I noticed a bit of doom and gloom on here lately... My $.02

[EricLA]

With UCONN's lackluster win over Tennessee (sure their length gave us problems), and the "bad practice" win over Georgetown, I've noticed a decidedly downtrodden slant to numerous posts regarding UCONN's chances at a final 4, where they belong in the rankings, etc. But i wanted to recap a few things, and maybe give a little perspective (at least my perspective!).

• I HATE Tennessee. As much as it bugged me that we didn't slaughter them, their next game out they crushed #12 Kentucky. Tennessee seems to be for real this year, and if they actually had a good point guard, would probably be a top 10 team (Horston is a stud, but she's just NOT a good PG).
• Stanford lost not 1, but 2 games last week. In a row. They are on a 2 game losing streak (the last time UCONN had one of those I think dinosaurs roamed the earth)...
  • Sure one of those losses was to a really good UCLA team but the other was to a 6-6 Colorado team, who while better than their record, has losses to Denver, a decent Washington State team, 6-7 USC, and followed up their big Stanford with with a loss to ASU.
  • There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado, unless you are a Colorado fan.
• #1 L'ville needed some Q4 heroics to overcome a 7-6 Wake Forest team, who is actually a decent team, but boasts losses to ND, GTech, UNC, and had a squeaker over an average Miami team.
• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league. Still, they are a solid team. But so are Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall.
• SC, for all the accolades some seem to want to lay at their feet, held off a feisty LSU team, 6-7 on the season and 4-3 in the conference. LSU is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team with losses to Pacific, BYU, UCF, but just a 1-point loss to Tennessee, and with wins over aTm and Alabama

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it. And UCONN had NO trouble with DePaul, SHU or Villanova, the 2, 4, and 5 teams in our league. We are supposed to play Marquette (#3) twice, SHU and DePaul once more, and are not scheduled to face 'Nova. I'm NOT saying the Big east is as good as the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, but I'd love to see Marquette, SHU or Villanova face off against Colorado, Wake Forest, Va Tech, etc.

I fully realize that you can't say "Team A beat team B by 20, team B beat team C by 20, therefore team A should beat team C by 40", but for as much as UCONN is failing the eye test according to Geno, and probably most fans too, I just wanted to throw out a little perspective of what other top teams are doing.

 

[SLY63]

Great post. Agree.

 

[MooseJaw]

With UCONN's lackluster win over Tennessee (sure their length gave us problems), and the "bad practice" win over Georgetown, I've noticed a decidedly downtrodden slant to numerous posts regarding UCONN's chances at a final 4, where they belong in the rankings, etc. But i wanted to recap a few things, and maybe give a little perspective (at least my perspective!).

• I HATE Tennessee. As much as it bugged me that we didn't slaughter them, their next game out they crushed #12 Kentucky. Tennessee seems to be for real this year, and if they actually had a good point guard, would probably be a top 10 team (Horston is a stud, but she's just NOT a good PG).
• Stanford lost not 1, but 2 games last week. In a row. They are on a 2 game losing streak (the last time UCONN had one of those I think dinosaurs roamed the earth)...
  • Sure one of those losses was to a really good UCLA team but the other was to a 6-6 Colorado team, who while better than their record, has losses to Denver, a decent Washington State team, 6-7 USC, and followed up their big Stanford with with a loss to ASU.
  • There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado.
• #1 L'ville needed some Q4 heroics to overcome a 7-6 Wake Forest team, who is actually a decent team, but boasts losses to ND, GTech, UNC, and had a squeaker over an average Miami team.
• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league.
• SC, for all the accolades some seem to want to lay at their feet, held off a feisty LSU team, 6-7 on the season and 4-3 in the conference. LSU is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team with losses to Pacific, BYU, UCF, but just a 1-point loss to Tennessee, and with wins over aTm and Alabama

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it. And UCONN had NO trouble with DePaul, SHU or Villanova, the 2, 4, and 5 teams in our league. We are supposed to play Marquette (#3) twice, SHU and DePaul once more, and are not scheduled to face 'Nova. I'm NOT saying the Big east is as good as the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, but I'd love to see Marquette, SHU or Villanova face off against Colorado, Wake Forest, Va Tech, etc.

I fully realize that you can't say "Team A beat team B by 20, team B beat team C by 20, therefore team A should beat team C by 40", but for as much as UCONN is failing the eye test according to Geno, and probably most fans too, I just wanted to throw out a little perspective of what other top teams are doing.

Yep it's a strange year for sure. I feel that yes we are down a bit. The real question for me is why. A few of the reasons are as follows.
Season uncertainty, covid lay offs, game postponements, game cancellations, injuries and just too much dam time on our hands. All of these things except for injuries are new for us UCONN fans, throw in 6 new players on the team and we are facing unprecedented times. So what's to be done? I guess exactly what we are doing, what else is there, I don't know therapy is out of my price range so I will hang in there wait for the next good post on the BY, wait for Geno's next presser, wait for the next game and repeat. Anyone with extra vaccine? I gotta get out of the house.
I know this doesn't go over the points on your post, there is no disputing them by me, I did try to describe why I am a bit down on the season so far. One thing for certain, the sun is going to come up tomorrow.... somewhere for sure.

 

[southofnorth]

LSU seems like the SEC equivalent of Nebraska—mediocre record based on up and down play, but also a giant slayer on the right night. Nebraska has some impressive wins over Northwestern, Michigan State, and Ohio State (and a narrow two point loss to Michigan), but also has losses Purdue, Creighton, and Minnesota—not exactly cream of the crop.

As for UConn, the main things I’m hoping for are more consistent FT and 3pt making. Both can be done with a little extra time in the gym, but the pandemic may limit that (not sure on UConn’s rules regarding extra gym access/usage). I wouldn’t say I’m doom and gloom about it, but it has come up a few times and I know Geno and staff are doing what they can with what they have and everything will work out the way it works out. (I’ll still likely complain about it during the game even when they’re up by 30+ points though .)

In any case, this may be the most “parity” we’ve seen in a while. No team looks overly dominate and there doesn’t even seem to be a solid top-3-and-everybody-else group like we’ve seen the last few years.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

My 2¢ says Yes, they've struggled here and there, but they still got all the Ws (which most other teams can't say) and they can learn from these games and get stronger.

 

[msf22b]

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it.

The problem for me is that your mention of ANY TEAM (emphasis mine),
includes us.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Analogy: On the Men's side- a couple of years ago when UVA beat Texas Tech in the final. Texas Tech- Michigan State and UVA-Auburn. Both those games in the low 60's. Like our Tennessee game the other day. All but Auburn, defensive oriented teams traditionally. Is it possible that our defense is better than we're giving it credit for?
Finalists had their legs in the final, but a year in which there was no clear-cut favorite.

 

[bluedevil]

Uconn is unbeaten. Can you imagine if they had actually lost a game? Lets chill.

 

[Charliebball]

this season's team is talented but flawed which is pretty much the case for all of the top teams..............UConn's good enough to win an NC but not consistently good enough to guaranty a trip to the final four..........now next year's team is a very different matter...........

 

[clbabson]

With UCONN's lackluster win over Tennessee (sure their length gave us problems), and the "bad practice" win over Georgetown, I've noticed a decidedly downtrodden slant to numerous posts regarding UCONN's chances at a final 4, where they belong in the rankings, etc. But i wanted to recap a few things, and maybe give a little perspective (at least my perspective!).

• I HATE Tennessee. As much as it bugged me that we didn't slaughter them, their next game out they crushed #12 Kentucky. Tennessee seems to be for real this year, and if they actually had a good point guard, would probably be a top 10 team (Horston is a stud, but she's just NOT a good PG).
• Stanford lost not 1, but 2 games last week. In a row. They are on a 2 game losing streak (the last time UCONN had one of those I think dinosaurs roamed the earth)...
  • Sure one of those losses was to a really good UCLA team but the other was to a 6-6 Colorado team, who while better than their record, has losses to Denver, a decent Washington State team, 6-7 USC, and followed up their big Stanford with with a loss to ASU.
  • There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado.
• #1 L'ville needed some Q4 heroics to overcome a 7-6 Wake Forest team, who is actually a decent team, but boasts losses to ND, GTech, UNC, and had a squeaker over an average Miami team.
• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league.
• SC, for all the accolades some seem to want to lay at their feet, held off a feisty LSU team, 6-7 on the season and 4-3 in the conference. LSU is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team with losses to Pacific, BYU, UCF, but just a 1-point loss to Tennessee, and with wins over aTm and Alabama

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it. And UCONN had NO trouble with DePaul, SHU or Villanova, the 2, 4, and 5 teams in our league. We are supposed to play Marquette (#3) twice, SHU and DePaul once more, and are not scheduled to face 'Nova. I'm NOT saying the Big east is as good as the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, but I'd love to see Marquette, SHU or Villanova face off against Colorado, Wake Forest, Va Tech, etc.

I fully realize that you can't say "Team A beat team B by 20, team B beat team C by 20, therefore team A should beat team C by 40", but for as much as UCONN is failing the eye test according to Geno, and probably most fans too, I just wanted to throw out a little perspective of what other top teams are doing.

This is very well stated and I think we fail to acknowledge how this season and the time we're in TRULY impacts the players too. It's a different environment in terms of the schedule and flow, but most importantly from a mental health perspective. This team, as well as all teams, are dealing with a time that no other team has likely had to deal with. I suspect that plays a large role in not only our struggles, but the fact that so many good teams are losing or getting caught in close games.

Some like to quickly pick players apart after a game when in reality, we have ZERO idea what players are dealing with or what kind of day they may have had. Obviously this forum is to talk about basketball, but I do wish we'd be a bit more sensitive when talking about players and, specifically, when we criticize them.

 

[LETTERL]

• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league.

Virginia Tech's 7 ACC losses are by 6, 10, 4, 2, 3, 5 and 2 points. I mean, they are right there; with just a few bounces of the ball going the other way and turning those losses into wins. You can't just look at a team's record and say "they're bad" or "they're mediocre" without diving deeper into the analysis.

That team has given everybody in the ACC fits and it has taken great shooting and defense to beat them.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

This is just a feeling I have and I'm in no mood to document it, but in his public appearances, including his "availabilities", Geno expresses a fair dollop of anxiety about covid's impacts and seems tired and out of sorts. Now he is entitled to it because the most finely tooled machine in WCBB has had a monkey wrench thrown in the gears by cancellations and postponements. One would thing that a so very young team feels the impact of this unprecedented set of circumstances. Geno is a worrier and this has to be an unprecedented strain on him. At least for me this comes through loud and clear and leading me to worry mor than enjoy the season.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Virginia Tech's 7 ACC losses are by 6, 10, 4, 2, 3, 5 and 2 points. I mean, they are right there; with just a few bounces of the ball going the other way and turning those losses into wins. You can't just look at a team's record and say "they're bad" or "they're mediocre" without diving deeper into the analysis.

That team has given everybody in the ACC fits and it has taken great shooting and defense to beat them.

I was hoping UConn would get to play them after Duke shut down. Would have been a good opportunity, similar to Arkansas on Thursday.

 

[ShmiCO]

There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado.

Unless you are from Colorado, of course.

 

[MooseJaw]

The problem for me is that your mention of ANY TEAM (emphasis mine),
includes us.

You don't think it should? We are not immune to the same influences that others are. While it is great to be a homer as I am and am sure you are to overlook our flaws is a bit shortsighted. Don't know about you but I have seen a number of teams that if we play like we did in the last game our heads will be on a swivel.
Even if we are at 100% there are teams that will give us all we can handle, doesn't mean we can't beat anyone but realistically doesn't mean we can't be beat either. I am optimistic, but remain open eyed.

 

[LETTERL]

This is just a feeling I have and I'm in no mood to document it, but in his public appearances, including his "availabilities", Geno expresses a fair dollop of anxiety about covid's impacts and seems tired and out of sorts. Now he is entitled to it because the most finely tooled machine in WCBB has had a monkey wrench thrown in the gears by cancellations and postponements. One would thing that a so very young team feels the impact of this unprecedented set of circumstances. Geno is a worrier and this has to be an unprecedented strain on him. At least for me this comes through loud and clear and leading me to worry mor than enjoy the season.

I don't follow UCONN as closely as most that post on this side of the boards (I spend most of my time in the General WBB area of the BY) but when I have seen his press conferences or media interviews this season, he just seems subuded and tired, like he's not enjoying it. Certainly not the feisty Geno that made for great WBB conversation in previous seasons (like with the UCONN/Tennessee rivalry).

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I don't follow UCONN as closely as most that post on this side of the boards (I spend most of my time in the General WBB area of the BY) but when I have seen his press conferences or media interviews this season, he just seems subuded and tired, like he's not enjoying it. Certainly not the feisty Geno that made for great WBB conversation in previous seasons (like with the UCONN/Tennessee rivalry).

Yup, pretty much.

 

[BobbyJ]

This is just a feeling I have and I'm in no mood to document it, but in his public appearances, including his "availabilities", Geno expresses a fair dollop of anxiety about covid's impacts and seems tired and out of sorts. Now he is entitled to it because the most finely tooled machine in WCBB has had a monkey wrench thrown in the gears by cancellations and postponements. One would thing that a so very young team feels the impact of this unprecedented set of circumstances. Geno is a worrier and this has to be an unprecedented strain on him. At least for me this comes through loud and clear and leading me to worry mor than enjoy the season.

Just thinking that if I was able to get out of the house everyday, get to coach young, competitive athletes, and get paid about $2.4M bucks a year to do it, there's no way I'm going to get tired and out of sorts. I'll trade places with him.

 

[msf22b]

I don't follow UCONN as closely as most that post on this side of the boards (I spend most of my time in the General WBB area of the BY) but when I have seen his press conferences or media interviews this season, he just seems subuded and tired, like he's not enjoying it. Certainly not the feisty Geno that made for great WBB conversation in previous seasons (like with the UCONN/Tennessee rivalry).

Was noticed and mentioned on the Tennessee board (for what it's worth).

 

[huskyd]

This is just a feeling I have and I'm in no mood to document it, but in his public appearances, including his "availabilities", Geno expresses a fair dollop of anxiety about covid's impacts and seems tired and out of sorts. Now he is entitled to it because the most finely tooled machine in WCBB has had a monkey wrench thrown in the gears by cancellations and postponements. One would thing that a so very young team feels the impact of this unprecedented set of circumstances. Geno is a worrier and this has to be an unprecedented strain on him. At least for me this comes through loud and clear and leading me to worry mor than enjoy the season.

Actually Geno claims he isn't worried about anything because he has "Covid Brain." All of the uncertainty and the disruptions of this season, the youth and inexperience of the team, their inability to do much consistently, have conspired to make him unusually philosophical. "Nothing worries me this year," he said in a poster.
The game at TN was a good test. We won in the best possible way by a combination of plays from our best players. Instead of Paige's worst game, the young lady created a signature moment, which will be replayed over and over. Evina was very special, too. Liv helped on the boards. The Huskies won a game that they might not have won last year. That's a very good thing. Chins up.

 

[Plebe]

Great post, as always, Eric!

I'm trying to take a big-picture, philosophical look at this entire season.

For example, I'm tickled that Tennessee's long-term decline over the past 12 years is such that the mere thought of a close win over them, and in Knoxville at that, is sufficient cause for depression among self-respecting fans

 

[victor64]

If it wasn't for the consistent enjoyment of watching Paige play, I think Geno's head would explode. I think Geno's brain appreciates the strain COVID has had on his team's progress but the competitive, perfectionist side of him remains as ornery as ever. Coaches think their teams are a reflection of them. When the team doesn't live up to expectations, the coach thinks that he or she has somehow failed them. I have never heard Geno, in public, use an excuse for anything. He isn't going to start now with COVID.

 

[CL82]

[Shrugs] Undefeated is undefeated. My attitude toward this season (and COVID in general) follows the March Madness model... survive and advance. Let's see how we do against Arkansas.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Actually Geno claims he isn't worried about anything because he has "Covid Brain." All of the uncertainty and the disruptions of this season, the youth and inexperience of the team, their inability to do much consistently, have conspired to make him unusually philosophical. "Nothing worries me this year," he said in a poster.
The game at TN was a good test. We won in the best possible way by a combination of plays from our best players. Instead of Paige's worst game, the young lady created a signature moment, which will be replayed over and over. Evina was very special, too. Liv helped on the boards. The Huskies won a game that they might not have won last year. That's a very good thing. Chins up.

Funny you should mention Paige's worst game and YouTube just suggested a video entitles Paige Bueckers: Worst Basketball Game Ever. I think it was tongue in cheek, but you be the judge.

 

[huskeynut]

Not going to worry over a lot of this stuff.

Tennessee played us tough on their court. Good for them. Kudos KJH. She is a better coach that HW. But bigger kudos to our young ladies. They didn't quit and didn't panic. Shut down the Vols in the 4th and Paige delivered the dagger!!

Georgetown was a bad game for what ever reason. Well at least one reason was having two integral players in walking boots unable to play. Especially when one is your floor general. It all fits in with a disjointed season. And Geno's rumblings fit right in too.

This year, more so than others, it's just win and advance.