Gary Blair says....

[LesMis89]

Gary blair is a wily old southern sweet talking FOX !

Yep.

 

[doggydaddy]

So dismissive.... they already proved it could happen.

Yep, and they could get in foul trouble, or they could get injured....more blah blah blah.....

They are on of the best shooting teams in the country. I don't see the point of expecting another poor shooting performances if course it could happen, but you have to a full blown negative Nellie to post that.

 

[Wbbfan1]

I've said that I don't see A&M pulling off the upset. However, I'm not naive to think that its not possible. They are a talented team that shouldn't be overlooked, just like Geno and the team aren't doing. I look for Stewie and KML to have a big game tonight for the Win.

IMHO 1st round picks are Courtney Walker, Courtney Williams and Jordan Jones has the potential. Karla Gilbert might slip into the 1st round, but most likely is a 2nd round pick this year. Can't teach size.

 

[doggydaddy]

I've said that I don't see A&M pulling off the upset. However, I'm not naive to think that its not possible. They are a talented team that shouldn't be overlooked, just like Geno and the team aren't doing. I look for Stewie and KML to have a big game tonight for the Win.

IMHO 1st round picks are Courtney Walker, Courtney Williams and Jordan Jones has the potential. Karla Gilbert might slip into the 1st round, but most likely is a 2nd round pick this year. Can't teach size.

Anything is possible. And it's only the team that has to worry about overlooking them.

You said 4-5 1st round draft picks Gilbert wasn't in that mock draft. She sure won't be a first rounder.

The others? Long way to go to even say they would be first round picks. Unlike Uconn who actually has players that WILL be first round picks.

There is a reason they will be 27 point underdog according to Massey. With a 99% probability of Uconn winning.

Not sure how capable they are of beating Uconn.

 

[Forty_four]

Anything is possible. And it's only the team that has to worry about overlooking them.

You said 4-5 1st round draft picks Gilbert wasn't in that mock draft. She sure won't be a first rounder.

The others? Long way to go to even say they would be first round picks. Unlike Uconn who actually has players that WILL be first round picks.

There is a reason they will be 27 point underdog according to Massey. With a 99% probability of Uconn winning.

Not sure how capable they are of beating Uconn.

BYU was a 33 pt dog, but they covered.
At this point in the tourament every team is capable of beating another.

 

[jdubct]

carl adamec ‏@CarlAdamec 15h
I hope that Warde Manuel is as right about Bob Diaco as he was about Kevin Ollie.

A lot of credit should also go to Jim Calhoun who selected his successor. Diaco is probably the key to our being asked to join a major conference.

 

[ndmb]

Anything is possible. And it's only the team that has to worry about overlooking them.

You said 4-5 1st round draft picks Gilbert wasn't in that mock draft. She sure won't be a first rounder.

The others? Long way to go to even say they would be first round picks. Unlike Uconn who actually has players that WILL be first round picks.

There is a reason they will be 27 point underdog according to Massey. With a 99% probability of Uconn winning.

Not sure how capable they are of beating Uconn.

Breanna Stewart decides between now and 9:30 that she'd rather play ping pong.

 

[ndmb]

BYU was a 33 pt dog, but they covered.
At this point in the tourament every team is capable of beating another.

BYU was a 33 pt underdog, had about as favorable a first half as they could have hoped for, and lost by 19, which just goes to show how wide a 30+ point prediction gap is. If UConn has a similarly disastrous first half against A&M, they probably win by 10.

 

[snowkot]

At this stage of the tourney, those mocking the chances of a shocking upset, treating a win as a given, should re-watch last year's Louisville - Baylor game. Or the second half of UConn - Notre Dame in March of 2001, where Notre Dame outscored UConn by over 31 points (in a half!?!)

As Coach has declared many, many times that at this point all are very good teams - whoever makes shots is going to win.

So I fail to see why those on here posting, "... if Uconn shoots like they did against BYU..." are voicing anything but reasonable concerns.

Now I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it - but these are certainly reasonable concerns such that they should not be the subject of derision.

 

[Bestiarius]

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla 35m
So, in my way of thinking, Bob Diaco is now the most important man in Connecticut #uconnfootball #UConnwomen #uconnmen

carl adamec ‏@CarlAdamec 15h
I hope that Warde Manuel is as right about Bob Diaco as he was about Kevin Ollie.

After watching the segment interviewing Diaco on Beyond the Beat, I think he is the real deal and am very optimistic about UConn's football future.
http://www.soxanddawgs.bloguinsport...bob-diaco-on-cptv-sports-beyond-the-beat.html

 

[doggydaddy]

At this stage of the tourney, those mocking the chances of a shocking upset, treating a win as a given, should re-watch last year's Louisville - Baylor game. Or the second half of UConn - Notre Dame in March of 2001, where Notre Dame outscored UConn by over 31 points (in a half!?!)

As Coach has declared many, many times that at this point all are very good teams - whoever makes shots is going to win.

So I fail to see why those on here posting, "... if Uconn shoots like they did against BYU..." are voicing anything but reasonable concerns.

Now I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it - but these are certainly reasonable concerns such that they should not be the subject of derision.

I have to disagree.

If Uconn was an inconsistent shooting team maybe the concern might be reasonable. But they are not.

You don't think it goes without saying that if Uconn has a poor shooting night A&M have a shot?

I didn't think there was that much derision in my comment. More derision about the "4-5 1st round draft pick" comment about the A&M roster.

 

[UcMiami]

Anything is possible. And it's only the team that has to worry about overlooking them.

You said 4-5 1st round draft picks Gilbert wasn't in that mock draft. She sure won't be a first rounder.

The others? Long way to go to even say they would be first round picks. Unlike Uconn who actually has players that WILL be first round picks.

There is a reason they will be 27 point underdog according to Massey. With a 99% probability of Uconn winning.

Not sure how capable they are of beating Uconn.

There are always a few surprises and Gilbert looked intriguing in the DePaul game - she certainly hasn't gotten the exposure, but she is getting it now and a few GMs may be calling Gary in the next week to get his thoughts.
TA&M is a good and relatively young team - they have improved a lot this year. The refrain in November is always ... but we will get better. Most teams do, but only moderately. Gary, Kim, Jeff and a few others really do get a significant progression out of their teams from November - March and it is always more pronounced with teams with freshman and sophomores who see a good amount of playing time.

 

[ndmb]

At this stage of the tourney, those mocking the chances of a shocking upset, treating a win as a given, should re-watch last year's Louisville - Baylor game. Or the second half of UConn - Notre Dame in March of 2001, where Notre Dame outscored UConn by over 31 points (in a half!?!)

As Coach has declared many, many times that at this point all are very good teams - whoever makes shots is going to win.

So I fail to see why those on here posting, "... if Uconn shoots like they did against BYU..." are voicing anything but reasonable concerns.

Now I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it - but these are certainly reasonable concerns such that they should not be the subject of derision.

Oh, wow, I'm really glad you pointed out that Louisville beat Baylor last year. I'd forgotten!

Seriously, the only reason that you're pointing to that game specifically (rather than several games) is because that is the only time that an upset of that magnitude has occurred in the women's tournament since 1998 (or possibly ever). Notre Dame having a great half against UConn in 2001 doesn't even come close, given the array of talent they had, our injuries, and the fact that they'd already beaten us earlier in the year (a loss that, to my recollection, came before the injuries).

The bottom line is that Texas A&M's odds of winning this game are about 1/100. Yes, it's possible they could lose and the would go down as one of the biggest NCAA tournament upsets ever. But let's not forget that, with the exception of Baylor, every other Goliath of this size this century has smashed David's face in.

 

[snowkot]

I have to disagree.

If Uconn was an inconsistent shooting team maybe the concern might be reasonable. But they are not.

Was the 2001 team that was up 15 at halftime an inconsistent shooting team? Was there anything Diana Taurasi had done to predict she'd shoot 1 for 13 over the course of the game?

In baseball, was there anything at all to suggest the Red Sox - a team that hadn't won a championship since WW I, would come back down 3 games to none against a loaded Yankee team that had drubbed them senseless over the three previous games?

Was there anything about Baylor - featuring both Griner and Sims - to suggest they'd have trouble with Louisville?

Even A&M over Notre Dame in 2011 was a stunner, though clearly not in the same universe as the previous examples.

I've seen too much over too many years to know that one cannot discount any result at this stage.

Irregardless - to each his own. Let the worriers worry, the braggarts brag - nobody's actually wrong until the games been played anyway.


As for "ndmb's" snarky "Oh wow..." - missing the point.

I am not predicting an upset, or a close game, or really anything at all, personally. I'm simply posting to defend those who carry concerns into this game given relatively poor shooting in the previous game.

As for the rest of it, odds, whatever, I don't disagree all that much, though I rather think "smashing David's face in" is a particularly crude, if overstated way to put it...

 

[Forty_four]

Oh, wow, I'm really glad you pointed out that Louisville beat Baylor last year. I'd forgotten!

Seriously, the only reason that you're pointing to that game specifically (rather than several games) is because that is the only time that an upset of that magnitude has occurred in the women's tournament since 1998 (or possibly ever). Notre Dame having a great half against UConn in 2001 doesn't even come close, given the array of talent they had, our injuries, and the fact that they'd already beaten us earlier in the year (a loss that, to my recollection, came before the injuries).

The bottom line is that Texas A&M's odds of winning this game are about 1/100. Yes, it's possible they could lose and the would go down as one of the biggest NCAA tournament upsets ever. But let's not forget that, with the exception of Baylor, every other Goliath of this size this century has smashed David's face in.

ever hear of Ball State? or Harvard beating a one seed Stanford.
No one actually said Tex A&M will beat UConn but you can't entirely discount the possibility!

from the movie Dumb and Dumber, you have a one in a million possibilty, so are you saying I have a chance?

 

[hjoerring]

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla 35m
So, in my way of thinking, Bob Diaco is now the most important man in Connecticut #uconnfootball #UConnwomen #uconnmen

I would rather say he could become ..., but today all eyes are on him- for the next couple of years.

 

[ndmb]

ever hear of Ball State? or Harvard beating a one seed Stanford.
No one actually said Tex A&M will beat UConn but you can't entirely discount the possibility!

from the movie Dumb and Dumber, you have a one in a million possibilty, so are you saying I have a chance?

Do you think I mentioned 1998 by accident?

 

[Forty_four]

Do you think I mentioned 1998 by accident?

the fact is it happens and is happening more as the womens game gains more parity.

 

[doggydaddy]

the fact is it happens and is happening more as the womens game gains more parity.

Do you have any statistics that show it's happening more and more?

 

[ndmb]

Was the 2001 team that was up 15 at halftime an inconsistent shooting team? Was there anything Diana Taurasi had done to predict she'd shoot 1 for 13 over the course of the game?

In baseball, was there anything at all to suggest the Red Sox - a team that hadn't won a championship since WW I, would come back down 3 games to none against a loaded Yankee team that had drubbed them senseless over the three previous games?

Was there anything about Baylor - featuring both Griner and Sims - to suggest they'd have trouble with Louisville?

Even A&M over Notre Dame in 2011 was a stunner, though clearly not in the same universe as the previous examples.

I've seen too much over too many years to know that one cannot discount any result at this stage.

Irregardless - to each his own. Let the worriers worry, the braggarts brag - nobody's actually wrong until the games been played anyway.


As for "ndmb's" snarky "Oh wow..." - missing the point.

I am not predicting an upset, or a close game, or really anything at all, personally. I'm simply posting to defend those who carry concerns into this game given relatively poor shooting in the previous game.

As for the rest of it, odds, whatever, I don't disagree all that much, though I rather think "smashing David's face in" is a particularly crude, if overstated way to put it...

Sorry if the snark (or the crudeness) was too much.

Anyways, I believe that you've seen many incidents over many years that show to you that anything is possible. I also know that, presuming you don't have an eidetic memory, you are inherently biased towards those results which stray from the norm. What's more, you don't really seem to realize it.

The definition of reasonable is pretty subjective, but I'd say that anyone who claims that serious concerns about UConn stringing together two halves like the first half of the BYU game either A) is underestimating how well we can predict the outcome of basketball games or B (and more likely) has absolutely no conception of how large the gap between Texas A&M and UConn really is or C) is going to be worried about any level of uncertainty whatsoever.

Just to throw some numbers out there, we're a 37% 3pt shooting team that shot 0-8 in the first half (with a normal level shot difficulty). They're a 33% 3pt shooting team that shot 5-10 in the first half. The odds of that happening are about 1/125. The odds that they'd do the equivalent over two consecutive halves are therefore 1/16,000. Sure, crazy things happen, but I wouldn't hold my breath on UConn missing all of 8 or more shots and their opponent shooting 50% or better from three in a half again in this tournament.

One more example of why serious concerns about a repeat of the BYU performance that causes us to lose to Texas A&M are unreasonable: If you take Massey at it's word (it's crude and imperfect, but it's observations have lined up well with the outcomes so far and it's probability seems reasonable), Notre Dame is 14 times more likely to beat us that Texas A&M.

Let that sink in for a second.

I'm not referring to the odds that Notre Dame will beat us if we play them. I mean, the odds that both UConn and Notre Dame beat their remaining opponents AND that Notre Dame beats us in the finals are 14 times greater than the odds that Texas A&M will beat us tonight. In case you're wondering, the odds that Stanford beats us are four times higher than the odds that Texas A&M does. And, by the way, the Massey odds that Notre Dame beats us if we play are only 21%.

So, to quote The West Wing, a fan worrying about Texas A&M is like Butch and Sundance peering over the edge of a cliff to the boulder-filled rapids 300 feet below, thinking you better not jump 'cause there's a chance you might drown. It's the fall that's gonna kill you.

 

[snowkot]

Sorry if the snark (or the crudeness) was too much.

Anyways, I believe that you've seen many incidents over many years that show to you that anything is possible. I also know that, presuming you don't have an eidetic memory, you are inherently biased towards those results which stray from the norm. What's more, you don't really seem to realize it.
.
... a fan worrying about Texas A&M is like Butch and Sundance peering over the edge of a cliff to the boulder-filled rapids 300 feet below, thinking you better not jump 'cause there's a chance you might drown.

I really wish this forum had a face-palm emoticon...

From the two posts of mine on here you now feel qualified to offer character evaluations around my memory, personal biases and failings. Impressive, if not astoundingly ill-advised.

For one final laborious time - please get this: allowing for the possibility of anomalous results does not equate to expecting them. Understanding that others might utilize this forum to express concerns around those possibilities does not in any way imply they are my own.

As for the analogy - its off. William Goldman's fictional characters - Butch and Sundance "peering over the edge of a cliff to the boulder-filled rapids 300 feet below" are clearly meant to convey to the audience a very real fear of failing to survive the fall, hence Butch Cassidy's line: "Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you." They jump anyway, of course, the lesser of two evils (certain death vs possible death), during which Sundance conveys this fear by screaming "Holy *****t."

To really belabor the fallacious analogy, I don't believe anyone on here is suggesting UConn shouldn't play Texas A&M as they just might lose. They are simply expressing concern given the previousresult.

AGAIN - I'm NOT expressing that concern. I am simply allowing that those expressing such are concern are acting in a reasonable fashion.

Not that it matters or is even relevant, but I personally expect this team to shoot lights out tonight, as these players individually seem to have terrific performances following "poor" ones, all things being relative.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I've only posted wistfully, not optimistically, about a desire to get to the ACC or B1G .... until now. Yesterday changes everything. To have a charismatic coach not named Calhoun or Auriemma bring UConn to the FF with MSG as the venue .... that was pure gold for future conference realignment discussions. Sure, some petty colleges like a BC, or presumably a TAMU (you can have the SEC anyways) might have resistance, but the overall market potential of our Blue Blood program for any conference at this point is undeniable. It's now inevitable.

I posted on the men's side that courtside right after the men's game yesterday an ESPN New York guy named Kieran Darcy was talking to Andy Katz and they were talking about the game (obviously) but also how it seemed like UConn owned New York and that the Huskies would be a great "GET" for any conference looking to expand. The article is "Five things: UConn triumphs at MSG and just double click this: http://search.espn.go.com/kieran-darcy/ to get there and listen to the video. Really cool!!!!!!!!

 

[ndmb]

For one final laborious time - please get this: allowing for the possibility of anomalous results does not equate to expecting them.

Where did I claim otherwise?

As for the whole memory thing, do you have an eidetic memory? Or are you the only human being on the face of the planet who's memory is biased towards ordinary, rather than spectacular events?

 

[Buzzyboy]

So dismissive.... they already proved it could happen.

Yeah, we played a really lousy half of shooting the ball but even with BYU making a few unconscious shots (a couple over Breanna where the shooter couldn't even see the rim) we led at the half. Our defense continually helps us by insuring we don't have to really shoot the lights out to win against anybody. I think our likelihood of losing to anyone not named Notre Dame and maybe, maybe Stanford and Baylor is pretty miniscule. Very remote, indeed. Even then, they would have to be hitting on just about all cylinders while we stunk out the joint on the offensive end.

 

[doggydaddy]

Not that it matters or is even relevant, but I personally expect this team to shoot lights out tonight, as these players individually seem to have terrific performances following "poor" ones, all things being relative.

Those are part of my reasons for thinking the pointing out of one poor shooting performance is unreasonable.