Comparing this season to 2008-09

[bballnut90]

Will they? One would have expected a huge amount of confidence from ND in last year's FF game yet UConn played like the more confident team and ND played tight. Will the ND players think about the 3 wins last year or the 18-point loss in the biggest game. I don't know the answer to that question but I do know that confidence in Final Four games is not easy to predict. I'm sure Muffet McGraw has asked herself a bunch of times why it was that her team didn't play like the more confident team last April.

Who knows. I would expect an undefeated Notre Dame team would come in extremely confident and with a chip on their shoulder for being denied a championship the previous season.

 

[meyers7]

What happens if they go 40-0 without the NC?

I was thinking more the other way when I wrote that. NC without 40-0 (i.e. 39-1). They become one of nine, but not one of five. Different discussion then.

Prolly should have written "if they get the NC while going 40-0. "

 

[doggydaddy]

Who knows. I would expect an undefeated Notre Dame team would come in extremely confident and with a chip on their shoulder for being denied a championship the previous season.

Diggins. All seven of those wins were with Diggins leading them.

Chip, shmip, it's about talent.

ND has a lot of it. UConn has more.

 

[baggerbob]

The quality of players coming off the bench (Stokes and Chong) is better than 2002 (Conlon/Moore/Battle), but UCONN literally has 7 healthy scholarship players.

I also think you're underestimating Notre Dame. In my opinion, 2014 Notre Dame is far and away a better team than 2002 Oklahoma. Notre Dame has a very complete team--strong post players who rebound well and can finish inside (Reimer/Achonwa), accurate long range shooters (Mabrey/Cable), an athletic point guard who can score when called upon (Allen) and the nation's top 2 wings in McBride and Loyd. Both Loyd and McBride shoot well, can beat you off the dribble and are great rebounders. On top of all this, Notre Dame's ball movement and passing rivals UCONN's, and Notre Dame has won 7 of the last 9 meetings between the two. You might be right that UCONN is about 12 points better than Notre Dame, hopefully we can see this matchup in the title game. However, I think most fans will be a tad more nervous if UCONN faces Notre Dame in the title game this year compared to how they felt facing Oklahoma in the title game back in 2002.

The top 2 wings are Stewie, and KML, and ( Stef/ Kia ) > ( Reimer/Achonwa ), guards might be a push, but as in the semi-final, no-one to guard Stewie.

 

[hoophuskee]

I kinda agree with what bballnut has to say here. Though I agree with DD - that we'd be the favorite though I don't think it was just Diggins last year. The little i've seen from them is that their wing play is terrific. We're not as fluid when we go "big" though still formidable.

I'd be interested to see the performance of KML and Bria vs. their wings.