How Many Games Will UConn lOSE [Oct. thread]

[Wbbfan1]

Including all tournaments, how many games will UConn lose this year?

 

[Icebear]

2-4

You forgot 7+.

 

[VAMike23]

My current guess is 4: one loss at the NCAAs, one at Baylor, one of either Stanford (home) or Duke (away), and one against ND at some point. I think we take care of A&M at our place.

I don't look at the Stanford game as a 'likely' loss, it's just early, and a lot of things can happen early in the season--not all of them good. Having said that, it will be a real battle and Stanford knows it. Duke, just being on the road will be a challenge, and I think EWilliams will be an even bigger force than people anticipate. Yes we killed them last year, but I just feel like their mentality this year will be much stronger. I think these are 50/50 games.

Either way, 4 sounds about right to me. A second loss against ND or a 'hiccup' against another BE team would make it 5 losses, but I will stick with 4. Then next year, we LOCK-and-LOAD !!! Look out WCBB.

 

[NCorBust]

8 LOSSES
11/21/11 Stanford
12/18/11 Baylor
01/07/12 Notre Dame
01/30/12 Duke
---------- Big East Upset (Georgetown or Louisville)
02/27/12 Notre Dame
---------- Big East Tournament
---------- NCAA Tournament

 

[Zorro]

8 LOSSES
11/21/11 Stanford
12/18/11 Baylor
01/07/12 Notre Dame
01/30/12 Duke
---------- Big East Upset (Georgetown or Louisville)
02/27/12 Notre Dame
---------- Big East Tournament
---------- NCAA Tournament

I would bet the farm on the under on this proposition!!!!

 

[alexrgct]

Really tough to say at this point. I think there are nine key unknowns at this point (Caroline's health, KML's progress, Kiah's ability to play meaningful minutes at the 4, Tiff's leadership/conistsency, Kelly's offense, Banks's progress, the magnitude of Stef's sophomore leap, same for Bria, whether we can get significant minutes against good teams from Micahala/Buck/Lauren). If those questions turn out mostly in UConn's favor, UConn is a legit NC threat. If more are negative than positive, NC or Bust's prediction of eight losses isn't especially far-fetched.

I cannot wait for the Stanford game. That's really going to be a huge measuring stick for how good UConn can be this year, win or lose. @Baylor is a bit less so to me. I expect Baylor to win at their place.

 

[Kibitzer]

Meanwhile on the Devils Den board, the Stanford board, the Baylor board, the Fighting Irish board (all by whatever name they use), plus Georgetown, Louisville, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and anybody I forgot's board, they may be having their own polls.

Question: How many games will we lose?

And every single one lists UConn as a given loss or a "Dang! Why do we keep them on the schedule?"

Responses by delusional posters are, in current poll parlance, "outliers," so those votes don't count.

 

[Husky68]

This is not the Ann/Barbara team after DT left with no sophomores, no PG and a freshman group that had some very inconsistent players (even later in their careers) and a shooter who couldn't shoot (at least her freshman year).

These other teams have also lost some players and haven't added as much as Uconn. Going 0-2 against ND isn't going to happen unless the ponytail ref from the FF is calling the game again, and still probably won't be able to impact the game enough to help ND win twice.

 

[NCorBust]

I would bet the farm on the under on this proposition!!!!

Must be a really, really small farm.

 

[doggydaddy]

Must be a really, really small farm.

So, what would you be willing to bet?

And if your name is NC or Bust, why would you pick them to lose in the NCAA's?

 

[NCorBust]

Why weren't you nicknamed "The Voice of Reason?" Be careful you may find "The Voice of Subversion" under your avatar!

Really tough to say at this point. I think there are nine key unknowns at this point (Caroline's health, KML's progress, Kiah's ability to play meaningful minutes at the 4, Tiff's leadership/conistsency, Kelly's offense, Banks's progress, the magnitude of Stef's sophomore leap, same for Bria, whether we can get significant minutes against good teams from Micahala/Buck/Lauren). If those questions turn out mostly in UConn's favor, UConn is a legit NC threat. If more are negative than positive, NC or Bust's prediction of eight losses isn't especially far-fetched.

I cannot wait for the Stanford game. That's really going to be a huge measuring stick for how good UConn can be this year, win or lose. @Baylor is a bit less so to me. I expect Baylor to win at their place.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I went with a higher number than normal--3. Yes, we have questions, but we always have questions. In 2008, can we get over the hump and get back to the Final Four? How can we win without Mel and Kalana? In 2009, can we get by Stanford? Can Tina slow down Jayne? In 2010, who will replace Renee, the Lieberman Award winner ? In 2010, who will replace Tina, the Naismith winner? Can any of these freshmen contribute?

We always have a tough schedule. Losing games and having competitive games are not the same thing. Every year, we have 10-12 games on the schedule that look competitive. Some look tougher than others, e.g., Duke at Cameron. But, of those 10-12, only half are realistically "loseable." I figure we split those, which gets me to 3.

I won't pick specific games that we'll lose, but the most difficult:

At Baylor

At Notre Dame

Big East Championship

Final Four

I'm comfortable with Stanford, A&M, and Notre Dame at home. UNC is not strong enough now. Duke is coming but still not there. Georgetown will miss McNutt, be unable to stop Stef, and struggle with our balance. We have outstanding talent, ultracompetitive kids, and the best coaches.

It will take a subpar effort against a top 10 team for us to lose. If I had only 2 choices: (1) undefeated season or (2) 8+ losses, I really would choose the first as the more likely.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Why weren't you nicknamed "The Voice of Reason?" Be careful you may find "The Voice of Subversion" under your avatar!

Hey! Watch what you say.
Actually, I would include Alex, Blake and JS as some of the most reasonable posters--probably more "Voices of Reason" than myself. But I'm not giving it up!

This Voice of Reason says 8 losses is a disaster by UConn standards and nearly impossible unless we have a major injury attack. It has happened only once in 20 years and Kaleena, Tiffany, Bria, Stef, Kelly, and Caroline were not on that team. We have the most competitive kids.

 

[connboy77]

I would bet the farm on the under on this proposition!!!!

I'm with you on this; I can't ever remember a UCONN Women's team losing as many as eight games.

 

[NCorBust]

So, what would you be willing to bet?

And if your name is NC or Bust, why would you pick them to lose in the NCAA's?

If we bet, it probably would illegal, so no bet. Also I hope I am sorely wrong! I am expressing a possibility which alexrgct so elegantly and succinctly explained. Do I want UCONN to lose 8 games? Absolutely not. But right now based on what Geno and CD (and the eminent alexrgct) are saying; losing 8 games is a distinct possibility. As a sales manager I wanted accurate and objective sales forecasts. No bovine scatology or blind fanaticism was wanted because then no corrective actions could be taken. Geno does not subscribe to either one, thus I trust he and his staff will improve the team to peak at NC time.

HEY! Why isn't anyone taking Icebear to task for asking where +7 was?

 

[NCorBust]

Kibitzer, you new nickname is Meshuggener.

 

[Tonyc]

The only games I think we have a chance of losing are at Baylor and at ND. With that said the difference will be Stef in the middle. There arent many teams that can match up with her underneath. Stanford will also be a good game the difference being at the guard positions. I feel we have more experience at the guard positions. A couple of things to remember.

First last season we were up 16 on Baylor. Their comeback was led by UConn being in foul trouble and UConn with a short bench. Remember it was Bria who pulled the game out for us not Maya.

We beat ND last season 3 times before the bum calls in the FF or we wouldve been NC again. I think this season we win .

Stanfords loss was right after we broke UCLAs record win streak. I like Stef in the middle againest Stanford and I like the fact that our outside shooters will be going up againest kids that didnt start last season for Stanford. Stanford will have to play great perimiter defense againest UConn.

I think UConn has a better chance of going undefeated then losing any more then 4 games this season. JMO. UConn is better then advertised because of all the returning players who can play defense.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

I can honestly say that 3-5 loss season will be ok with me. Its a young team it will be ok. Still think we can make a run at another NC, but just the same, i expect some bumps along the way!

 

[EricLA]

I went with a higher number than normal--3. Yes, we have questions, but we always have questions. In 2008, can we get over the hump and get back to the Final Four? How can we win without Mel and Kalana? In 2009, can we get by Stanford? Can Tina slow down Jayne? In 2010, who will replace Renee, the Lieberman Award winner ? In 2010, who will replace Tina, the Naismith winner? Can any of these freshmen contribute?

We always have a tough schedule. Losing games and having competitive games are not the same thing. Every year, we have 10-12 games on the schedule that look competitive. Some look tougher than others, e.g., Duke at Cameron. But, of those 10-12, only half are realistically "loseable." I figure we split those, which gets me to 3.

I won't pick specific games that we'll lose, but the most difficult:

At Baylor

At Notre Dame

Big East Championship

Final Four

I'm comfortable with Stanford, A&M, and Notre Dame at home. UNC is not strong enough now. Duke is coming but still not there. Georgetown will miss McNutt, be unable to stop Stef, and struggle with our balance. We have outstanding talent, ultracompetitive kids, and the best coaches.

It will take a subpar effort against a top 10 team for us to lose. If I had only 2 choices: (1) undefeated season or (2) 8+ losses, I really would choose the first as the more likely.

this is exactly why i said 4. i think we CAN win the NC and we CAN win the BET and we COULD win every regular season game this year, but believe it or not, i see this as our rebuilding year. teams better look to take it to UCONN this year because it won't happen for a VERY long time after...

plus, like most every team, UCONN does have a lot of questions to answer - who will be the backup to Stef? how effective will CD be this year? will Tiff be consistent and a leader all year? will Kelly be able to pick up her scoring? a lot will be asked of the terrific trio of freshmen - how much will they actually contribute?

i like our chances for sure, and a final 4 is a realistic goal. we will see for sure!

 

[intlzncster]

I'm going with 2-3 right now. Between Baylor, Stanford, ND twice, and the BE tournament, that is reasonable. Sure we could lose, but I have to think we are going to win some tough games too.

I'm not sure there is a better defensive team in the Nation 1 through 5. Baylor is right there, neck and neck.

I'm holding off on an NCAA loss. This team has the potential to really gel. We'll have a better feel towards the end of the season. I'm not certain anyone can realistically predict just how good we will be come March.

 

[UConnCat]

I have fewer questions heading in to this year than I did heading in to last year. Last year's team lost three starters (Tina, Kalana and Caroline) and was replacing two of them with untested freshmen. I knew Maya would be able to mask a number of flaws, but starting freshmen at the two most important positions on the floor (point guard and center) raised many questions for me heading in to last season.

There are questions surrounding this year's team for sure, but I'm comfortable enough to say that I'd be stunned if the team lost 8 games. We'll get answers to questions early on with games against Stanford and aTm.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The only games I think we have a chance of losing are at Baylor and at ND. With that said the difference will be Stef in the middle. There arent many teams that can match up with her underneath. Stanford will be a good game the difference being at the guard positions. A couple of things to remember.

First last season we were up 16 on Baylor. Their comeback was led by UConn being in foul trouble with a short bench. Remember it was Bria who pulled the game out for us not Maya.

We beat ND last season 3 times before the bum calls in the FF or we wouldve been NC again.

Stanfords loss was right after we broke UCLAs record win streak. I like Stef in the middle againest Stanford and I like the fact that our outside shooters will be going up againest kids that didnt start last season for Stanford. Stanford will have to play great perimiter defense againest UConn.

I think UConn has a better chance of going undefeated then losing any more then 4 games this season. JMO. UConn is better then advertised because of all the returning players who can play defense.

I'm in agreement with you, Tony.

Though UConn does not make excuses, at least Tiffany had the flu for the Stanford game.

 

[triaddukefan]

I voted 3 games. Baylor, @ ND... and either ND again..... or hopefully @ Duke. I didnt read the whole question before i voted.... my votes were based on regular season and Big East tournament.

 

[Kibitzer]

First, according to the ultimate authority in these Yiddish matters, Leo Rosten, one "g" is sufficient. Meshugener.

Second, there is an old folk saying: "Every man has his own mishegas."

Clearly, your prediction that this UConn team will lose eight games qualifies as a classic mishegas.

 

[Kibitzer]

Sorry, I screwed up inserting NCorBust's suggestion that I am a "meshuggener." I may be a klutz, but not a meshugener.