Can a Paige-less UConn Run the Big East Table?

[visitingcock]

I predict that UConn will lose the season series to SC two games to one….

You could be right about January. We need one loss this season to stay focused the rest of the way.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

The only BE team which could beat UConn is DePaul. As we all know, they are a team
that tosses up a lot of 3s. If those shots are going in more often than not, then they can
be trouble for anyone - even UConn WITH Paige.

But against a good defensive effort those shots don't go in more often than not.

 

[UcMiami]

The only BE team which could beat UConn is DePaul. As we all know, they are a team
that tosses up a lot of 3s. If those shots are going in more often than not, then they can
be trouble for anyone - even UConn WITH Paige.

But against a good defensive effort those shots don't go in more often than not.

While DePaul is certainly a threat, you can never discount a team/game like St Johns and this Uconn team cannot afford any lapse against decent teams of which there are a few in the BE. The teams that break streaks are seldom the 'best' teams, just the best team on a given night.

 

[boontonbomber]

Possible, but doubtful. Shooting woes are destroying them currently. Unless Azzi comes back and starts lighting it up, just not enough offense to run the slate. Probably a loss or two to Marquette or DePaul. Seton hall has the Moxy, but they're WILDLY inconsistent. They give UConn a tough game and then lose to Prairie View division 4 prep school that only dresses 4 players.

Gotta say that Seton Hall's losses have been , for the most part, against decent teams. They beat Princeton last week, and just lost to a good UCF team, though were in the game to the end. If Espinoza-Hunter had been in the UConn game it might have been tighter, and down the road the Pirates could be a bit of a pain. Not saying they can beat UConn, just that they are not quite the team you are describing. They have 3 players who can score against most anybody.

 

[Bigboote]

I think the only possibility for a Big East loss is DePaul on 31 December. They have two games in three days. Marquette isn't a possible loss, but that game may not be a walk in the park, and having a game against a really high-energy team two days later could be problematic. If they have Nika and Azzi back, that will be a plus, but there could be growing pains working them back into the flow.

 

[Skeets]

Marquette and DePaul back to back on the 29th and 31st are gonna be big!

In my opinion, those are more important than Louisville.

Given this situation, all the games are important. For the Louisville (phonetically Loo-a-vul) game UConn will be putting 5 pretty good players on the court. If they play like the pretty good players that they are, they win.

 

[npignatjr]

Well:

Your post is a bit ambiguous. As the sentence is written, one can take several meanings.

If you meant "it is very possible [that] UConn lost the best player in the country playing the most important position" that would be a true statement. and I would agree that it is very possible.

If you meant "it is very possible that South Carolina [could run the the SEC but] UConn [cannot because it] lost the best player in the country playing the most important position" that would create room for two arguments. First, one could argue that Boston is the best player in the country. Second, one could argue that post is the most important position.

Nevertheless, I did not create this thread to argue or to talk about SCar and Boston.

To the original question: Yes, I think UConn can run the Big East table.

This If you meant "it is very possible [that] UConn lost the best player in the country playing the most important position" that would be a true statement. and I would agree that it is very possible.

 

[CL82]

Pure speculation on my part, but the Louisville game will provide a lot of information as to how this team will be without Paige. UCLA brought out a lot of unknows about the UConn players and what they can do. This week with practice sessions by the coaching staff will give them an opporunity to see what they can do against a very good team with some preparation. A lot of answers to a quite a few questions raised in this thread will be given as to their potential within the Big East.

I think the biggest change will be one of mindset. Paige’s status is no longer uncertain. This team is going to have to figure out new roles and new ways to score. They tried “hero ball“ and failed. They succeeded playing as a team. That should’ve been refined over the past week.

I think, to a certain extent, we will see a “new look” Huskies tomorrow (well those of us who can still see the game). Roles will be better defined end what we run will be based upon the talent we have rather than the talent we lost. I expect us to look much better than we did against UCLA. We will need to in order to win this game.

For what it’s worth, there’s nothing more challenging for a team then to have to step up when there is uncertainty as to whether their star player will play or not. Think about the men’s team last year without James Bouknight. These women are elite athletes and consummate competitors. Knowing that Paige is out 8 weeks will help their focus in preparation.

 

[Lorcan]

FWIW, we’ll see how UConn does, but the odds are high that at some point UConn will get a blemish on their record due to Covid Protocols providing an automatic forfeit—it’s going to be damn hard for them to run the table without Covid getting in the way.