I am blown away by this team...

[Boreifs]

It's still early but a case can be made, perhaps will be made that this group is just as good...as a group.
Remember, Bria took herself out of the starting lineup due to her own loss of confidence and sub-atandard play.

Gabby may rebound better than Stef, obviously a completely different type of player, but impossible to prognosticate how totally dominant she may become.

Pheesa has "her little ways," (Winnie-the Poo) but the combination of moves that this group makes to enable makable shots in really unique in UConn lore...and virtually always against size.

I still have Geno's sayings in my ear about how the game has changed ...that guard play is supreme.

Today...our Guard play was fine, wonderful.

But the essence of the play of this tam is (usually) scoring our undersized post and wing combo's

Today though was a total team effort

It may turn out that the supporting cast is statistically even more efficient than the help that Stewie had.

No sane person would ever say that this team is as good as last year's team, but they do play team defense at an incredibly high level and have a natural flow to their offensive sets that is likely more impressive than even the ghosts of Championships past. It is actually more entertaining to watch, because the talent level of the "core four" is so evenly distributed among players with remarkably different games. It's like watching a great corps du ballet made up of young dancers who are destined to become future super stars, but for now must find a way to mesh their considerable talents for the greater good.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I've said all along MD would be our toughest game. Now we have a clear path to [dare I say] three digits.

You really like tempting fate. South Carolina stands in our way of three digits. I think that would be win #99? Wouldn't be entirely shocked to see UConn lose the streak before then. Yes, eventually this team will lose a game in the AAC.

 

[donalddoowop]

I've said all along MD would be our toughest game. Now we have a clear path to [dare I say] three digits.

Maryland was our toughest game early last season. People praised them and said they were a good bet to make the Final Four. However, they went on to lose twice to Ohio State and also did not make it to the Final Four. If the good teams played all teams like they play Uconn, maybe more teams would have very long winning streaks.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

UConn is unphased by adversity. They just play, one play at a time. Look at tonight's box score - all starters in double figures. And with all the foul trouble.

No panic at all. Maryland makes a run and someone, like Lou tonight, drops a 3. Then they get a defensive stop and go down and score.

Might not always be pretty. Might not always be a blow out. But it 87 in a row.

This. ^^^^^^The true nature of a cold-blooded killer. Never get rattled, never act shook. How a team this young has this much fortitude I may never understand. Long way to go but this group uniquely special.

 

[UcMiami]

Maryland was our toughest game early last season. People praised them and said they were a good bet to make the Final Four. However, they went on to lose twice to Ohio State and also did not make it to the Final Four. If the good teams played all teams like they play Uconn, maybe more teams would have very long winning streaks.

Spot on!
When you look at Massey's match-up series function or any predictive sports site, there is a bell curve of possible outcomes with the peak of the curve coming somewhere on the favorites side of a tie score. It is the essence of probabilities in an uncertain environment. I bring this up because:

I look at this Maryland game as one of the less likely outcomes of a series of games between the two teams - Uconn was sick, Uconn was in more foul trouble than usual, Uconn was on Maryland's home court, and Maryland played very well - all aspects of the probabilities that would shift the result into this lower point on the bell curve toward the Maryland side. Massey had the peak of the curve at 12 points and I think that was probably correct or maybe even a little low.

In the Baylor game I believe the result ended up lower on the bell curve towards Uconn's side. For the ND game, I suspect the same, though I think again there was probably insufficient data and the peak of the bell was artificially close to a tie. With the FSU game, I suspect the result was pretty low on the bell curve toward FSU even with their star player missing - I would expect an easier win in a rematch.

I certainly think that Baylor even with their spotty OOC has a significantly better resume to date than MD. They should move to 2 and MD might not move from the 4 spot which they earned playing cream puffs.

 

[cbraarj]

South Carolina would be 100.

 

[BigBird]

I think I've mentioned this before, but it might be worth repeating.

When we start talking about the polls, and we get wrapped up in stats, logic, and expert analysis, we are having standard fan board fun. This is cool. But be mindful that many of the ballots aren't actually cast by coaches, but by their grad assistants. Others are not cast by sports editors or even beat writers. That weighty ballot decision was likely made by an intern or the SID. I'm not trying to throw cold water on a fun discussion, but we would do well to remember that the sports polls not only aren't scientific, they aren't even what they appear to be.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Chong's 3 pts and block at final min. are awesome ...otherwise we may have a tie

Are you saying we would have been playing four on five in the last minute? What if whoever was on the court in that same span of time had done exactly what she had done and maybe even more? To assume that her replacement would have done nothing is saying a lot. It seems everyone stepped up to the plate and somehow you want to anoint Saniya as the hero? She's a senior, one of the oldest players on the team and she's been under Geno's tutelage for almost 4 years. Isn't there an appreciably younger player on the roster who is in her second year who was periodically barfing in a bucket on the sidelines that made shots from all over the court and had something to do with the victory. Aren't there a couple of girls who battled foul trouble (on questionable calls) that stood tall and tore off rebounds and made shots when we needed them most? It seems like you're making a lot of assumptions including the fact that the blocked shot might have gone in, had it not been altered? Considering the fact that Maryland shot the three awfully yesterday, I would call that a big assumption. I get it, you love Saniya and you support her but this is silly. Maybe she should be promoted by the staff and school for POY consideration.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Spot on!
When you look at Massey's match-up series function or any predictive sports site, there is a bell curve of possible outcomes with the peak of the curve coming somewhere on the favorites side of a tie score. It is the essence of probabilities in an uncertain environment. I bring this up because:

I look at this Maryland game as one of the less likely outcomes of a series of games between the two teams - Uconn was sick, Uconn was in more foul trouble than usual, Uconn was on Maryland's home court, and Maryland played very well - all aspects of the probabilities that would shift the result into this lower point on the bell curve toward the Maryland side. Massey had the peak of the curve at 12 points and I think that was probably correct or maybe even a little low.

In the Baylor game I believe the result ended up lower on the bell curve towards Uconn's side. For the ND game, I suspect the same, though I think again there was probably insufficient data and the peak of the bell was artificially close to a tie. With the FSU game, I suspect the result was pretty low on the bell curve toward FSU even with their star player missing - I would expect an easier win in a rematch.

I certainly think that Baylor even with their spotty OOC has a significantly better resume to date than MD. They should move to 2 and MD might not move from the 4 spot which they earned playing cream puffs.

Love your posts, probably because they are quite astute and very much in line with my views in the vast majority of cases. They are in depth and well thought out.

 

[Kaizen]

Are you saying we would have been playing four on five in the last minute? What if whoever was on the court in that same span of time had done exactly what she had done and maybe even more? To assume that her replacement would have done nothing is saying a lot. It seems everyone stepped up to the plate and somehow you want to anoint Saniya as the hero? It seems like you're making a lot of assumptions including the fact that the blocked shot might have gone in, had it not been altered? Considering the fact that Maryland shot the three awfully yesterday, I would call that a big assumption. I get it, you love Saniya and you support her but this is silly. Maybe she should be promoted by the staff and school for POY consideration.

Your post has more "if and assumption" than my post.
And, support Saniya is not silly ....

 

[hoophuskee]

Are you saying we would have been playing four on five in the last minute? What if whoever was on the court in that same span of time had done exactly what she had done and maybe even more? To assume that her replacement would have done nothing is saying a lot. It seems everyone stepped up to the plate and somehow you want to anoint Saniya as the hero? She's a senior, one of the oldest players on the team and she's been under Geno's tutelage for almost 4 years. Isn't there an appreciably younger player on the roster who is in her second year who was periodically barfing in a bucket on the sidelines that made shots from all over the court and had something to do with the victory. Aren't there a couple of girls who battled foul trouble (on questionable calls) that stood tall and tore off rebounds and made shots when we needed them most? It seems like you're making a lot of assumptions including the fact that the blocked shot might have gone in, had it not been altered? Considering the fact that Maryland shot the three awfully yesterday, I would call that a big assumption. I get it, you love Saniya and you support her but this is silly. Maybe she should be promoted by the staff and school for POY consideration.

He did say

"We may have a tie."

That is wrong?

Did he call Chong a heroine in the same level as Lou or are you assuming he did?

 

[Buzzyboy]

No sane person would ever say that this team is as good as last year's team, but they do play team defense at an incredibly high level and have a natural flow to their offensive sets that is likely more impressive than even the ghosts of Championships past. It is actually more entertaining to watch, because the talent level of the "core four" is so evenly distributed among players with remarkably different games. It's like watching a great corps du ballet made up of young dancers who are destined to become future super stars, but for now must find a way to mesh their considerable talents for the greater good.

As close as last year's team was, I think the chemistry on this year's team is even better and that actually might compensate for the talented Huskies lost to the WNBA draft. Maybe it helps that leading into the season there was so much sentiment that this would almost be a "lost season" where we'd all have to settle for some mediocrity. These kids are talented and have pride and it seems like they've taken to new roles with a vengeance and adapted. Their mental toughness is off the charts and may have been there (on the returning players) all along but wasn't displayed quite as much as there was the reliance on those awesome seniors to make the plays in crunch time, for the most part. Geno himself is probably surprised at what these kids have put forth