Can't Sleep on Creighton

[npignatjr]

I've been referring to our "new" conference as The Big Least. This is a reflection of my disappointment that we're now a part of something not very different from the AAC. I've been meaning to do a little research to see how the games in both conferences compare for UConn, but I'm not really that interested in stats. I care most about my own impressions, and those are not kindly disposed to our current partnership.
There hasn't been a single moment when I thought the Huskies were in any danger of falling to one of their league opponents. Not one.
The team is also much better than when the season began, so that should add to our comfort zone.
Now just relax. Think of what's to come in the next week as exhibition games. The tests lie ahead past the conference "championships."

The new big least. During the AAC years were there any of the current Big East teams that made a splash DePaul a couple, Marquette a couple then the young coach left

 

[npignatjr]

I disagree. It is too bad that DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova and Creighton all had virtually all their out of conference games canceled this year. Come next year I believe all five of them will be working toward a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Have you looked at their records, Creighton has lost to some terrible teams. Marquette likely to end the season losing 3 in a row. Isn't Seton Hall's best player a senior?

 

[HuskyNan]

Have you looked at their records, Creighton has lost to some terrible teams. Marquette likely to end the season losing 3 in a row. Isn't Seton Hall's best player a senior?

Have you seen how many games Creighton has missed? This year is a roller coaster for everyone because Covid has made it impossible for teams to get into a rhythm. They start to smooth out rough spots, then have to sit for 2 weeks because someone’s been exposed to Covid. How can teams thrive in that environment?

2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule - Creighton University Athletics

The official 2024-25 Women's Basketball schedule for the Creighton University Bluejays

gocreighton.com

 

[cabbie191]

Let's not get crazy.

How soon people forget.

UConn 80-47 Creighton (Dec 17, 2020) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the UConn Huskies vs. Creighton Bluejays NCAAW game, final score 80-47, from December 17, 2020 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

Yeah, but Creighton played us closer and closer as the game went on! We only won the 4th quarter by a point! If they keep up this momentum, I fear for the final outcome.

Nah - I expect the Huskies win by at least 30.

 

[DefenseBB]

I've been referring to our "new" conference as The Big Least. This is a reflection of my disappointment that we're now a part of something not very different from the AAC. I've been meaning to do a little research to see how the games in both conferences compare for UConn, but I'm not really that interested in stats. I care most about my own impressions, and those are not kindly disposed to our current partnership.
There hasn't been a single moment when I thought the Huskies were in any danger of falling to one of their league opponents. Not one.
The team is also much better than when the season began, so that should add to our comfort zone.
Now just relax. Think of what's to come in the next week as exhibition games. The tests lie ahead past the conference "championships."

As they say ignorance is bliss...but at least you are up front about it.

 

[Carnac]

They knocked off DePaul today on the road so they'll have a little extra spring in their step come Thursday.

Good!! UConn needs a game where they are seriously challenged. They didn't get it in their last two games. Hopefully Creighton and Marquette will provide a challenge. It's needed going into the NCAA's in March. Playing "soft" teams don't help you prepare for the road ahead.

 

[huskyd]

How can, how about looking at those that have, the same teams every year are there at the end whether it is the UConn or Gonzaga, South Dakotas etc. Going back 4 years Creighton double digit losses every year, never 20 wins. This year extrapolated out would be the same, except 2 more losses to UConn added in.

Thanks for doing a little (numbers) legwork on this. I DO NOT wish for the teams in the BE to be bad; I'd hoped they'd be a step up from the AAC. As many have said, we need better competition. So I've been disappointed that BE teams haven't shown more, not happy about it. Maybe they'll improve. Let's hope.
But trying to excuse the performance of the BE teams defies what the eye can clearly see: these guys aren't very good, with or w/out the pandemic. And my real point, given the current circumstances, is that UConn has nothing to fear from BE opponents on the near horizon. Chin up, buttercup.

 

[EricLA]

Good!! UConn needs a game where they are seriously challenged. They didn't get it in their last two games. Hopefully Creighton and Marquette will provide a challenge. It's needed going into the NCAA's in March. Playing "soft" teams don't help you prepare for the road ahead.

UCONN was challenged by SC, Tennessee, and Arkansas. It's not like this is a new season with totally new players to acclimate and other players who have departed. Not every game needs to be a bruising battle.

If UCONN steam rolls thru the rest of the BE, including the conference tourney, I would say it's more a factor of UCONN's improved play on both side of the court than the BE being "horrible".

 

[Carnac]

UCONN was challenged by SC, Tennessee, and Arkansas. It's not like this is a new season with totally new players to acclimate and other players who have departed. Not every game needs to be a bruising battle.

If UCONN steam rolls thru the rest of the BE, including the conference tourney, I would say it's more a factor of UCONN's improved play on both side of the court than the BE being "horrible".

Agreed. I'd take the "if" out of your first sentence. UConn runs the table from now through the end of the BE tournament!! If they lose this year, it will be in the NCAA tournament.

"You dance with who ya came with". That's UConn position. Good or bad, UConn is now in the BIG East Conference.
I think they're much better for it. They DID NOT belong in the AAC, and never asked or petitioned to join it.
As we all know, they were "banished", and assigned there. UConn's fledgling football program was NEVER going to put UConn in a position to be offered an invitation to a P-5 conference. One poster here rudely suggested that UConn's football was so bad, they should seriously consider moving down to Division 2. The new BIG East is it!!! This is as good as it's going to get for UConn women's basketball. Embrace it.

A poster reminded us recently that UConn was in the AAC during the Breanna Stewart era when they won 4 championships, and that UConn made the conference, not the other way around. Geno has been to this rodeo many many times before. He knows what lies ahead. In Geno I trust!!

 

[hoophuskee]

How can, how about looking at those that have, the same teams every year are there at the end whether it is the UConn or Gonzaga, South Dakotas etc. Going back 4 years Creighton double digit losses every year, never 20 wins. This year extrapolated out would be the same, except 2 more losses to UConn added in.

So last year they were 19-10 and yet you are making a big deal that they didn't win 20? That's what you want to get with a back-and-forth disagreement on with Nan - that Creighton only won 19 instead of 20 games? What next if they go 20-10 then we can move the bar and say they never won 21?

I never bought into the posts overly bashing the conferences by using them as an excuse to why UCONN didn't win titles. Sure it can have something to do with it – but It gets blown out of proportion. Even if UCONN is in a P5 they still wouldn't be favored 50% over The Field. Further, The Tournament is set up in a way that the best team doesn't always win.

If the Conference is supposed to be the cause for UConn not winning close games then why in 18-19 did UCONN win close games in NCAA's vs UCLA and Louisville? Why is is it if UCONN wins close games vs other teams it’s as if their conference doesn't count but when they lose it's because of the conference? Why dismiss the close game wins and only count the losses?

Anyone can provide any excuse they want for why UCONN lost. But blaming it a lot on the conference imo is just dart throwing. So the last few years when UCONN was very small- if UCONN was in a P5 conference- it meant they would have won? So their frontcourt was going to grow 4-6 inches and undoubtedly win?

We have great fans. Great fans. But look at that threads after the Tenn game. I felt the mood was as if UCONN lost. They beat a good Tenn team and it’s as if they lost. And look at the SC game—UCONN won the game. UCONN won the game and you had one poster who I believe got several likes saying they were “embarrassing.” I think I read other posts that SC is still better than UCONN. Or that “UCONN has a lot of work to do” – yet they way it was said – it was as if SC didn’t.

The point is—for some it’s as if UCONN isn’t exactly perfect then there has to be an excuse rather than they just got beat on that day by someone better on that specific day. The HISTORY of the NCAA tells us that – but still in this case – IT MUST BE our conference? – Nooooooo.

 

[AmeriConn]

They knocked off DePaul today on the road so they'll have a little extra spring in their step come Thursday.

The last four games prior to DePaul.

 

[npignatjr]

So last year they were 19-10 and yet you are making a big deal that they didn't win 20? That's what you want to get with a back-and-forth disagreement on with Nan - that Creighton only won 19 instead of 20 games? What next if they go 20-10 then we can move the bar and say they never won 21?

I never bought into the posts overly bashing the conferences by using them as an excuse to why UCONN didn't win titles. Sure it can have something to do with it – but It gets blown out of proportion. Even if UCONN is in a P5 they still wouldn't be favored 50% over The Field. Further, The Tournament is set up in a way that the best team doesn't always win.

If the Conference is supposed to be the cause for UConn not winning close games then why in 18-19 did UCONN win close games in NCAA's vs UCLA and Louisville? Why is is it if UCONN wins close games vs other teams it’s as if their conference doesn't count but when they lose it's because of the conference? Why dismiss the close game wins and only count the losses?

Anyone can provide any excuse they want for why UCONN lost. But blaming it a lot on the conference imo is just dart throwing. So the last few years when UCONN was very small- if UCONN was in a P5 conference- it meant they would have won? So their frontcourt was going to grow 4-6 inches and undoubtedly win?

We have great fans. Great fans. But look at that threads after the Tenn game. I felt the mood was as if UCONN lost. They beat a good Tenn team and it’s as if they lost. And look at the SC game—UCONN won the game. UCONN won the game and you had one poster who I believe got several likes saying they were “embarrassing.” I think I read other posts that SC is still better than UCONN. Or that “UCONN has a lot of work to do” – yet they way it was said – it was as if SC didn’t.

The point is—for some it’s as if UCONN isn’t exactly perfect then there has to be an excuse rather than they just got beat on that day by someone better on that specific day. The HISTORY of the NCAA tells us that – but still in this case – IT MUST BE our conference. – Nooooooo.

I was talking Creighton only, 20 wins is a benchmark for any team or most teams most years. What are you talking about Tennessee or South Carolina, nothing from me. But pumping up Creighton as a threat because they beat a mediocre DePaul team is unfounded. The first game was a 33 point win, don't expect this game to be closer.

 

[npignatjr]

Thanks for doing a little (numbers) legwork on this. I DO NOT wish for the teams in the BE to be bad; I'd hoped they'd be a step up from the AAC. As many have said, we need better competition. So I've been disappointed that BE teams haven't shown more, not happy about it. Maybe they'll improve. Let's hope.
But trying to excuse the performance of the BE teams defies what the eye can clearly see: these guys aren't very good, with or w/out the pandemic. And my real point, given the current circumstances, is that UConn has nothing to fear from BE opponents on the near horizon. Chin up, buttercup.

My opinion only, the move to the Big East this year and in the future will be a plus for one team only MBB. The bigger public universities of the AAC have the funding to build programs. I want competitive games, don't envision the Big East to provide it

 

[UConnCat]

My opinion only, the move to the Big East this year and in the future will be a plus for one team only MBB. The bigger public universities of the AAC have the funding to build programs. I want competitive games, don't envision the Big East to provide it

The solution for you seems rather simple: find another team to follow. This is a message board, not your family; you won’t be missed.

With the exception of USF most years, the AAC will always suck as a WBB conference.

 

[DefenseBB]

I was talking Creighton only, 20 wins is a benchmark for any team or most teams most years. What are you talking about Tennessee or South Carolina, nothing from me. But pumping up Creighton as a threat because they beat a mediocre DePaul team is unfounded. The first game was a 33 point win, don't expect this game to be closer.

Well, I agree with you that Creighton is really not a worry for me for this year or any year near term. I like to see them keep improving as the league needs strong teams that keep evolving. I sincerely hope Seton Hall, Villanova and Marquette can all keep it going for the next few years and that they make in roads into the Top 100 players.

That said, where you completely lost me is your "mediocre DePaul team" quote as none of the analytics that the NCAA uses nor the "eye test" nor the results of their games suggest they are mediocre.

 

[hoophuskee]

I was talking Creighton only, 20 wins is a benchmark for any team or most teams most years. What are you talking about Tennessee or South Carolina, nothing from me. But pumping up Creighton as a threat because they beat a mediocre DePaul team is unfounded. The first game was a 33 point win, don't expect this game to be closer.

A benchmark? What's the point of a 20 game benchmark when it comes to UCONN? You know UCONN has been to many consecutive final fours? What does 19 or 20 wins have to with affecting UCONN? You could call out 25 game winning teams sand it still wouldn't mean anything, right?

And you replied to Nan - did she say Creighton was a threat? Not what I can see. So what's the argument you have if nearly everyone but maybe the OP and a spot fan or two might be scared?

UCONN goes to the FF every year - yet you used the word "threat." Where's the threat other than about 5 teams throughout the NCAA during a most normal UCONN season? After this year, for the next few seasons, how many teams are a threat? 2 maybe 3???????

I brought up SC and Tenn to show that even in such a "supposed crummy division" -- UCONN still wins vs good teams like SC and Tenn. To further that - I brought them up because there always seems to be comments from some UCONN fans to make excuses why they lose a rare game for example -by saying it's because of the weak conference.

Just pointing out that it didn't seem to affect UCONN by beating Tenn and SC - did it? They beat SC. They beat Tenn. They weren't number 1 preseason and now they are number 1. How is that the supposed weak conference in which it supposedly can't help UCONN - how has it hurt them? In the last 25 years they are the most successful team in the history of the sport.

 

[Skeets]

My opinion only, the move to the Big East this year and in the future will be a plus for one team only MBB. The bigger public universities of the AAC have the funding to build programs. I want competitive games, don't envision the Big East to provide it

You make a point with the "bigger public universities" in the AAC, except football sucks all of the oxygen out of the room for those universities. They do not have any where near the same commitment to WBB. The BE on the other hand is a committed basketball conference and basketball only takes a small fraction of the resources as compared to football.

 

[fireford]

As the OP who started this thread I just want to clarify that I am am not "scared" of Creighton as some are suggesting. I realize like most everyone else that the chances are greater than 90 percent that Uconn wins and wins comfortably. It was basically to say "Hey, this game may not be the cakewalk we'd normally expect it to be". I don't doubt that the Uconn players and coaches won't take notice of Creighton's win over DePaul. Creighton will likely come in with a little extra confidence and may keep themselves in it for a while. As some have noted, maybe that's a good thing with post season just around the corner.

 

[npignatjr]

You make a point with the "bigger public universities" in the AAC, except football sucks all of the oxygen out of the room for those universities. They do not have any where near the same commitment to WBB. The BE on the other hand is a committed basketball conference and basketball only takes a small fraction of the resources as compared to football.

Schools such as USF and UCF are. USF had been for quite awhile. The UConn football program still exists now in a no win ever situation. The Big East is a MBB conference, marginally better in even that to the AAC. The best young women's coach left her alma mater.

 

[npignatjr]

A benchmark? What's the point of a 20 game benchmark when it comes to UCONN? You know UCONN has been to many consecutive final fours? What does 19 or 20 wins have to with affecting UCONN? You could call out 25 game winning teams sand it still wouldn't mean anything, right?

And you replied to Nan - did she say Creighton was a threat? Not what I can see. So what's the argument you have if nearly everyone but maybe the OP and a spot fan or two might be scared?

UCONN goes to the FF every year - yet you used the word "threat." Where's the threat other than about 5 teams throughout the NCAA during a most normal UCONN season? After this year, for the next few seasons, how many teams are a threat? 2 maybe 3???????

I brought up SC and Tenn to show that even in such a "supposed crummy division" -- UCONN still wins vs good teams like SC and Tenn. To further that - I brought them up because there always seems to be comments from some UCONN fans to make excuses why they lose a rare game for example -by saying it's because of the weak conference.

Just pointing out that it didn't seem to affect UCONN by beating Tenn and SC - did it? They beat SC. They beat Tenn. They weren't number 1 preseason and now they are number 1. How is that the supposed weak conference in which it supposedly can't help UCONN - how has it hurt them? In the last 25 years they are the most successful team in the history of the sport.

What part of I am only referring to Creighton did you not understand. This thread was UConn should be scared of Creighton. For this game and near future, there is nothing in this season, going back years to suggest Creighton will be threat.

 

[npignatjr]

Well, I agree with you that Creighton is really not a worry for me for this year or any year near term. I like to see them keep improving as the league needs strong teams that keep evolving. I sincerely hope Seton Hall, Villanova and Marquette can all keep it going for the next few years and that they make in roads into the Top 100 players.

That said, where you completely lost me is your "mediocre DePaul team" quote as none of the analytics that the NCAA uses nor the "eye test" nor the results of their games suggest they are mediocre.

Mediocre.
synonyms:
ordinary · common · commonplace · indifferent · average · middle-of-the-road · middling · medium · moderate · everyday · workaday · tolerable · passable · adequate · fair ·

Year in and out DePaul fits the term.

I do hope those schools improve, and go from where they are to top tier, every year ranked top 15.

 

[HuskyNan]

Chill, folks. I think this thread was started to 1. Simply point out the win and 2. Inject a little humor. Let’s not make Creighton the hill that people want to die on here.

 

[eebmg]

Creighton looked good against DePaul and they play tonight at 7PM on FS1 against Marquette so we get to see 2 of our last 3 opponents. So the BY should not sleep as we analyze and critique that game to death.