Felisha Legette-Jack merged thread

[Urshurak]

I mean, nobody wants to be in UConn's bracket. Literally nobody. In fairness, she does seem to get it a lot! From Buffalo, to Syracuse, she always seems to get drawn in to UConn's bracket. I seriously doubt it is anything on purpose though, just the way the cookie crumbles so to speak.

 

[oldude]

While I agree that Coach Legette-Jack should have kept her frustrations to herself, here’s the deal she faces. When the Selection Committee fills the 68 team bracket there are a number of guidelines to space out the top schools from each conference. But when your team is a 9-seed, you are going to be placed with one of the #1 seeds. So if Syracuse wasn’t at UConn, they would have been at SC, TX or UCLA.

With that in mind, 2 things occurred that resulted in the matchup yesterday between Syracuse and UConn. Whenever possible, the Selection Committee attempts to accommodate fans. Syracuse fans could drive to UConn for the games, as opposed to flying to SC, TX or CA. The 2nd thing that happened was a good thing for Syracuse. They played a nice game in upsetting 8-seed Iowa St to get to the 2nd round.

Coach Legette-Jack’s statement is born from an embarrassing beat down by UConn yesterday. Through the years many coaches who’ve faced UConn have felt exactly the same way. That Coach Legette-Jack talked about her frustration should not in any way make a UConn fan “angry.” It should be a source of pride that no one really wants to play us.

 

[meyers7]

I agree with her. No need to play Syracuse so often. Plenty of other teams we never get to beat.

 

[oldude]

I agree with her. No need to play Syracuse so often. Plenty of other teams we never get to beat.

For the reasons I highlighted above, as a 9 seed, Syracuse was going to be at UConn, SC, TX or UCLA. Whenever possible, the Committee tries to keep teams closer to home for their fans and to reduce travel costs.

 

[ctfjr]

grapes that are sour

 

[Jim]

Simple solution is for Syracuse to join the Big East. Then the Orange won't be match up with a conference opponent until later in the tournament (should they get that far.) The downside is that they would likely get two or three beat downs by UConn before the NCAAs, which I assume would make getting a beat down from South Carolina more enjoyable. 🤣

 

[VaConnFan11]

I don't think her gripe was pointed solely at this particular year, but at the 5 of the last 7 times they've been in the tournament, they have been in UConn's bracket. She attributes that to only being 4 hours away instead of using the 'S' curve. I'm not going to do any research on it, but it does seem statistically out of the norm.

 

[hoopsfan22]

As I said in the post-game thread, if she thinks her school is being treated unfairly, wait until she finds out about UConn's conference realignment journey over the past couple of decades.

 

[huskeynut]

I understand her frustration. Still, not a good look.

 

[HopJim]

Strange comment. Not sure what her point was. Seems like Syracuse's seeding each year would place them against a team similar to UConn. Geno usually takes his foot off the gas, playing subs and implementing zones the last quarter. Teams like South Carolina do not. Would she rather fly to a more neutral site and lose by 70? Best way to change this would be to have a better team that is ranked higher.

 

[meyers7]

For the reasons I highlighted above, as a 9 seed, Syracuse was going to be at UConn, SC, TX or UCLA. Whenever possible, the Committee tries to keep teams closer to home for their fans and to reduce travel costs.

Don't care. I'm tired of playing Syracuse. Give us someone different. Princeton is closer than Syracuse. We've played Syracuse 40+ times. We've played Princeton once.

 

[Drumguy]

I don't think her gripe was pointed solely at this particular year, but at the 5 of the last 7 times they've been in the tournament, they have been in UConn's bracket. She attributes that to only being 4 hours away instead of using the 'S' curve. I'm not going to do any research on it, but it does seem statistically out of the norm.

Agreed and kind of understand. Iirc, the committee tries to take geographical proximity into account when there are teams that are statistically close on the S curve, to make it "easier" on the team for travel - cost, time zones etc. It likely has nothing to do with any other factor than proximity.

As to the beat down, it was embarrassing but they would have had a similar fate from any of the other top teams - SC, UCLA, Texas, Vandy.

 

[HopJim]

Have watched the press conferences the past two years. While all Syracuse coaches and players speak positively about UConn, it seems like they need a public speaking course, particularly the head coach. Not sure her words match up well to her objectives. What the press picks up on is rarely positive.

 

[DRBackup]

Syracuse HC says frequently being in UConn's bracket 'unacceptable'

Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack blasted the NCAA women's basketball committee for consistently putting her teams in the UConn subregional in Storrs following the Orange's 98-45 second-round loss to the Huskies.

www.espn.com

Wow. This article really makes me angry. To sit there in a press conference and make this your focal point?

What has Syracuse or Coach Jack done to receive special consideration by the committee over the other teams in the tourney? Very poor taste.

I mean, they ARE in the "East" and they were seeded appropriately, so they really don't have any real complaint

 

[DRBackup]

I don't think her gripe was pointed solely at this particular year, but at the 5 of the last 7 times they've been in the tournament, they have been in UConn's bracket. She attributes that to only being 4 hours away instead of using the 'S' curve. I'm not going to do any research on it, but it does seem statistically out of the norm.

Minimizing travel distance is more important to the committee than the S curve.

 

[oldude]

Don't care. I'm tired of playing Syracuse. Give us someone different. Princeton is closer than Syracuse. We've played Syracuse 40+ times. We've played Princeton once.

As a 9-seed, Princeton would have been another possibility for UConn’s bracket. The Selection Committee could have swapped Syracuse & Princeton. Then Coach Legette-Jack could have complained about getting sent all the way across the country to L.A., without any fans, to receive a beat down at the hands of UCLA…… 😉

 

[oldude]

Minimizing travel distance is more important to the committee than the S curve.

The S-curve really only applies to the top 16, with the exception of trying to avoid conference matchups in the early rounds.

 

[meyers7]

As a 9-seed, Princeton would have been another possibility for UConn’s bracket. The Selection Committee could have swapped Syracuse & Princeton. Then Coach Legette-Jack could have complained about getting sent all the way across the country to L.A., without any fans, to receive a beat down at the hands of UCLA…… 😉

Don't really care about them, I care about UCONN. And I'm tired of playing Syracuse. Don't like them, don't want to play them all the time.

 

[CL82]

Next time have a better body of work and you won't face the top teams quite so early in the process. Problem solved.

(Oh, and by the way, I guess Connecticut players were actually pretty special...)

 

[oldude]

Don't really care about them, I care about UCONN. And I'm tired of playing Syracuse. Don't like them, don't want to play them all the time.

I get not liking SC, ND and other schools that have beaten UConn a few times in the recent past. But what exactly is your issue with poor little Syracuse, a team that hasn’t beaten UConn in 30 years?

 

[CL82]

I get not liking SC, ND and other schools that have beaten UConn a few times in the recent past. But what exactly is your issue with poor little Syracuse, a team that hasn’t beaten UConn in 30 years?

1) I don't know why a Canadian team is playing American college basketball.

2) They are traitors who helped tank the old big east, possibly the best college basketball conference of all time, at least on the men's side.

3) Men's basketball has a healthy rivalry with them.

4) A lot of us remember when they wouldn't give Stewie a home game. Kind of a crappy thing to do
.

 

[meyers7]

1) I don't know why a Canadian team is playing American college basketball.

2) They are traitors who helped tank the old big east, possibly the best college basketball conference of all time, at least on the men's side.

3) Men's basketball has a healthy rivalry with them.

4) A lot of us remember when they wouldn't give Stewie a home game. Kind of a crappy thing to do
.

And they're ......orange.

 

[JavaMan]

I think then Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer handled a similar beat down much more diplomatically after losing by 60 in the NCAA regional against UConn when he said at his presser after the game, “They are like piranhas at a roast. You can’t get that bone out of there fast enough.” I watched that clip many times, and had a good laugh each time. 🤣

 

[oldude]

1) I don't know why a Canadian team is playing American college basketball.

2) They are traitors who helped tank the old big east, possibly the best college basketball conference of all time, at least on the men's side.

3) Men's basketball has a healthy rivalry with them.

4) A lot of us remember when they wouldn't give Stewie a home game. Kind of a crappy thing to do
.

With all of those issues, UConn has been the most successful program in the history of college basketball. Why even use the least amount of energy to dislike a school that’s not even in UConn’s area code? With all due respect, it’s just a little bit petty.

 

[CL82]

With all of those issues, UConn has been the most successful program in the history of college basketball. Why even use the least amount of energy to dislike a school that’s not even in UConn’s area code? With all due respect, it’s just a little bit petty.

It's like you don't understand us at all.

 

[oldude]

It's like you don't understand us at all.

Maybe not. I sometimes wonder how after UConn thoroughly destroyed a good team, in this instance, with what Geno referred to as, “The best 20 minutes of basketball he’s seen in a long time,” that the BY can still find things to complain about.

It’s like I don’t understand you guys at all…..🤯

 

[GoCardinal]

Strange comment. Not sure what her point was. Seems like Syracuse's seeding each year would place them against a team similar to UConn. Geno usually takes his foot off the gas, playing subs and implementing zones the last quarter. Teams like South Carolina do not. Would she rather fly to a more neutral site and lose by 70? Best way to change this would be to have a better team that is ranked higher.

I think she’s talking from a traditional sense of Syracuse or her Buffalo teams being slotted there. It does seem a bit out of the norm for a team to be matched up in a specific regional most yeas regardless of seeding. Even in 2024, when Cuse was a 6 seed they still were sent to UConn’s regional when you guys were a 3.

I do think this is coming from a sense of frustration by the result, but I do think the premise of what she’s saying makes some sense. I went back and looked and since the 2021 season, Syracuse has been placed in UConn’s regional 3 times. That does seem more than usual, but I don’t think it’s a vendetta. However, it does seem like it shifts the student's experience since you don’t get to experience new arenas, new atmospheres, etc.

 

[Big Fan]

Well I guess Syracuse will blackball UConn if an ACC invite ever comes around again. Then she's have to play here once a year. But maybe not. They don't seed teams from the same conference to be able to meet that early. They get seeded in the same bracket because so many other ACC teams are in the tournament and the can't be seeed against them early.

 

[Huskie837]

I'm still upset about watching that loss at Manley Field House on CPTV 30 years ago...

 

[GoCardinal]

Agreed and kind of understand. Iirc, the committee tries to take geographical proximity into account when there are teams that are statistically close on the S curve, to make it "easier" on the team for travel - cost, time zones etc. It likely has nothing to do with any other factor than proximity.

As to the beat down, it was embarrassing but they would have had a similar fate from any of the other top teams - SC, UCLA, Texas, Vandy.

I actually think Syracuse would’ve had a far better showing against Vandy or UCLA to be fair. Which is partially what I think her argument also included. Not saying she’s fully right, but I certainly think regional opponents shouldn’t be as frequent as these two have.