ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll now up

[pap49cba]

LINK

 

[triaddukefan]

still dont see how Kentucky is below Tennessee or Maryland. They should be #5 or so... maybe #4. Will definitely find out all about them this weekend coming up.

 

[EricLA]

i like that th ey put the polls side by side for comparison purposes.

 

[Icebear]

Coaches with. A couple of votes for UConn at #1.

 

[speedoo]

still dont see how Kentucky is below Tennessee or Maryland. They should be #5 or so... maybe #4. Will definitely find out all about them this weekend coming up.

And I don't see how aTm is ahead of Rutgers.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Everyone has now played between 7 and 11 games. And already we have 8/9 teams with 2 losses and one team with 3 losses in the top 25. Parity?

 

[speedoo]

Everyone has now played between 7 and 11 games. And already we have 8/9 teams with 2 losses and one team with 3 losses in the top 25. Parity?

I think a case can be made that parity gets better year by year. Not any big jumps, just gradual improvement as the number of good players coming to D1 increases. And as coaching improves. As an example of improved coaching look at the Big East today vs. 7 or 8 years ago.

 

[alexrgct]

Everyone has now played between 7 and 11 games. And already we have 8/9 teams with 2 losses and one team with 3 losses in the top 25. Parity?

Yes and no. I think there are more competitive teams, but I still think we're a long way from a team seeded lower than 2 winning the tourney with any regularity.

And in 2012-13, there will be a cavernous divide between UConn and Baylor and everyone else. And 2013-14, between UConn and everyone else.

 

[EricLA]

Yes and no. I think there are more competitive teams, but I still think we're a long way from a team seeded lower than 2 winning the tourney with any regularity.

And in 2012-13, there will be a cavernous divide between UConn and Baylor and everyone else. And 2013-14, between UConn and everyone else.

cavernous divide is right. and you picked out the only other team besides UCONN who i think has a legit shot to win it all next year...

off the top of my head, RU and Duke should be part of the next tier, then maybe ND, L'ville, Stanford, Maryland, Duke, and possibly Tennessee, altho they may be lower. as a side note, i can actually see a future next year where tennessee falls outside of the top 10.

 

[pap49cba]

It would be so great to see a mid-major go deep into the tournament but the way the recruiting battles are going I don't think it will happen anytime soon. That's one reason why I find the Delaware situation so interesting.... A mid-major featuring a big-time D1 talent.

 

[alexrgct]

It would be so great to see a mid-major go deep into the tournament but the way the recruiting battles are going I don't think it will happen anytime soon. That's one reason why I find the Delaware situation so interesting.... A mid-major featuring a big-time D1 talent.

There are three huge issues holding the mid-majors back, in my view:

1. There is still such a huge gap between the elite high school players and the girls a tier below that. The late bloomers on the Angel McCaughtry or Courtney Vandersloot level just aren't sufficient in number, and relatively flukey EDD kind of situations are equally insufficient.

2. These elite players play for four years. In the men's game, the equivalent of Brittney Griner or Maya Moore would be gone after a year.

3. We still don't have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to coaching at the college level in WBB. We've seen at schools like Marist and Green Bay that a good coach can make a huge difference.

In MCBB, where the talent disparity isn't as great, where the super-elite players leave as soon as their NBA draft stock is high, and where there are more good coaches to go around, a good coach with an experienced team can take it to a team with elite but young talent, especially in a single-elimination format.

 

[choochoo]

Let me ask a question. Where do you think Uconn would be ranked if we lost to an un ranked team, lost to Baylor and struggled against Rutgers? With our returning class and no AA or fifth year seniors would we still be top 5 or 10? Things that make you say HUMMMMM!