I don't know why Baylor is getting all this respect. They played a real soft OOC sched. They've done a great job in their League but I can't get a read on them as they have not played UCONN, MD, ND or SC. They played USF and won by 3 points!
Blueballer - They are getting respect because they've only lost 1 game all year, just like ND and South Carolina. They dominated the BIG 12 conference this season with an iron fist. Let's not forget.................If ND and SC had not played UConn, they'd both be undefeated this year.
I agree, Baylor played a
very soft OOC schedule (Mulkey knew
exactly what she was doing when she arranged that weak schedule, with most of those games
in Waco. She did what she felt she needed to do to get her team ready for the season ahead), however that fact has not hurt them so far this year. In fact, it looks like it paid off.
I've been monitoring them all year. I know who they played, and their record. Their 7 point lost to Oklahoma State (52-45) was late in December on the road; their first conference game of the season. That 3 point (66-63) win against USF was their 3rd game of the season at home on Nov 19.
I'm not talking about THEN, I'm talking about NOW, TODAY.
I'm not a Baylor fan. I'm not suggesting they can't be beat, because they can. But I do respect their ability to win, and put teams away. Did you notice how badly they beat the #5 Texas recently? They embarrassed and exposed Texas, and they made it look easy. They are well coached, and have the size to match up with ND's front court. They also don't turn the ball over a lot either. They have players that can knock down shots from behind the arc. ND's
Brianna Turner (who is one of my favorite players not with UConn) would not dominate either of Baylor's bigs, both of whom are taller than she is.
If the over-all #1 seed and the #4 seed (I think that's the way the NCAA assigns the 1 seeds in their brackets, then we'll never know if Baylor can beat ND or not. Baylor should be on UConn's side of the bracket, and should play UConn in the semi-final game in April in Indiana. The #2 & 3 seeds (ND & South Carolina) should be on the other side of the bracket and square off in the other semi-final game. Right now Baylor is kicking A.., and taking names. They're beating
everybody that gets in front of them.
I fully expect them to make the cut for the final 4. We'll see if my observations are correct, or if I'm just talkin' out of my A--.