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Message: [QUOTE="SCGamecock, post: 2208476, member: 6132"] Scheduling played a role, but not the only role... when you play a team does matter, it's absurd to suggest it doesn't. You can ask any coach in America when they'd rather play UConn and I'm willing to bet almost all of them are going to say earlier in the year. "[B]If UConn was in tournament mode than why wasn't South Carolina? Plus, when SC and UConn met in 2015 and 2016 it was #1 vs #2 and in 2017 UConn's 100-game winning streak was on the line[/B]" Perhaps SC was in tournament mode, but then it comes down to simple matchups and talent. Don't forget who UConn had on it's roster in 2015 or 2016. As good as SC was, the Gamecocks didn't match up to UConn talent wise in 2015 or 2016.. in fact, one could argue that the first year SC was even with UConn in talent was this year.. and SC still lost, so then you look at things like coaching decisions, game plans and home vs. away. So, aside from scheduling, UConn had the advantage there as well. Of course I'm speaking hypothetically, but I don't think SC loses that same game at home, not this year's.. I'm sure we disagree there. You may ask why I'm introducing all of these variables to the conversation, but it's simply to illustrate that so much more goes into how effective a player is versus a given team than the player themselves. But I already explained the biggest reason IMO for Coates ineffectiveness vs. UConn, and it really had nothing to do with Coates at all.. mostly the people around her. It's really simple basketball, no reason to complicate it... Jones had better shooters around her to open up the inside, Coates did not. Jones operated in an offense that exposes UConn. This year, UConn had nobody on roster that could stop Coates or Wilson one-on-one, and they still lost.. why? A lot of that had to deal with the other 3-4 players around them. You said it yourself, "[B]I do think Maryland did a better job of isolating Jones in the lane against undersized defenders.[/B]".. [/QUOTE]

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