ESPN preseason ranking

[Greg]

I just finished making the Prognosticator's Predictions tally sheets for all of the games except game number 6 and you aren't prognosticating this year because you think you jinxed them last year? You didn't jinx them the NCAA wanted CC playing in the Finals so the refs had to find a way to get it done.

No, it was my fault. No predictions from this corner this year.

 

[Steelerone]

oo Pittsburgh Steelers make Justin Fields decision ahead of Russell Wilson return
I'm omitting the second half of your comment because it uses the inj*** word and I won't tempt karma by reproducing it. But I really love this first part. I don't expect to see any undefeated teams this season, though a couple of teams will probably come within 2 or 3 of that target, and UConn will be one of them.

Good thinking BD.

 

[meyers7]

I think this coach is going to finally get Tennessee back to relevance again! By all accounts, she is a real winner and given the resources she now has access to a whole different level of athlete! If she can get Tennessee level recruits and purge that locker room of everything since Pat died, I think she will have them back among the elite before very long.

Well I do hope you are wrong.

 

[DefenseBB]

With due respect, DefenseBB, a poster who signed on in 2011 and has more than 60,000 reactions and almost 20,000 posts seems to have the history to make such a statement, IMO. Whether it's Triad's only forum, I don't know.

Even though I'm a relatively new Boneyard poster at about three years, and I'm a Wake Forest guy, I have been a huge fan of UConn for many decades and this is my forum. I do also venture onto other forums, but this is my home.

I welcome comments and posts from anyone, no matter his or her school of origin/preference.

I am not sure what you are referring to as I replied to CL82 and then referenced GirlBoo1020 as the new poster. Please reread my thread and tell me how you were insulted? Seems much ado about nothing...

 

[Kaizen]

Cannot believe ESPN has this 2025 NCAA women basketball tournament out already..

The demise of the Pac-12 began when USC and UCLA made the jump to the Big Ten. These moves are always predicated on football, but this one also gave the Big Ten, already a deep and historic women's basketball conference, two of the best teams in the country. The Trojans and Bruins are big favorites to finish 1-2 in the Big Ten and are now projected as No. 1 seeds. JuJu Watkins brings her star power to another part of the country after propelling the Trojans to a top seed and an Elite Eight appearance a year ago, and now USC adds top transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State). The Bruins did the same, adding Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State) and Janiah Barker (Texas A&M) to couple with 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts and point guard Kiki Rice. The race is already on in the new-look Big Ten.

Women's Bracketology: TCU shakes up field with Irish upset, jumps three seed lines to No. 2

TCU's upset of Notre Dame propelled the Horned Frogs to a No. 2 seed and opened the way for Texas to replace the tumbling Irish on the top line.

www.espn.com

 

[Dugway]

Cannot believe ESPN has this 2025 NCAA women basketball tournament out already..

The demise of the Pac-12 began when USC and UCLA made the jump to the Big Ten. These moves are always predicated on football, but this one also gave the Big Ten, already a deep and historic women's basketball conference, two of the best teams in the country. The Trojans and Bruins are big favorites to finish 1-2 in the Big Ten and are now projected as No. 1 seeds. JuJu Watkins brings her star power to another part of the country after propelling the Trojans to a top seed and an Elite Eight appearance a year ago, and now USC adds top transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State). The Bruins did the same, adding Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State) and Janiah Barker (Texas A&M) to couple with 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts and point guard Kiki Rice. The race is already on in the new-look Big Ten.

Women's Bracketology: TCU shakes up field with Irish upset, jumps three seed lines to No. 2

TCU's upset of Notre Dame propelled the Horned Frogs to a No. 2 seed and opened the way for Texas to replace the tumbling Irish on the top line.

www.espn.com

I bet he is wrong

 

[nwhoopfan]

The Bruins did the same, adding Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State) and Janiah Barker (Texas A&M)

Don't forget about Timea Gardiner. She might be the best of the 3.

 

[Alydar]

Cannot believe ESPN has this 2025 NCAA women basketball tournament out already..

The demise of the Pac-12 began when USC and UCLA made the jump to the Big Ten. These moves are always predicated on football, but this one also gave the Big Ten, already a deep and historic women's basketball conference, two of the best teams in the country. The Trojans and Bruins are big favorites to finish 1-2 in the Big Ten and are now projected as No. 1 seeds. JuJu Watkins brings her star power to another part of the country after propelling the Trojans to a top seed and an Elite Eight appearance a year ago, and now USC adds top transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State). The Bruins did the same, adding Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State) and Janiah Barker (Texas A&M) to couple with 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts and point guard Kiki Rice. The race is already on in the new-look Big Ten.

Women's Bracketology: TCU shakes up field with Irish upset, jumps three seed lines to No. 2

TCU's upset of Notre Dame propelled the Horned Frogs to a No. 2 seed and opened the way for Texas to replace the tumbling Irish on the top line.

www.espn.com

How did LSU's transfers work out? Signing talent can help a lot as long as the players compliment each other. LSU got a sg and a power forward when they needed a pg. They still need a pg.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think USC did better in the Portal than UCLA did. And coach Gottlieb did better at integrating her talent last season than Cori Close did. In the end, I think Juju herself will be all that really matters and she'll carry her teammates farther than Betts or Rice will be able to. There's no one comparable to her on UCLA.

 

[GoChips20]

I think USC did better in the Portal than UCLA did. And coach Gottlieb did better at integrating her talent last season than Cori Close did. In the end, I think Juju herself will be all that really matters and she'll carry her teammates farther than Betts or Rice will be able to. There's no one comparable to her on UCLA.

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer here as both are fairly evenly matched but I think Leger-Walker, Gardiner, and Barker are a better portal pickup group than Iriafen and TVO. Iriafen is the best player of the group but UCLA’s trio is more versatile and I find TVO to be slightly overrated. I do agree that Gottlieb is better at integrating her talent and that Juju can carry like no one on UCLA. But I don’t think either school will sweep the other.

 

[yhun89]

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer here as both are fairly evenly matched but I think Leger-Walker, Gardiner, and Barker are a better portal pickup group than Iriafen and TVO. Iriafen is the best player of the group but UCLA’s trio is more versatile and I find TVO to be slightly overrated. I do agree that Gottlieb is better at integrating her talent and that Juju can carry like no one on UCLA. But I don’t think either school will sweep the other.

Iriafen’s issue is her complete lack of ability to space the floor on offense. She’s not a good shooter outside 6-7 feet from the basket.

UCLA had good pickups, but the real question is how Close will use them. Because my god, her complete misuse of her post players should be studied. Betts was better off at Stanford TBH, at least they had guards who knew how to pass her the ball without bumbling it. Instead, there’s no communication and she’s unprepared for every pass they try to give her. UCLA’s best transfer is CLW by far since she can actually pass the dang ball.

 

[jake0414]

I think USC did better in the Portal than UCLA did. And coach Gottlieb did better at integrating her talent last season than Cori Close did. In the end, I think Juju herself will be all that really matters and she'll carry her teammates farther than Betts or Rice will be able to. There's no one comparable to her on UCLA.

There is no one comparable to Juju on UCLA’s roster nor on most, if not all, other teams for that matter. Both USC and UCLA filled their specific needs from the transfer portal. The Trojans got arguably the most talented player in the portal in Kiki Iriafen and gives USC a top front line with Iriafen and Marshall. Von Oelhoffen brings valuable point guard experience to the backcourt as the Trojan guards lack experience other than Juju Watkins.

UCLA needed a high percentage outside shooter who can score when opponents double or triple team Lauren Betts inside. The Bruins appears to have filled that need by getting Timea Gardiner from the portal. Timea Gardiner shot 39.5% from three point range on five attempts per game (54% of her shot attempts) and 50.3% from inside the arc. Charlisse Leger-Walker is a deceptively effective point guard who will spell Kiki Rice with ball handling once she returns to the court. Will watch with great interest to see what roles athletically gifted forward Janiah Barker takes on.

No doubt Juju will carry her teammates to success this season, farther than Betts or Rice can or will carry theirs. Fortunately the Bruins have so much experience and depth that they won’t rely solely on Betts and Rice to carry the team to a successful season.

 

[MSGRET]

There are somethings that ESPN and others are not considering when it comes to the addition of the former PAC-12 teams into the other conferences. The main one is the increased travel, which will effect both the old PAC-12 teams and conferences that they joined having more cross country flights during their conference play of the regular season. Yes they can try to minimize the travel by playing a couple of games during each flight but it's still going to be something that will have some effect on them.

 

[jake0414]

Iriafen’s issue is her complete lack of ability to space the floor on offense. She’s not a good shooter outside 6-7 feet from the basket.

UCLA had good pickups, but the real question is how Close will use them. Because my god, her complete misuse of her post players should be studied. Betts was better off at Stanford TBH, at least they had guards who knew how to pass her the ball without bumbling it. Instead, there’s no communication and she’s unprepared for every pass they try to give her. UCLA’s best transfer is CLW by far since she can actually pass the dang ball.

Iriafen‘s outside shooting improved as the season progressed last year. I expect continued improvement with the Trojans.

Betts would be better off at Stanford? She didn’t get that many minutes her freshman year playing behind Brink and a plethora of other bigs and saw her minutes decline at season’s end. Lauren has said time and again she’s really happy she transferred to UCLA. There were a lot of passes she bumbled last season but Betts led the team in scoring. As the season progressed she continually faced two defenders in the post. The bigger problem was UCLA’s inconsistent outside shooting let opposing teams get away with the double or triple teams on Betts.

 

[yhun89]

Betts would be better off at Stanford? She didn’t get that many minutes her freshman year playing behind Brink and a plethora of other bigs and saw her minutes decline at season’s end. Lauren has said time and again she’s really happy she transferred to UCLA. There were a lot of passes she bumbled last season but Betts led the team in scoring. As the season progressed she continually faced two defenders in the post. The bigger problem was UCLA’s inconsistent outside shooting let opposing teams get away with the double or triple teams on Betts.

She isn’t developing for a pro career under Close in the slightest. Close’s misuse of Betts against LSU is why they lost.

She’s an elite player. Under a better coach, she easily goes in the lottery in her year. She’s a good player coached by someone who has no idea how to use her when the time comes.

The other problem has been the guards surrounding her. They never communicate the pass and that’s why she bumbles it. CLW should solve that problem thankfully.

 

[Cuango]

I think USC did better in the Portal than UCLA did. And coach Gottlieb did better at integrating her talent last season than Cori Close did. In the end, I think Juju herself will be all that really matters and she'll carry her teammates farther than Betts or Rice will be able to. There's no one comparable to her on UCLA.

I’d say it’s pretty clear that Gottlieb is a much better coach than Close! I think the jury is still out as to how much better perhaps but she (Gottlieb) is imo clearly better. I’m anxious to see how the dynamic of that team (USC) changes with the addition of another Alpha scorer next to JuJu. Will JuJu be OK with reducing her shots to accommodate Kiki? That is going to be an interesting team to watch! They could be truly monstrous or could possibly have some growing pains. As for UCLA, I still have my doubts. It is possible though, that they have so much talent that they are dominant in spite of Close. I think Rice is a keeper who gets better every year and of course, they have the big girl and quite the portal haul as well. It’s difficult for me to get past Close though.

 

[HopJim]

Suspect Geno is anticipating Azzi taking a bit of time to get back - one of many reasons he signed Chen. At this point, who knows what the final lineup will be in the NCAA's. My thoughts are that UConn has more early season risks than most teams based on unproven players coming in as frosh and past injuries. They also have later season upside. Give me a line up with Strong, Azzi, Paige, Jana, Ice and all the guards and I will be selling some stock to put on the Huskies in the NCAA's.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I’d say it’s pretty clear that Gottlieb is a much better coach than Close! I think the jury is still out as to how much better perhaps but she (Gottlieb) is imo clearly better.

Following the Pac 12 for many years, I disagree. Gottlieb has had a few really good years at both Cal and USC, but Close has been far more consistent at UCLA and has flat out won more. That says a lot to me. While Close seems to max out at the Sweet 16 (she did have one Elite 8), she gets there almost every year. Gottlieb had a Final 4 at Cal and an Elite 8 last year with USC, but otherwise has done just about nothing in the post season. And Close has produced more WNBA players as well.

 

[Cuango]

Following the Pac 12 for many years, I disagree. Gottlieb has had a few really good years at both Cal and USC, but Close has been far more consistent at UCLA and has flat out won more. That says a lot to me. While Close seems to max out at the Sweet 16 (she did have one Elite 8), she gets there almost every year. Gottlieb had a Final 4 at Cal and an Elite 8 last year with USC, but otherwise has done just about nothing in the post season. And Close has produced more WNBA players as well.

I guess we just disagree. Close just doesn’t seem to be able to get her teams past the second round and it’s certainly not due to a lack of talent! She has had better players than Gottlieb but just can’t get the job done! I mean, Gottlieb took California to the final four!

 

[nwhoopfan]

I guess we just disagree. Close just doesn’t seem to be able to get her teams past the second round and it’s certainly not due to a lack of talent! She has had better players than Gottlieb but just can’t get the job done! I mean, Gottlieb took California to the final four!

They are both considered mediocre coaches by most in Pac 12 country. Which is better seems to be by a small margin either way. Gottlieb did get Cal to a Final 4, and then did not much in her remaining years as a follow up.

Close gets past the second round frequently. Five Sweet 16's and one Elite 8 in eight appearances. Did you mean she can't get past the third round?

Gottlieb has lost in the first or second round in 8 of her 10 appearances as a coach.

 

[Bone Dog]

They are both considered mediocre coaches by most in Pac 12 country. Which is better seems to be by a small margin either way. Gottlieb did get Cal to a Final 4, and then did not much in her remaining years as a follow up.

Close gets past the second round frequently. Five Sweet 16's and one Elite 8 in eight appearances. Did you mean she can't get past the third round?

Gottlieb has lost in the first or second round in 8 of her 10 appearances as a coach.

One of a coach’s tasks is recruiting and building a program, and both Lindsay and Cori seem to be doing well at that, judging from their recent recruiting records. Cori is able to build more through recruiting and isn’t as dependent on the portal as Lindsay, though that partly reflects the condition she found USC in when she arrived. Top level talent now consider her program a competitive destination. I’d say Lindsay is a little further along on the other task, winning, given where she is in her career. Of course, the data on this is necessarily limited.

 

[Cuango]

They are both considered mediocre coaches by most in Pac 12 country. Which is better seems to be by a small margin either way. Gottlieb did get Cal to a Final 4, and then did not much in her remaining years as a follow up.

Close gets past the second round frequently. Five Sweet 16's and one Elite 8 in eight appearances. Did you mean she can't get past the third round?

Gottlieb has lost in the first or second round in 8 of her 10 appearances as a coach.

I guess that’s what I meant. She doesn’t seem to be able to win the third game.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I guess that’s what I meant. She doesn’t seem to be able to win the third game.

Okay, Close can't win the third game, Gottlieb almost never gets to the third game. I guess it's pick your poison.

 

[ConwayGmck]

Talking season......

 

[packwrap]

We don’t know they are not healthy and more importantly, YOU do not know that they are not healthy. Three of them have had more than the normal time to recover from the injuries that they sustained.

G

GirlBoo does not know that, and it is likely not accurate. Girlboo is an anti-UConn troll.

Generally, pre season rankings are for where you think a team will finish the season, not how you think they will be playing out of the gate.

UCONN certainly could lose a couple of early games and drop into the 5-10 range, but they will win Big East and BE tourney and be ready in March for NCAA, to deliver Tony C's annual prediction of a final four.

I even think the early season team will compete well with these top 7 super teams.