Hating Notre Dame

[Bear11]

I understand that Baylor didn't play the toughest schedule this year, that has been hashed out many times on this board. However, it is not true that this is the reason for Baylor dropping out early the last couple tournaments. Last season we played a much tougher schedule, going to UConn and Tennessee, neutral site games with Ohio State and Depaul, and a home game with UCLA. The Big 12 was stronger last year too. It didn't matter in the end, Morgan William chose to have the best week of her life at the wrong time. That's the nature of a single elimination tournament, sometimes the best team loses. It's possible there is more to it, but I just don't see it. I don't think playing a couple tough games in November and December has much affect in March. I'm sure others disagree but that's just how I see it. Baylor won it all in 2005 as a 2 seed, and made the Final Four in 2010 as a 4 seed, so we have had years where we overachieve too. There is a lot of variability in the NCAA tournament, and Baylor is a prime example of that over the years.

As for Kim not figuring out the committee, last year Baylor had a lower RPI and SOS, and lost the conference tournament, and was a 1 seed with no controversy. I haven't wrapped my head around that one yet. If you listen to her press conference yesterday, there was absolutely no whining about seeding. She spent more time talking about getting to hear the Grambling band than seeding.

 

[Sifaka]

I don't hate Notre Dame, the university, or any of their sports teams. McGraw is one of the best coaches in WBB, and the team gives us good, strong competition.
So long as we win, it's easy for me to call them a respected adversary.

Back in the Big East days when we lost to them more than Justice, Decency, and GawdMotherCountry should have allowed, of course it was because of awful officiating (and just maybe they played better), but that's ancient history now.

I don't even hate the Lady viles (voles ) Vols. I just hold a few of their fans in less than high esteem. Has old age made me mellow? I still think the Baylor coach is _______ (self-censorship to avoid offending those of delicate disposition).

My only true object of pure, unbridled hatred used to be Princeton, but since they hired a Dartmouth grad to coach their women, even that has become difficult. All that's left to hate now is well beyond the scope of this discussion,




...and I can wear a net to keep them from attacking my eyelids and earlobes when Spring finally arrives.

 

[skilz]

Kim can't give up on figuring the NCAA Committee out as their comments are very straight forward-just simply start playing top 100 teams instead of Grambling, Lamar, Coppin State, Central Arkansas and Missouri State. Mix in a few top 25 OOC teams and bam, you will be rewarded and your team will develop. Her coddling has absolutely cost her post-season success as she's only made 3 Final Fours in her career, which given the talent she's had is down right under-achieving.

I hate to say it but both Kim and Dawn have similar MO's on their whining stances-it's always something. Dawn at least plays a good OOC. Kim would do herself a favor and gain some more respect if she took a stronger stance as a true leader of WCBB with her 2 titles, tied for second most on the list and played other top teams-it didn't hurt ND losing this year, why would it hurt Baylor?

Kim hasn't whined at all this year about her #2 seed. I think she is a changing women, but only time will tell. The fans are the ones whining about a #2 seed. I personally am ok with it and agree with you. Baylor will get their #1 seed when the non-conf schedule changes. Next year you will see a stronger stance and she has already started the change. Change won't happen over night nor will most people give her any credit for it, for years!

 

[HGN]

I get what you're saying, but:
1. Notre Dame gives cache to college sports. The richest sports tradition and fun to root for and against.
2. If Baylor got ND's seed and it goes chalk, UConn would be playing Baylor in the semis and MissState in the finals. I think UConn prefers it the way it is now.
3. And, much as I really hate to admit this, let's give Muffet credit: she did an awesome coaching job given what's happened to her team, and her team really came through as well. Who's ever had so many serious injuries?

Bags , I see Big Petunia's point. And I can go along with your points 1&2. But #3
Is a little questionable. MM did a good job overallduring the regular season.

 

[HGN]

But she got few breaks along the way. She did not win the ACC outright and got smoked by Louisville in a 30 point loss. The NCAA also gave her a BIG unexplainable break in granting Jessica Shepard immediate eligibility. Now they give her a #1 seed.

So she got a lot of help along this season from the NCAA.

 

[Alydar]

I get what you're saying, but:
1. Notre Dame gives cache to college sports. The richest sports tradition and fun to root for and against.
2. If Baylor got ND's seed and it goes chalk, UConn would be playing Baylor in the semis and MissState in the finals. I think UConn prefers it the way it is now.
3. And, much as I really hate to admit this, let's give Muffet credit: she did an awesome coaching job given what's happened to her team, and her team really came through as well. Who's ever had so many serious injuries?

I agree that she did a great job but let's also consider that the starting five she hoped to have in June was the same group she has now. None of those injured players was a starter. Two I believe, were incoming freshmen. Despite the possibility that any of them could have replaced a starter during the season the fact remains that the only thing she had to deal with was a short bench. I think that the loss of Turner and the loss of Achonwa, especially considering the timing, were both more crippling.

 

[Plebe]

As for Kim not figuring out the committee, last year Baylor had a lower RPI and SOS, and lost the conference tournament, and was a 1 seed with no controversy. I haven't wrapped my head around that one yet. If you listen to her press conference yesterday, there was absolutely no whining about seeding. She spent more time talking about getting to hear the Grambling band than seeding.

Is her press conference posted somewhere?

 

[my2cents]

Baylor lost their point guard, Kristy Wallace, so arguing about their seed seems pointless. They are still a good team, but nowhere nears as good as before the unfortunate injury.

 

[Bear11]

Is her press conference posted somewhere?

Dekeiya Cohen, Kalani Brown & Kim Mulkey NCAA Selection - Unnecessary Roughness - Omny.fm

 

[Bayareahusky]

Oh Notre Dame... yes i love to cheer against them also.... I think what gets me about them is that they swallow their own story.... they are so provincial.... no school is as great and as storied as Notre Dame.... many in ND fandom consider the football program the finest in the nation.... even though the school has not won the national title in 30 years and before that it was 44 years ago i believe.

What I do say for them is that they will be relevant for some time.... on the name alone... even though I think it would help them to join a conference full time rather than the hybrid arrangement they have with the ACC.... and WBB there is alive and well..... even though ND has not won it all since 2001, Muffet is a very good coach... and she can never be counted out

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

The Muffet has shut down and retired the title as "champion of the whining/crying coaches"! She is so far ahead of Dawn and Kim that the NCAA has awarded her the title ad nauseam!
For The Muffet to Bi-ch about Asia Durr winning ACC MOP over ND's Arike Ogunbowale only brings back lowlights of ND's not accepting Breanna Stewart's winning the Big East MOP award! I don't blame Jeff Walz for trying to hold her responsible in a public setting for her words and actions! Also the The Muffet crying she doesn't get any respect in relation to Geno Auriemma and there is no relationship between the 2 coaches!
Whatever +'s she has gathered along the way are lost in the pursuit of her personal feelings or really the LACK of feelings she displays!
As great as The Muffet is supposed to be she has one NCAA title, that ND was given by the loss of Shea & Svet in 2001 and having the best team in Division I over Diggins 4 years there was unable to close the deal on another NCAA title!

 

[Huskie78]

OK, hate is, admittedly, a very strong word, and I mean it, of course, only in the "sports rivalry" context, but the abundance of reasons to "hate" pretty much everything about them is inescapable. First and foremost among those, ironically, is not even through any fault of their own, but can be laid at the doorstep of the sports media. So smitten with the Notre Dame "legend" are sportswriters and commentators that the Irish, in every sport in which they participate, are inevitably ranked higher than warranted by their on-field or on-court performance. The NCAA Selection Committee has now fallen right in line, awarding them a #1 seed in the tournament ahead of Baylor, whose credentials are much stronger.

I know that my friends here will point to relative strength-of-schedule and the like, and to Kristy Wallace's injury, but I'm not buying it. No team that lets another put up 100 points on it in a 30+ point loss is a deserving #1 seed...period! I feel badly about their multiple injuries, just as I feel badly about Kristy's, but ND simply does not have a very intimidating team out there as a result. But the evidence of that will neither dissuade nor deter the committee or the writers, all of whom think the ghost of Knute Rockne still walks the halls in South Bend.

Add to that reality the fact that, irrespective of the overly-generous ranking that they consistently are awarded, their fans, the biggest whiners on the planet, inevitably complain that they were robbed, that, contrary to all evidence, they should have been ranked higher. And add to that the constant losers' refrain to which they resort when other teams prove the folly of their lofty rankings - "the refs screwed us!" - I dunno...just can't stand them or their unwarranted arrogance. Sorry...just me sounding off!!

1. You are right.
2. Don't be sorry.
3. See #1.

Edit: 4. #voteGabby

 

[tomcat]

Back to the original post's premise, with which i am just catching up. I drove all the way from Phoenix to Denver a few years ago in a rental car with no cruise control just to see Notre Dame take UConn down. One of the real disappointments in my years of watching college basketball. So I have no love for ND. But let's be fair:

Yes, they get ranked higher than they should some years (this is probably one of them). But this year's team, having lost four major players to injury, is special. Muffet's coaching job this year may be one of the best around, given what she had to work with by the time all the injuries happened. This is a team with a great, if unpleasant, back story. The farther they go in the tournament, the more that story will be told. For sure, ESPN loves this team, and lots of fans will, because of the adversity they've played through.

 

[eebmg]

I appreciate all programs (ND, Oregon, Stanford, etc) that set a high standard of play and strive to play team ball (assists matter). Above all, I want WCBB to thrive and grow and build strong rivalries. I save my dislike for TN.

 

[meyers7]

I like what Notre Dame has done for women's basketball. I began watching women's basketball watching Maya Moore, but I changed to favor Notre Dame and Skylar Diggins and then Baylor with Odyssey Sims. I didn't change back to UCONN until Stewie arrived. I think that Muffet has done a great job this year. That said, I think that the Jessica Shepard deal was a real cheat and I don't like Mabrey. I think Notre Dame deserves the fourth #1 seed; Baylor has the same problem this year that Maryland did last year.

So which team are you going to be a "fan" of next year?

 

[scubadog]

Agreed. I do not see ND or Louisville making the semi's.

I like Louisville over Baylor in a head to close game. Who on Baylor is going to be able to control Durr ? Noone. People have to stop rating teams on how they played UConn. I still think Baylor is overrated , especially without Wallace.

 

[jaundicedeye]

I like Louisville over Baylor in a head to close game. Who on Baylor is going to be able to control Durr ? Noone. People have to stop rating teams on how they played UConn. I still think Baylor is overrated , especially without Wallace.

Baylor's freshman point guard has a lot of playing time this season and actually plays with confidence and has looked very good. Baylor will enjoy a rebounding edge over Louisville that will give them more 2nd-chance points. On the other hand, Louisville will have to be on target with their shots because they will only get one each trip down the floor. Durr can be a streaky shooter and she will have to be on fire for Louisville to have a chance. - IMO.

 

[scubadog]

Baylor's freshman point guard has a lot of playing time this season and actually plays with confidence and has looked very good. Baylor will enjoy a rebounding edge over Louisville that will give them more 2nd-chance points. On the other hand, Louisville will have to me on target with their shots because they will only get one each trip down the floor. Durr can be a streaky shooter and she will have to be on fire for Louisville to have a chance. - IMO.

Freshman point guards eventually run into a wall in the tourney. Well coached teams with experienced personnel will pressure the ball early. But, who knows, perhaps Morris is great now. She will be tested .

 

[Orangutan]

Baylor lost their point guard, Kristy Wallace, so arguing about their seed seems pointless. They are still a good team, but nowhere nears as good as before the unfortunate injury.

I have it on good authority that Alexis Morris is the second coming of Odyssey Sims, so there are some that would take issue with that statement.

 

[Orangutan]

The NCAA also gave her a BIG unexplainable break in granting Jessica Shepard immediate eligibility. Now they give her a #1 seed.

The Jessica Shepard situation is almost exactly the same as the Chatrice White situation.

After some controversy, Illinois assistant coach Mike Divilbliss departed after the 14-15 season. White stuck it out for the 15-16 season and then decided to transfer. She was granted immediate eligibility at Florida State. Scandal played role in White's departure

After some controversy, Connie Yori departed Nebraska after the 15-16 season. Shepard stuck it out for the 16-17 season under the new coach and then decided to transfer. She was granted immediate eligibility at Notre Dame.

There is a clear precedent for the NCAA's decision on Shepard.

Notre Dame earned a #1 seed with 9 top-25 and 16 top-50 wins.

 

[mag 7]

I cannot say I hate Notre Dame. But I am not a fan. Not a fan of the WBB team. Not a fan of Muffett McGraw. Not a fan of the football team - period. Not a fan of the men's basketball program. I guess, to be honest I root for every team that any of them play. I'm not sure I have ever watched a game when I cheered for any Notre Dame team. But then I wasn't around during Knute Rockne's time.

 

[FridaFriend]

So which team are you going to be a "fan" of next year?

I definitely deserved that. I grew up in South Bend, IN, a few blocks from the Notre Dame campus and learned to dislike everything associated with that university. As a lifetime Chicago Cubs fan, I decided to stick with the best, when I began watching basketball. I was a John Wooden and UCLA fan and now I am a Geno and UCONN fan. But I do love the way UCONN plays basketball and that is why I watch all their games. You may be correct that if UCONN stops playing beautiful basketball, I will stop watching them.

 

[meyers7]

I definitely deserved that. I grew up in South Bend, IN, a few blocks from the Notre Dame campus and learned to dislike everything associated with that university. As a lifetime Chicago Cubs fan, I decided to stick with the best, when I began watching basketball. I was a John Wooden and UCLA fan and now I am a Geno and UCONN fan. But I do love the way UCONN plays basketball and that is why I watch all their games. You may be correct that if UCONN stops playing beautiful basketball, I will stop watching them.

OMG, it only gets worse.

At least that explains some things.

 

[Fishy]

It’s hard to hate Notre Dame.

They make an excellent patsy.

 

[meyers7]

It’s hard to hate Notre Dame.

They make an excellent patsy.

I don't see the connection.