ESPN final preseason top 25 has the Huskies at...
- Thread starter CL82
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The beginning of the season does not count, it's the end of the season that counts and Uconn will be NO1 and have another BE trophy and then NO12 NC. I see no other program with enough fire power and defense that can stop Uconn. GO HUSKIES!!!!!
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Number 2 is completely fair for the Huskies. LSU, with their flaws, returns a superstar with some talent and several strong additions. I don't think there is a sizable gap between the two if health holds out for UConn, which is truly the biggest question whether it's fair or not.
UConn brings a significant amount of talent, coaching, and intangibles to the table. It could be a very special year in Storrs with this team. For now, LSU deserves the number one preseason ranking and I suspect they will hold it for the first part of the year.
UConn brings a significant amount of talent, coaching, and intangibles to the table. It could be a very special year in Storrs with this team. For now, LSU deserves the number one preseason ranking and I suspect they will hold it for the first part of the year.
I agree that LSU deserves to be ranked 1 in the preseason. Where I would disagree is that the game would be close if both teams are healthy. I think when that happens UConn will win by 20 or more.
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I have ranted elsewhere about this notion that LSU "deserves" to be ranked #1, so I'll skip it here. UConn at #2 is fine, since it puts the target squarely on someone else. If LSU doesn't have any in conference losses this season, then their #1 ranking will have been deserved. If you don't think this is likely, then you ought to conclude they didn't deserve to be #1. I say "in conference" because their OOC schedule is a joke. With a schedule like that, if you can't go undefeated, you don't deserve a #1 ranking.
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I disagree with all of this. Preseason is before any games being played. It doesn’t matter if you think LSU will lose in conference. They won the championship, bring back a good bulk of their team and bring in the #1 player and 2 very good/great transfers. Yes, they should be number 1.
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“Should be” and “deserves to be” are two very different things. I’m not opposed to the former. But to say they “deserve” it when, by your own account they haven’t played a single game, sounds absurd to me. Leave it at “should be” and I’m on board.
EricSD
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I'm with you in the sentiment that some say "well team X won the NC last season so they are #1 till they get beat". Really? What happens if team X loses a majority of their starters off their NC team?
Either way, I have no issue with LSU being ranked #1. I firmly believe a healthy UCONN is better by a lot, but we will see how the season unfolds.
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So then every team #1 preseason shouldn’t be #1 cuz they haven’t played a single game
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Yes, exactly… if you replace ‘shouldn’t be’ with ‘doesn’t deserve’ to be ranked #1. I’m merely applying your criterion. I originally said they don’t deserve it, and you introduced the idea that before playing a single game no team could deserve to be ranked #1. This makes sense. If you want to say LSU should be #1, this is a very different claim, and I won’t disagree with it.
To be clear, there may well be good reasons to say a team should be ranked #1 preseason, but deserving isn’t among them. One is a prediction, the other is a claim that a team has earned it. But by definition no team can have earned anything yet.
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So then… what is your criteria and who should be #1?
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I have zero problem with us being ranked #2. Anything outside of the top three, I would have some concern but #2 is pretty solid. I have zero problem with LSU being ranked #1. They are the defending champs and they have added some talented players. #1 is where they should be.
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LSU has a win streak.
Nobody else does. Oops. NIT champ
Nobody else does. Oops. NIT champ
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Since the preseason #1, like any subsequent ranking during the season, is essentially a prediction, my criterion is who do I think has the best shot at an NC at that moment. I don’t think LSU will repeat as NC, so I don’t think I’d make them a preseason #1. But it’s just a prediction, which means anyone can reasonably disagree on this point.
Do you think LSU will repeat? If so, then for you they should be #1 right now. As for me, I think UConn has the best shot at winning the NC this year. That’s my current belief. So I’d make them #1. But I can see how others might reasonably think SC or UCLA or VPI (and maybe a few other teams) and would therefore think one of them should be #1.
What doesn’t make sense to me is to give a preseason #1 ranking to a team one doesn’t believe has the best shot at the NC.
SEC conference schedulers gave LSU an easier path than other member pitting the Tigers with South Carolina and Tennessee only once in regular season conference play. How exactly does that happen? Gaming the system? Having 16 conference games gives SEC teams plenty of opportunity to schedule challenging non-conference opponents….. except preseason #1 chose a different approach, even when it had an opportunity to play UConn or UCLA, nope.
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LSU is very obviously #1 right now. Defending champions who only upgraded from last year. UCONN being #2 also makes sense due to how talented the backcourt + Edwards is.
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LSU has the NO1 ranking right now because they beat all the competing schools to get it. It is their right. But with their first loss, there goes their NO1 ranking and they will have to earn it back by beating their competition, which I doubt they will be able to do. On the other hand, when Uconn earns the NO1 ranking, that's it. Uconn will not relinquish the top spot the rest of the season. This team has all the prerequisites of defense and scoring to keep it. This season we finally have a bench that can contribute meaningful scoring and defense to go with our starting five and bring Uconn NO12 NC. GO HUSKIES!!!!!
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Doesn’t take an LSU loss. Long about your 4th win over a ranked team, you would jump then.
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UConn discussion at 5 minute mark
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CL82
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Far, far too much of our season's success depends on the surgical skills orthopedic surgeons displayed over the past several months. So many of our kids have reconstructed backs, knees, ligaments, etc. Just really hoping they stay healthy.
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Certainly through their pathetic non-conference season!
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Preseason polls have nothing to do with measuring how good the team or the players are. It only measures (eventually) how good the prognosticators are at predicting.
Personally I think it's a waste of time. You might as well try to predict Nan's next avatar.
Personally I think it's a waste of time. You might as well try to predict Nan's next avatar.
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It's quite weak and honestly embarassing for a team that just won the NC and brings back a lot of talent.Certainly through their pathetic non-conference season!
However.........I think people get way, way too worked up about scheduling. Last year the LVs had a brutal schedule and I really don't think it helped them that much other than wearing them down before SEC play. Last year LSU played an equally soft schedule and wound up on the throne, so SOS and outcomes aren't exactly tied together.