Can UConn run the table the rest of the season?

[Carnac]

UConn is 10-0. They have played/won 8 of their scheduled 20 conference games thus far. They have 12 conference games left, along with out of conference games against #15 Arkansas and #4 South Carolina, which are perceived to be the two biggest games left on their schedule. The question is not WILL they run the table, but CAN they run the table through the conference tournament based on what you've seen thus far?

 

[Argonaut]

Can they? Yes.

Will they? I'm 50/50.

 

[CocoHusky]

UConn is 10-0. They have played/won 8 of their scheduled 20 conference games thus far. They have 12 conference games left, along with out of conference games against #15 Arkansas and #4 South Carolina, which are perceived to be the two biggest games left on their schedule. The question is not WILL they run the table, but CAN they run the table based on what you've seen thus far?

@Carnac Are you including NCAA tournament games in this run?

 

[msf22b]

I don't think so, but not ruling out a Natty (yet).

 

[Longtime fan]

UConn is 10-0. They have played/won 8 of their scheduled 20 conference games thus far. They have 12 conference games left, along with out of conference games against #15 Arkansas and #4 South Carolina, which are perceived to be the two biggest games left on their schedule. The question is not WILL they run the table, but CAN they run the table based on what you've seen thus far?

I actually hope they get beaten....and learn from it. They had a scare against Tennessee. SC and maybe even Arkansas may be tougher.

 

[DriveLH]

I actually hope they get beaten....and learn from it. They had a scare against Tennessee. SC and maybe even Arkansas may be tougher.

Geno's comment about losing, "The lesson learned by losing is how to lose.".

 

[Carnac]

Can they? Yes.

Will they? I'm 50/50.

Me too. I think they handle No.15 Arkansas (11-5) OK. Arkansas is not infallible. The Razorback's 5 loses were to: No.12 Maryland, No.13 Kentucky, Tennessee, No. 8 Texas A&M, and No. 4 South Carolina. Conversely, they did beat No. 4 (at the time) Baylor 83-78. If they RISE to the level of Arkansas' play, they should win.

South Carolina is another question. UConn MUST play their best game of the season to date to beat SC. They MUST also keep Aliyah Boston under control. What I mean by "under control" is, they can't let her have a 25/18 game which she is very capable of doing. She had 26/16 and 6 blocks in their win over Arkansas. ONO and Edwards are going to have to tag team her for 40 minutes by keeping her off the boards and not allowing her any easy or uncontested shots. Boston is going to be aggressive for 40 minutes on both ends of the court. They can't let Breanna Beal have a good game either. The one saving grace is SC is not a good 3 point shooting team, but neither are we.

ONO MUST stay in the game. She cannot get in to early foul trouble by committing silly or cheap fouls. If she does, it's a wrap. Boston runs amuck, and SC runs away and hides. In my opinion, THIS is the best game remaining on their schedule, and one you won't want to miss.

One more off topic question - a game announcer asked yesterday during the Tampa Bay/Green Bay game............
"does Tom Brady leave a pair of Super Bowl tickets for Bill Belichick?"

 

[bballnut90]

I actually hope they get beaten....and learn from it. They had a scare against Tennessee. SC and maybe even Arkansas may be tougher.

Arkansas i don't see being a close game....they can shoot but they play zero defense and aren't tall. Lots of similarities to DePaul IMO with a fast tempo and lots of quick trigger threes. Plus a ton of one on one action rather than any set plays. ONO should have a field day inside and Bueckers i also see having a huge game due to the fast tempo and lots of transition opportunities. SC game will be a toss up IMO.

 

[bballnut90]

Geno's comment about losing, "The lesson learned by losing is how to lose.".

JMO, but it probably would've served them well to drop a game in 2017 or 2018 when they had some closer games in the regular season. Losing often helps take away pressure and helps provide more focus and motivation. Just look at the opponents they lost to those Final Fours.

 

[oldude]

I don’t know if any team can run the table this season. With NC St and Louisville scheduled to play 1 to 2 times, that leaves the winner of that matchup, assuming they don’t split 2 games, and UConn the only viable possibilities to run the table. If any team runs the table all the way through the Big Dance this year it will be an extraordinary achievement.

 

[psconn]

The specific question is CAN they... absolutely, yes. There is a non-zero chance that they could do this.
BUT
Will they? Based on performances to date, I can only say they have not shown enough individual and team development at this point to make that likely IMO.

With every game this can be reassessed. As usual, it is hard to take Big East (or AAC) games as any kind of measuring stick for the national scene. We're a good team, but there are good teams all over the top ten or 15. I have no idea where we are in that mix because I really don't watch enough non-UConn games to make comparisons.

Pretty sure we have a ton of improving to do before we can make a serious run at a championship.

 

[CL82]

 

[CocoHusky]

JMO, but it probably would've served them well to drop a game in 2017 or 2018 when they had some closer games in the regular season. Losing often helps take away pressure and helps provide more focus and motivation. Just look at the opponents they lost to those Final Fours.

I disagree with that. You don't have to lose to learn. Many people forget that the Post Stewie era began with a pair of close games the first of which was a two point win at FSU and an 11 point win at home against Baylor. Those two games are also the closest UCONN has come to back to back losses in 20+ years. The team learned from those games and was able to stretch UCONN winning streak to 111 games. You can learn from a blowout, you can learn from a loss, you can learn from a close game.

 

[bballnut90]

I disagree with that. You don't have to lose to learn. Many people forget that the Post Stewie era began with a pair of close games the first of which was a two point win at FSU and an 11 point win a home. Those two games are also the closest UCONN has come to back to back losses in 20+ years. The team learn from those games and was able to stretch UCONN winning streak to 111 games. You can learn from a blowout, you can learn from a loss, you can learn from a close game.

I agree you don't have to lose but I think it can help in a lot of situations. Players and teams are often more motivated by and learn from their failures compared to their successes. Notre Dame was definitely out for blood in 2018 after crumbling down the stretch of the regular season game which I think helped them immensely. UCONN in 2000 same deal after losing their only game to Tennessee, and they came out on a mission and dominated the title game. Obviously there are examples both ways but learning from mistakes and losses can add necessary fuel to prevent that situation from happening again.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I actually hope they get beaten....and learn from it. They had a scare against Tennessee. SC and maybe even Arkansas may be tougher.

Usually I agree. This year, after losing those early season matchups to Covid, I am rooting for them to run the table. The Tennessee game could have been a "good loss". Now the way things stack up, we've got a team like Tennessee coming up in Arkansas. We all want the team to play up to their potential against Arkansas and flex our muscles. Then it's SC. Statement game. We belong game. I don't see a spot in the schedule for a "learning how to lose" loss. Baylor, Louisville, and even Miss State would have fit that bill, but....
Run the table. Get better each game. There's no Goliath out there IMO.

 

[Bigboote]

Can they? Absolutely. At this point I think they have the best chance of anyone, taking into account as OD pointed out above that the other two undefeated teams will play each other twice.

In a normal year I'd point out the teams I think would have a chance against UConn, but no way this year. In fact, I think it's likely that a #1 or #2 seed will lose in the second round. Someone's going to draw the likes of North Dakota State, Gonzaga, North Dakota, Drake, Mizzou State . . . These are disciplined teams that won't get rattled just because they're playing top seeds, and as we've seen, there might be a top seed that's just coming out of isolation with one game against a #16 seed in the last two weeks. There's no way I'd give odds on any game this season.

 

[Hayven]

This team will not. Geno stresses the importance of scoring at all three levels of the court. We all know UConn is inconsistent beyond the arc. We saw what happened when they face teams that pack the paint.
ONO has yet to prove she can battle with the other “big dogs”
We don’t know which Squeaks will show up for the game

I’ll continue rooting for them. And, I would love for the team to prove me wrong.

 

[oldhusky]

OK I will try a ballpark estimate, maybe 50% chance against South Carolina, 80% against Arkansas (partly because I don't know if we will have Paige or Anna), and then about 90% we can run the table against the remaining conference part of the schedule. Taken together that comes out to 36% of all three of those things happening, if those estimates are close

We could still reschedule some tough games that could change our odds, but if we get past Arkansas and South Carolina, we just have to avoid a big upset the rest of the way. Only the ACC can produce another unbeaten team as olddude has pointed out, and their odds of getting there are probably less than ours.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I disagree with that. You don't have to lose to learn. Many people forget that the Post Stewie era began with a pair of close games the first of which was a two point win at FSU and an 11 point win at home against Baylor. Those two games are also the closest UCONN has come to back to back losses in 20+ years. The team learn from those games and was able to stretch UCONN winning streak to 111 games. You can learn from a blowout, you can learn from a loss, you can learn from a close game.

100% Maybe we make too much out of a W or an L. Maybe the combined effect of the Tennessee road trip, ugly win, and the disappointing showing versus Georgetown with your best player in a boot had the actual effect of a loss. What will be the reading on the team "excitement-meter" the practice after the G'town game. Is that tomorrow? (2 days off- Sun, Mon) I bet if Geno wants to shake them up tomorrow, that would work. Not sure anything gets this team down, they probably have 5 new instagrams out today, but I sure was low Saturday after the game. It was noon here in Alaska. You guys are lucky, you could have started drinking.

 

[Carnac]

@Carnac Are you including NCAA tournament games in this run?

No. Just from today through the end of the BIG East Conference Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is too far off at this time to concern ourselves with that. UConn has 14 games left to play, and MUST concentrate on that which is before them.

Their readiness to take on the elite top 10 teams they'll see in the tournament will be much clearer by then. The Covid virus and injuries could befall any team between now then. That is a question we can ponder AFTER UConn has played their last conference tournament game, and awaits the NCAA's tournament selection reveal show.

 

[MooseJaw]

No. Just from today through the end of the BIG East Conference Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is too far off at this time to concern ourselves with that. UConn has 14 games left to play, and MUST concentrate on that which is before them.

Their readiness to take on the elite top 10 teams they'll see in the tournament will be much clearer by then. The Covid virus and injuries could befall any team between now then. That is a question to be asked AFTER UConn has played their last conference game, and awaits the NCAA's tournament selection reveal show.

wish I had read this response before I cast my vote.

 

[Carnac]

wish I had read this response before I cast my vote.

You can change your vote. I set the poll up so that votes could be changed after voting.

 

[MooseJaw]

You can change your vote.

Ok so now that I can once again I am unsure of what to do. I am wracked with indecision . Any Dr. reports lately?

 

[Urshurak]

I think we definitely have the talent. No question. Weird year and didn’t really get enough competitive games yet.

I think the length / tall teams will give UConn fits. I worry the SC game could get really ugly really fast. I guess we will just have to see how it rolls. Hoping for a great outing against Arkansas. Hope it’s our Destiny to smack them (not Destiny Slocum of course.....)

 

[Charliebball]

Geno's comment about losing, "The lesson learned by losing is how to lose.".

I think he sometimes views their less than stellar victories as losses........