Down goes Orgeon

[Dokey]

Being ranked #1 may be a little like a hot potato this year in WBB. Should OSU beat ASU on Sunday, I suspect that Scott Rueck will have mixed emotions about ascending to the top spot in the polls. If OSU loses that game, I think Baylor is the new #1.

Are we taking South Carolina too lightly?

 

[oldude]

Are we taking South Carolina too lightly?

SC is another possibility for #1. But the way I look at it, SC beat Baylor without Cox in the lineup on a neutral court. With Cox back in the lineup, Baylor did something that no team has accomplished in 7 years, beating UConn in the state of CT. That would give them the edge for #1 imo, assuming OSU loses tomorrow at ASU.

 

[JordyG]

Are they though if Stanford can hammer Cal by 30+, when UConn can't do the same on their home floor?

I'd love to put Tara in Geno's region again. It'd be a fun, fun game.


ASU is an interesting team, they've lost to Purdue and Minnesota, so this was their first win of real substance this season. I think they definitely played one of their better games tonight.

Yeah. I have Baylor, Oregon and Stanford ahead of UConn. Not SCar.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Not sure why everyone has been so high on Oregon. They have yet to beat a currently ranked team this year. Oregon State beat DePaul, and if they beat Arizona tonight (if!) they'll have beaten another.
Based on performance I'd rank UCLA, Oregon State, Stanford, and maybe even Arizona above Oregon.

I think it is because of the players Oregon has on the team. No doubt, at least for me, Oregon is a potential National Champion. I believe Oregon State, Baylor, South Carolina, UCONN, and Stanford are also big contenders for the NC and with WBB as it is today I would not rule out several other teams as possible NC!

 

[DefenseBB]

The PAC-12, as I have argued, is good top to bottom, and conference champion will have at least two conference losses. UCLA struggled early against Utah before winning big.

Well first off, you are not the first nor the only one to "argue" that point. @LoTrader, @nwhoopfan @jonson have all been touting this aspect long before you. Second, many of us on this board have also been noting how good the PAC12 is, so let's drop the "I" bit. It could argue that Utah, USC, Colorado are still way behind the top part of the conference. Heck, Colorado played a pathetic OOC and their signature win was last night over a #86 ranked USC. Thanks for listening...

 

[Zorro]

Old Chinese curse; "May you live in interesting times". These are interesting times in Wcbb. I didn't have time to read this entire thread, so don't know if it has been mentioned that Oregon State, who will undoubtedly be #1 this week barely survived with a two point win over Arizona. And Stanford, Oregn and Oregon State play each other twice plus games with the two Arizonas. Could be a lot of position shifts during the season, calculated to drive Charlie Creme nutso! The top eight seeds in the Big Dance will probably not be all that surprising, but their order may well be up for grabs right up until the final couple of weeks.

 

[newfrontier]

And it turns out the Colorado rout was just a young team not having right mind set, as they came back two days later and gave Oregon State a major scare, at times humiliating 3rd ranked team, winning first and third quarters, losing second half by only 2 points. This after CU team had a “talk” with her team. Still, Oregon played one of its best games, as Kelly Graves beat his old point guard and assistant J.R. Payne.

Colorado humiliated Oregon State? Really? You could tell from what, their body language? facial expressions? comments? Sorry, but I'm not a mind reader...you?

 

[j66kicker]

Being ranked #1 may be a little like a hot potato this year in WBB. Should OSU beat ASU on Sunday, I suspect that Scott Rueck will have mixed emotions about ascending to the top spot in the polls. If OSU loses that game, I think Baylor is the new #1.

I also will have mixed emotions about OSU ascending to the top spot in the polls. I'm not sold at all that they're top 5. IMO Baylor, SC, probably UConn and Oregon, and possibly Stanford would take them to school.

 

[Rsna]

You can only say that if you haven’t watched much PAC-12 basketball. Oregon State is very good but not that good. Colorado gave Oregon State all they could handle, winning 1st and third quarters. And Oregon State beat Arizona by 2 with 1.4 seconds on clock. It is just a tough, tough conference. As young as Colorado is, I’d pick them second to UConn in AAC—and given the way they played Oregon State on the road and dismantled USC at home tonight behind their sensational freshman point guard, they might give UConn a close game at home. Put this year’s UConn team in this year’s PAC-12, they might finish third or fourth. And I am a BIG UConn fan.

U doing that False News again...U forgot to mention OSU outscored Col by 8 in the fourth quarter and never had the lead in the second half

 

[ReadR00ster]

The question is how far does Oregon deserve to drop? Their best wins are Oklahoma State and Syracuse. They have 2 losses and the ASU loss is a bad loss. If they were to drop to like #13 or #14 I honestly wouldn't take issue with it. They are clearly being overhyped.

 

[ReadR00ster]

SC is another possibility for #1. But the way I look at it, SC beat Baylor without Cox in the lineup on a neutral court. With Cox back in the lineup, Baylor did something that no team has accomplished in 7 years, beating UConn in the state of CT. That would give them the edge for #1 imo, assuming OSU loses tomorrow at ASU.

It has more to do with UConn than Baylor. This not your typical UConn team. Geno even says so. This UConn team is not equipped to handle Baylor's size. The "only time is 7 years" doesn't mean anything when looking at teams this year. South Carolina IS equipped to deal with Baylor's size, even with Cox. So while Baylor very well could have beaten SC if Cox played, it's not a sure thing. I DO think number 1 is a toss up between the Beavers and the Gamecocks. Baylor number 3 because they haven't had enough good competition. SC UConn and Indiana is all they have played other than push overs. South Carolina's is not relying on the one Baylor game for their case. They have easily handled a good number of top 25 teams and their one loss was to a top 15 team early in the year.

 

[oldude]

It has more to do with UConn than Baylor. This not your typical UConn team. Geno even says so. This UConn team is not equipped to handle Baylor's size. The "only time is 7 years" doesn't mean anything when looking at teams this year. South Carolina IS equipped to deal with Baylor's size, even with Cox. So while Baylor very well could have beaten SC if Cox played, it's not a sure thing.

Boston is a great freshman and SC is a very good team. But IMO, Cox is the best post player in the country. Without her, Baylor is beatable. With her on the court, no one has beaten Baylor in the last two seasons.

 

[Cedar]

Boston is a great freshman and SC is a very good team. But IMO, Cox is the best post player in the country. Without her, Baylor is beatable. With her on the court, no one has beaten Baylor in the last two seasons.

False. Cox played 15 minutes when Baylor lost to Stanford in the 2018-2019 season.

 

[oldude]

False. Cox played 15 minutes when Baylor lost to Stanford in the 2018-2019 season.

OK you’ve got me on a technicality. Lauren Cox had an issue with her insulin/diabetes that game. She tried to play, but was ineffective and the coaches determined it was best not to play her further. My point is clear. With a healthy Cox in the lineup Baylor has not been beaten in 2 seasons.

In addition, I will point out that in the National Championship game last season, with Cox in the lineup most of the first half, Baylor raced out to a comfortable 12 pt lead over ND. With her injured on the bench in the 2nd half, the Lady Bears held on like grim death to eek out a 1 pt win.

Cox is the heart and sole of Baylor. With her in the lineup the Lady Bears have a very good chance to win it all again this year.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Boston is a great freshman and SC is a very good team. But IMO, Cox is the best post player in the country. Without her, Baylor is beatable. With her on the court, no one has beaten Baylor in the last two seasons.

Um Last year? They had Kalani Brown and Chloe Jackson last year. It's a different team, not as good imo. Baylor hasn't been that tested this year with Cox able to play so you can't really say that she makes them dominating. UConn lost this game more for not defending Cooper well, and letting Smith roam too much unchecked. At full strength both UConn and Baylor are worse than last year, and SC is better than last year. You can't really use assumptions to say who would win in these match ups.

 

[Urshurak]

Last year of parity for a couple years at least. I honestly think UConn is going to decimate everyone the next couple years. If we get Fudd also? Yikes!

 

[oldude]

Um Last year? They had Kalani Brown and Chloe Jackson last year. It's a different team, not as good imo. Baylor hasn't been that tested this year with Cox able to play so you can't really say that she makes them dominating. UConn lost this game more for not defending Cooper well, and letting Smith roam too much unchecked. At full strength both UConn and Baylor are worse than last year, and SC is better than last year. You can't really use assumptions to say who would win in these match ups.

Recognizing that you are a fan of the Gamecocks, your opinion is certainly welcome here on the BY. But I would suggest that Baylor is every bit as good as last year, and far more versatile with Smith & Cooper in the lineup.

Smith can guard 3-5 effectively, Rebound, put the ball on the floor and play all 40 minutes if necessary. Cooper has much better shooting range than Jackson, so she is particularly effective when opposing teams inevitably have to pack it in on defense to defend Cox & Smith in the paint.

 

[Cedar]

OK you’ve got me on a technicality. Lauren Cox had an issue with her insulin/diabetes that game. She tried to play, but was ineffective and the coaches determined it was best not to play her further. My point is clear. With a healthy Cox in the lineup Baylor has not been beaten in 2 seasons.

In addition, I will point out that in the National Championship game last season, with Cox in the lineup most of the first half, Baylor raced out to a comfortable 12 pt lead over ND. With her injured on the bench in the 2nd half, the Lady Bears held on like grim death to eek out a 1 pt win.

Cox is the heart and sole of Baylor. With her in the lineup the Lady Bears have a very good chance to win it all again this year.

I responded to your original assertion, which was false. You changed that statement to “With a healthy Cox in the lineup Baylor has not been beaten in 2 seasons.” I agree with that revised statement.

I also agree that Cox is the heart and soul of Baylor. Cox is not the sole of Baylor, unless perhaps you consider Baylor to be a metaphorical sneaker.

I agree, too, that with a healthy Cox in the lineup, Baylor has a very good chance to win the NC again this year.

 

[Centerstream]

The question is how far does Oregon deserve to drop? Their best wins are Oklahoma State and Syracuse. They have 2 losses and the ASU loss is a bad loss. If they were to drop to like #13 or #14 I honestly wouldn't take issue with it. They are clearly being overhyped.

I doubt that they will drop out of the top 10 based solely on the fact that they were the Preseason Prima Donnas.
Even with 2 losses, I would guess that the same voters will not take them out of the top 10 just yet.
Just my 2 cents and totally opinion.

 

[oldude]

I responded to your original assertion, which was false. You changed that statement to “With a healthy Cox in the lineup Baylor has not been beaten in 2 seasons.” I agree with that revised statement.

I also agree that Cox is the heart and soul of Baylor. Cox is not the sole of Baylor, unless perhaps you consider Baylor to be a metaphorical sneaker.

I agree, too, that with a healthy Cox in the lineup, Baylor has a very good chance to win the NC again this year.

Glad you agree

 

[DefenseBB]

I doubt that they will drop out of the top 10 based solely on the fact that they were the Preseason Prima Donnas.
Even with 2 losses, I would guess that the same voters will not take them out of the top 10 just yet.
Just my 2 cents and totally opinion.

Center, while I too was a tad irritated over the fawning of Oregon and of Sabrina as the WCBB Queen, this squad is a top 6 team. In all fairness there is big rift between the top 6 and whoever anyone deigns as 7th.
Baylor, SC, Oregon State, Stanford,Oregon and UConn are all significantly better than Louisville, NC State or any others you can think of.
We still have 55% of the season to play out but at this point it’s fairly tiered.

 

[Centerstream]

Center, while I too was a tad irritated over the fawning of Oregon and of Sabrina as the WCBB Queen, this squad is a top 6 team. In all fairness there is big rift between the top 6 and whoever anyone deigns as 7th.
Baylor, SC, Oregon State, Stanford,Oregon and UConn are all significantly better than Louisville, NC State or any others you can think of.
We still have 55% of the season to play out but at this point it’s fairly tiered.

I agree with you.
I was replying to a poster that was saying that Oregon should be voted #13 or #14 in the polls come Monday.

 

[Tonyc]

You know what guys. Baylor played great . They hit their treys and Cox hadnt made a trey until she played UConn. IMO Baylor firing on all cylinders and that gave them more confidence. UConn didnt shoot well and was in the game late in the 4th qtr. As bad as some think UConn is and as good as some think Baylor is and Baylor is good there's looking back at the game we couldve won and didnt. So we fix what needs to be fixed and maybe we get them the next time. In any event we've got Tenn Oregon and SC. coming up. We will see where we are then.

 

[ReadR00ster]

I agree with you.
I was replying to a poster that was saying that Oregon should be voted #13 or #14 in the polls come Monday.

I am not saying Oregon should be that low. I am saying that is what there resume says they should be. I think they are better than teams like Kentucky and DePaul for sure, but losing to ASU puts that a little bit into doubt considering they haven't done anything impressive in games that actually count. Beating team USA is extremely impressive but that is not an NCAA game on the schedule.

 

[jaundicedeye]

Recognizing that you are a fan of the Gamecocks, your opinion is certainly welcome here on the BY. But I would suggest that Baylor is every bit as good as last year, and far more versatile with Smith & Cooper in the lineup.

Smith can guard 3-5 effectively, Rebound, put the ball on the floor and play all 40 minutes if necessary. Cooper has much better shooting range than Jackson, so she is particularly effective when opposing teams inevitably have to pack it in on defense to defend Cox & Smith in the paint.

I contend that the combination of 6'7" Kalani Brown and 6'4" Lauren Cox made last year's Baylor team dominant and better than this year's team. There was no team able to counter that height, bulk and strength. If together this tear they would most certainly hold serve.