 100-52 beat downs..I'd like to see a 75 to 70 score once in a while..

If close games are what you want, your time would be better spent watching other teams, other games, other conferences. Perhaps the Purdue-Nebraska game coming up today would be right down your alley.

Some people insist on being dissatisfied. Last season we struggled to single-digit wins against Memphis and UCF, and trailed USF at the half. Was that more conducive to your entertainment and happiness?

 

[DEpup]

As much fun are 100-52 beat downs..I'd like to see a 75 to 70 score once in a while..

Me not so much. I will admit that my guilty pleasue is a 30-40 pt MOV beat down.

 

[Boreifs]

Very true! I think everyone has a tendency to compare the conferences looking at just the top teams that could potentially give Uconn a good game. From that perspective it might be close, but the bigger differences come in the middle and lower part of the conferences.

If I remember right looking at the team rankings last year, the big east was better, not by a huge amount, but better, even without Uconn. Switching Uconn of course makes the difference much bigger and moves the Big East near if not at the top of non Power 5 conferences. There is still a big gap, however, between the Power 5 and the Big East, it's just been reduced somewhat.

There is not a BIG gap. By the end of the season, the Big East could easily pass one if the Power Five in the Massey ratings. In men’s basketball, it is the best conference in the nation.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Me not so much. I will admit that my guilty pleasue is a 30-40 pt MOV beat down.

Which is why Super Bowl XX was one of my favorite football games of all time: Bears 46 - Patriots 10; the only detractor from that game was the 'Frig' getting the last touchdown instead of Walter Payton.

The other part of the genius of UCONN women's schedule is the interspersing of highly ranked teams inbetween conference matchups, so Geno & company can introduce techniques, test the team on their application, and then use the entire "arsenal" on the highly ranked teams to continue to "harvest" #1 seeds at tournament time.

Even though the [Massey] numbers are a "wash" currently between Big East and AAC, it is not where we are, is is about where we are going on this Journey. Go Huskies!!!

 

[Zinethar]

Teams recruit primarily to improve in their league and expect that to carry over to national exposure. DePaul was the defacto best team in the Big East and was/is a 3 ball team. The others worked to match up. Now they have UConn to contend with. Their recruiting and philosophy will change. Villanova was 7-0, 2-0 coming into this game. They had the best scorer, rebounder, etc at this point. UConn basically wore them down and thumped them. Doesn't mean they were bad. It means they didn't know yet what was needed to play UConn. They learned.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Wait, wut? Of those 243 wins against ACC teams, 100% of them were with Geno as head coach.

UConn never beat Syracuse, or Boston College or Pitt before Geno arrived.

I think he meant that the OTHER team wins were before Geno took over with CD as assistant Head Coach, and it's about 92% of the other team wins occurred before the 1985-86 season, and if you go to the time after 1990-91 season where the UCONN women made it to the Final Four for the first time, it is over 96% of the wins occured before that season.

 

[UConnCat]

I think he meant that the OTHER team wins were before Geno took over with CD as assistant Head Coach, and it's about 92% of the other team wins occurred before the 1985-86 season, and if you go to the time after 1990-91 season where the UCONN women made it to the Final Four for the first time, it is over 96% of the wins occured before that season.

Makes sense though the post was unclear. I will delete my post.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Except for Notre Dame, most of those wins were before Geno became the coach.

most of those wins were against big east opponents now in the ACC...

 

[Longtime fan]

Ignore the score, the eye test seems to indicate that the Big East teams that Uconn played so far are better than a lot of AAC teams. I thought Villanova played pretty well last night but they just don't have enough good players to hang with Uconn. I suspect that Uconn would have blown out more than 50% of the ACC teams the same way, much less the AAC teams.

I think the eye test is right. There really aren't any "sweet sixteen" level teams in either the ACC or the Big East, at the moment ( other than UCONN). Depaul women's BB is often" right on the edge," and they have some wins this season that suggest they may be arriving at that level. It makes no sense, by the way, that neither of these conferences has built a top quality team. Villanova mens basketball has won national championships....but the women are only becoming respectable. I think the same is true for Maquette, and maybe others. Many universities in both conferences have the financial support and reputations to build excellent, competitive teams, but they just haven't done it ( on the women's side). Look at U of Cincinnati, for example Their mens basketball program is always excellent and , this year, even their football program is of national prominence. They once attracted a great head coach to the women team from UCONN ( Jamelle Elliot ) but the support just never emerged, the top players never arrived, and the team never
exceeded " above average." And it still hasn't. It is frustrating, because UCONN wants high level competition. St Johns should be great. So should Seton Hall. No one wants 50 point wins. But it isn't just in here two conferences. Baylor wins by 90 points from time to time. Most conferences have, at most , 2-3 top teams and everyone else is cannon fodder. We keep hoping.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Look at the Massey rankings; that’s the easiest way to compare. As a short cut, you can punch up the individual conferences and see the rankings of every team at the same time. If you do this, you will find that we are so much better off in the Big East, not to mention the far more convenient traveling.

MASSEY:

Average ranking for other Big East teams = 102
Average ranking for all AAC teams = 103

Median for other Big East teams = 98
Median for all AAC teams = 98

 

[bluedevil]

I think the eye test is right. There really aren't any "sweet sixteen" level teams in either the ACC or the Big East, at the moment ( other than UCONN). Depaul women's BB is often" right on the edge," and they have some wins this season that suggest they may be arriving at that level. It makes no sense, by the way, that neither of these conferences has built a top quality team. Villanova mens basketball has won national championships....but the women are only becoming respectable. I think the same is true for Maquette, and maybe others. Many universities in both conferences have the financial support and reputations to build excellent, competitive teams, but they just haven't done it ( on the women's side). Look at U of Cincinnati, for example Their mens basketball program is always excellent and , this year, even their football program is of national prominence. They once attracted a great head coach to the women team from UCONN ( Jamelle Elliot ) but the support just never emerged, the top players never arrived, and the team never
exceeded " above average." And it still hasn't. It is frustrating, because UCONN wants high level competition. St Johns should be great. So should Seton Hall. No one wants 50 point wins. But it isn't just in here two conferences. Baylor wins by 90 points from time to time. Most conferences have, at most , 2-3 top teams and everyone else is cannon fodder. We keep hoping.

Excellent post...I started this post to read posts like this.

 

[Plebe]

I think the eye test is right. There really aren't any "sweet sixteen" level teams in either the ACC or the Big East.

Last season DePaul had its best season in many years (perhaps ever) and would've certainly been a 4 seed, if not higher, giving them home court for the first 2 rounds of the tournament for the first time.

Even without home court advantage, DePaul has twice reached the Sweet 16 in recent memory, spoiling the hosting experiences of mighty Duke and Louisville in the process. And two years ago it took a huge comeback to get A&M past DePaul in College Station in round 2.

All the bellyaching over conference competition is so egregiously misplaced. The nonconference schedule affords ample opportunity to schedule up, and Geno, for the most part, does a great job of doing so. This is UConn we're talking about. If we go back and look at UConn's undefeated seasons (all, what, 6 of them?), how many closely contested conference games did they have? And so how was this a problem again?

 

[triaddukefan]

Come on @Plebe .... We supposed to be in the Christmas spirit.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I think the eye test is right. There really aren't any "sweet sixteen" level teams in either the ACC or the Big East, at the moment ( other than UCONN). Depaul women's BB is often" right on the edge," and they have some wins this season that suggest they may be arriving at that level. It makes no sense, by the way, that neither of these conferences has built a top quality team. Villanova mens basketball has won national championships....but the women are only becoming respectable. I think the same is true for Maquette, and maybe others. Many universities in both conferences have the financial support and reputations to build excellent, competitive teams, but they just haven't done it ( on the women's side). Look at U of Cincinnati, for example Their mens basketball program is always excellent and , this year, even their football program is of national prominence. They once attracted a great head coach to the women team from UCONN ( Jamelle Elliot ) but the support just never emerged, the top players never arrived, and the team never
exceeded " above average." And it still hasn't. It is frustrating, because UCONN wants high level competition. St Johns should be great. So should Seton Hall. No one wants 50 point wins. But it isn't just in here two conferences. Baylor wins by 90 points from time to time. Most conferences have, at most , 2-3 top teams and everyone else is cannon fodder. We keep hoping.

Your read on most conferences is spot on.
"Most" could be "nearly all," as the Pac-12 currently have four top 10 ranked teams, and the #10 UCLA Bruins have losses to (now) #6 Arizona and #1 Stanford. It also appears that Washington State and Arizona State are pretty good as well.
The Big 10 has six ranked teams, but their highest ranked team is Maryland at #14, and is very early in a strange and "week-to-week" season for scheduling of mainly conference games, so who knows how it will all "shake out."
I believe the Big East womens teams will have more than three teams make the field of 64, and will fair well against the so called "Power Five" conferences when it matters most - the NCAA tournament in head-to-head matchups. That is what will continue to help recruiting more than anything else - high performance on the national stage! Go Huskies!!!

 

[SVCBeercats]

Except for Notre Dame, most of those wins were before Geno became the coach.

Did you type what you meant? BG, before Geno, the UCONN women's basketball program won a total of 92 games in 11 years. The first 8 years of UCONN women's basketball were competed in the Yankee conference. The next 3 years were competed in the Big East. I am sure the vast majority of these 92 wins were not against ACC teams. Ergo I find you assertion to be fallacious.
Sandra Hamm: 2–8 (.200)
Wanda Flora: 38–66 (.365)
Jean Balthaser: 52–88 (.371)

 

[ubasketball]

I'm working from memory here, but if I recall correctly, we beat DePaul by "the skin of our teeth" last year. We built up a huge lead, but in the third and especially fourth quarters, we lost our focus and they started to come back and never stopped. It was the only time I wanted the clock to run out because, given enough time, I thought they would overtake us. Of course, we probably would have turned it back on in the end, but still, DePaul really challenged us.

 

[MSGRET]

Did you type what you meant? BG, before Geno, the UCONN women's basketball program won a total of 92 games in 11 years. The first 8 years of UCONN women's basketball were competed in the Yankee conference. The next 3 years were competed in the Big East. I am sure the vast majority of these 92 wins were not against ACC teams. Ergo I find you assertion to be fallacious.
Sandra Hamm: 2–8 (.200)
Wanda Flora: 38–66 (.365)
Jean Balthaser: 52–88 (.371)

When I stated wins, I meant the opposing team not UConn, 28 of the 51 loses were to Big East foes. Those losses happened when Jean Balthaser was the coach.

 

[HuskyNan]

As much fun are 100-52 beat downs..I'd like to see a 75 to 70 score once in a while..

We had that last year and had half the Boneyard rushing to take more heart medicine. Then the whining commenced. As an admin, I prefer the 30+ point blowouts

 

[wbball novice]

If the Big East conference has a lot of 3 pt shooting teams, and the UConn defense is the worst ever, and the best UConn 3 pt shooter is... CW, then a lot of games in this conference ought to be more competitive than the AAC. In fairness, a number of AAC games UConn won by the skin of their teeth. I do wish USF was in the Big East; it was nice to see players from across the Atlantic when we played those games. Well, now we have Nika & Anna.

 

[Aluminny69]

Just like football lol.

Hmm, not so much. Over the last 20 years, there have been 11 different Nationals Champs in college football. Alabama has five, no other team has more than 2. (ND has not won a NC in the last 20 years.) In WBB, there have only been six different NCs. UConn has won 10 times, Baylor three. Stanford has not won a NC in the last 20 years.

 

[MD#12Fan]

In WBB even the P-5 conferences are all a little top heavy. The Pac-12 is probably the most balanced, but there are really only 2 teams, Stanford & Oregon capable of winning the conference. The SEC is dominated by SC. With ND falling on hard times, the ACC now belongs to Louisville. MD owns the Big 10 and Baylor continues to dominate the Big 12, although it will be interesting to see if Vic can legitimately establish TX as a challenger to the Lady Bears.

All told, there’s just 7-8 teams in WBB, including UConn, who get most of the top players, dominate the game year in and year out and win all of the championships.

I respect your opinion. I consider myself a serious consumer of information. I suddenly feel duped that we've been told that WCBB is improving. If you look at MCBB, it may not be improving, in quality but it is definitely changing from say 30 years ago. More one-and-dones, fewer upperclassmen, more balance across the country, style of play, etc. What about WCBB? Are the players even better? Are they bigger and more skilled like in the men's game? I'm stuck and a little disappointed that the women's game is stagnant. I don't follow HS play. I've always thought basketball was the most fun game in the world to play. HS gym teacher- give your class open gym and everybody plays basketball. Fact. Are the young girls playing basketball?