The quotes are sour grapes on my end. We handled SC pretty well during the regular season and , while this is speculative, I suspect we would have beat them easily in the NC game. The MS game was such an outlier and some of us still can't believe it. Am really hoping we play them this year.
I think it is a bit early to put the "Pretender" moniker on the PAC12. Too many pundits out there are painting UCLA as the best the PAC12 has to offer, and frankly, UCLA might end up in the bottom half of the PAC12 by the time the PAC12 Tournament starts. Oregon has the juice to get to Final 4. The next best of the PAC12 is Stanford, OSU, and Cal. The top 4 finishers in the PAC12 (injuries aside) will make some noise in the NCAA tournament this year.
Great post! I would have been tempted to give Stanford it's very own entry on the list of pretenders. But then I remembered that they're not even a top 25 team anymore in either of this week's polls, so clearly you got it right.
No one has driven a steak through the heart of Stanford (FF this past year) yet. There's still breath in the body, and it's still warm. Stanford beat a game and ranked UCLA yesterday by 11 points, 76 - 65. I'd hold off a while before making any long range judgments about the Cardinal. Tara has never been one to throw in the towel, especially this early. Don't expect Stanford to go away, they won't.
Mississippi State is indeed a better team than the one that beat the Huskies last year. Then again, the Huskies are better, too. It's looking more and more like there might be some kind of Final Four rematch between them, and one can only hope that it happens. It would be one of the most hyped and high profile sporting events of the year, and absolutely fantastic for the game. One thing's for sure - MSU better make sure it happens this season. They lose Vivians, William and Schaefer to graduation, and will be in a world of hurt next year.
At this point there are not many outstanding teams. UConn of course, Ms State and possibly Baylor and SC. Louisville may be undefeated but they just don’t have “it”.
Spur-I am usually "all-in" on your comments as I too want to see SC become/stay a top echelon team, always in the conversation, however this post seems more emotional than analytical due to the rivalry. MSU, while maybe a tick down defensively from the guard defense they had last year is most assuredly better offensively. Last year they took teams by some surprise, this year, they have expectations and seem to be handling those pretty well. I honestly worry that your team will have a tough time against them in Starkville as your guard play is suspect due to injuries. We shall see.
Have they played and beaten anyone good?
Depends on what your definition of good is.
Morgan William is also having a pretty good season and is currently 2nd in the Nation in Assist: TO ratio of 4.85.
Texas Tech is bad. Coach just got let go and Racee Caldwell seems very inconsistent there.
Yeah, Texas Tech is definitely not Houston's best win. That distinction would go to either Milwaukee (89 in Massey/97 in Sagarin) or George Mason (102/119). Texas Tech is currently 176/195.
I think most of us expected UConn to handle MS pretty easily as well. It's not SC's fault, and in no way does it diminish the legitimacy of their title, that UConn couldn't beat a team that they were able to beat three times. It may have been an outlier, but that's why they play the games.
Mississippi State's rise to the final four this year did wonders for their confidence and resolve. Before, they thought they were good enough to play and compete with the "elites" at their level, now they know they are. As of today (Sat Dec 30), MS is 14-0. Looking at their preseason schedule, I'm only impressed with 3 wins:
@ Oklahoma State 79-76, #9 Oregon at home 90-79, and Syracuse 76-65 on a neutral court (tournament) in Las Vegas.
The rest of their wins were against teams I would consider soft. They've got upcoming games against #7 Tennessee, #4 South Carolina, #16 Missouri, and #22 Texas A&M. Let's see how they do against those teams before we crown them (Denny Green). That will give the fans a better idea of just how far they've come, and how resilient they are when facing a team that's comparable in talent, depth and experience.
I think that the 4 returning UConn players are all playing the same or better at this point in the season. I take into account that up to this point, UConn has played more top 15 teams, and more talented opponents than the teams you are comparing them to. Speaking of unpopular takes, heres one: IMO, Gabby was the only one that played her normal game against MS. Go back and look at the box score or a replay of the game if you can stand it. Collier was so ineffective, Geno pulled her. Nurse had 6 points in 35 minutes, way below her season average. Nurse can put up 6 points in two trips down the court in less than a minute. Lou's play was fair. NOTE - Schaefer got 12 points from his bench, Geno got 1. It was a perfect storm for the Bulldogs that day. ALL the ingredients they needed for an upset win manifested themselves. If a rematch occurs, that won't happen again.
South Carolina is good. they return the premier post player in the country. Keep in mind that they've already lost to Notre Dame 92-85 in a neutral site tournament game, a team UConn beat by 9. Based on who UConn has played, and how they have played, I think it can be said that UConn is playing better (up to this point) than the other FF teams. It's much too early to begin to suggest who will make the FF. Everyone must play their conference games and post season tournaments before anyone can begin to compose a bracket.
Only 4 invitations will be awarded for participation that final weekend in Columbus in April. Right now, it looks like 6-7 teams could legitimately make it that far. Don't forget that dark horse that no one figures on. Last year, it was Mississippi State. The year before it was Oregon St and Washington. Will this be the year Baylor and Notre Dame make the FF as everyone assumes? Neither received an invitation the last 2 years.
UConn, Texas, Notre Dame, Mississippi State, Louisville, Maryland, South Carolina, #7 Tennessee, West Virginia, UCLA, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State and maybe Texas A&M. That's 14 schools that all have travel plans to Columbus that first week in April. They're all playing well right now. None of them have more than 2 losses. Somebody's not going to make it. It's a safe bet that UConn will get their ticket punched, who will the other 3 be?
While McCowan has looked unstoppable so far this season, I will be surprised if she has a big game vs SC. In Wilson the Gamecocks have one of the few players in the country with the size, strength and athleticism to body up McCowan and push her out of the low blocks. Once you push her away from the basket McCowan is not like Z. She’s not going to put the ball on the floor and start driving to the basket or start making jump shots.
Well not every game can be against Kentucky and Auburn and Florida and Vanderbilt.
True. Tennessee has a few quality wins also Oklahoma State and Texas being the best wins so far. This month will tell us a lot about this team.
Texas A&M has played 4 ranked teams and lost to all of them. They did beat Hawaii by 43, though.
They aren't a team to overlook. They lost to South Carolina 61-59.
They also squeaked out a four point win over a bad Kentucky team at home.
