In my humble opinion...

[Lawrence]

1-Oregon
2-Baylor
3-Louisville
4-UCONN...

 

['nuff sed]

At this point in time --- Agree --- 3&4 are a coin flip IMO --- the stats guys can drive themselves nuts --- but at this stage its the eyeballs that count and we've seen them all now.

Throw out the records. Everybody knows what the other has - that might be the FF right there.

There are gonna be tremendous F8 games this year, and more than a few tests to get even to there.
(Quinnipiac is back.)

This could be a landmark tournament for NCAA WBB.

 

[wire chief]

After the Tara beatdown, who could argue? But in this topsy turvy world, if they fall to O State, here we go again.

 

[Undercovervol]

I still think Notre Dame is a top 3 team. They had inconsistent play last year and still won the title. Come tourney time, because of their balance and guard play, I don't see them losing before the FF.
Oregon was extremely impressive yesterday (albeit with Stanford looking dead tired and defeated after about 5 mins). Sabrina is the best guard in the country. I'd have them at #2.
Baylor might be over ranked. They haven't played the toughest schedule. However, defensively I haven't seen a better team. Their man defense is extremely impressive. Offensively there are questions--forcing the ball into the post, lack of outside shooting. However, Lauren Cox keeps their offense going well for most possessions. I'd still have Baylor at #1, but Oregon matches up well with them, and I'd maybe pick Oregon in that game.
For the rest of the teams: Louisville 4, UConn 5, Miss State 6. Miss State keeps claiming their underrated, but I don't see that: lack of outside shooting will hold this team back in the tournament. McCowan doesn't always work hard in the post (she stands for offensive rebounds without posting up. Not a terrible tactic, but not the best all the time) and can get frustrated easily while not having the best offensive game. Also, Vic has shown that in big games, sometimes, he doesn't have an answer, and his team can reflect that.

 

[Jmsdawg]

1-Oregon
2-Baylor
3-Louisville
4-UCONN...

For me
1- Louisville
2- Oregon
3- Baylor
4- MSST

 

[Hump4Hoops]

1 - Louisville
2 - Baylor
3 - Oregon
4 - MSU

UCONN and ND may both be more talented than MSU, but I can't justify spotting them higher looking at their results.

ND has damn impressive wins, but 3 losses makes this one easy.

Let's compare UCONN's resume to MSU:
MSU 1 loss (Oregon) vs UCONN 2 losses (Louisville, Baylor). All losses to elite, F4 caliber teams. But 2 to 1.
UCONN has a win over ND (6). The best win between the teams, but slightly devalued by ND's loss to Miami.
MSU has wins over Marquette (8) South Carolina (12) Texas (15) and Kentucky (17). The quantity there really makes MSU's resume shine by comparison. Should UCONN be getting the benefit of the doubt at this point in history? Absolutely. But so should the Bulldogs.

Going forward, with UCONN a spot above MSU in the rankings, does MSU collecting wins at USC and A&M, and winning the SEC tournament, beat UCONN if they win their only possible challeng left, in the Gamecocks?

Even worse, does the committee send a 1 seed MSU to play in 2 seed UCONN's backyard? That would make economical sense, but takes all of the reward out of getting the 1.

 

[boontonbomber]

It's pretty obvious that ND's top players take "games off", especially Ogunbowale. She is as big a " big gamer" as anyone in the country, though not all that likeable. No matter where they're seeded, I think anyone wanting to win the title is going to have to beat ND.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

For me
1- Louisville
2- Oregon
3- Baylor
4- MSST

I have:
1-Baylor
2-Oregon
3-Louisville
4-MSST
5-UConn
6-Notre Dame

 

[hussybulldog]

1 - Louisville
2 - Baylor
3 - Oregon
4 - MSU

UCONN and ND may both be more talented than MSU, but I can't justify spotting them higher looking at their results.

ND has damn impressive wins, but 3 losses makes this one easy.

Let's compare UCONN's resume to MSU:
MSU 1 loss (Oregon) vs UCONN 2 losses (Louisville, Baylor). All losses to elite, F4 caliber teams. But 2 to 1.
UCONN has a win over ND (6). The best win between the teams, but slightly devalued by ND's loss to Miami.
MSU has wins over Marquette (8) South Carolina (12) Texas (15) and Kentucky (17). The quantity there really makes MSU's resume shine by comparison. Should UCONN be getting the benefit of the doubt at this point in history? Absolutely. But so should the Bulldogs.

Going forward, with UCONN a spot above MSU in the rankings, does MSU collecting wins at USC and A&M, and winning the SEC tournament, beat UCONN if they win their only possible challeng left, in the Gamecocks?

Even worse, does the committee send a 1 seed MSU to play in 2 seed UCONN's backyard? That would make economical sense, but takes all of the reward out of getting the 1.

Whichever No. 1 seed 1 in UConn’s regional loses the reward of being ranked higher ..

 

[hussybulldog]

It's pretty obvious that ND's top players take "games off", especially Ogunbowale. She is as big a " big gamer" as anyone in the country, though not all that likeable. No matter where they're seeded, I think anyone wanting to win the title is going to have to beat ND.

Not necessarily, Louisville got rid of Baylor for UConn one year, MSST got rid of UConn for Gamecocks a couple of years ago. It is not a sure thing .

 

[Longtime fan]

1-Oregon
2-Baylor
3-Louisville
4-UCONN...

I think Oregon is over-rated. Granted, they have a superstar. But they don't play too many rally tough teams, and they have been kicked out of the tourney several years in a row. Stanford is good; Oregon State is good. Pac 12 teams are often over-rated because they have strong win-loss records. But tough to compare to UCONN, Baylor; Louisville, SC, etc. But, I can be wrong. But number 1 in the country doesn't sound right.

 

[wallman]

There are 2 different Stanford teams. The one you saw against Oregon which was the team without a plan and then the Stanford team where their coach has more time to put a plan in place. It is like Jekel and Hyde in terms of execution. The plan was for Oregon State the first game of the weekend, after that it was a crap shoot as they don't tend to make good in game adjustments without time to put a plan in place.

 

[bbballfan23]

There are 2 different Stanford teams. The one you saw against Oregon which was the team without a plan and then the Stanford team where their coach has more time to put a plan in place. It is like Jekel and Hyde in terms of execution. The plan was for Oregon State the first game of the weekend, after that it was a crap shoot as they don't tend to make good in game adjustments without time to put a plan in place.

Sorry but you can’t lose by 40 at home and blame it on lack of time to gameplan. That’s just the other team being superior.

 

[UConnCat]

There are 2 different Stanford teams. The one you saw against Oregon which was the team without a plan and then the Stanford team where their coach has more time to put a plan in place. It is like Jekel and Hyde in terms of execution. The plan was for Oregon State the first game of the weekend, after that it was a crap shoot as they don't tend to make good in game adjustments without time to put a plan in place.

Funny, I said to another BYer that Tara clearly didn't have enough time to study video of Oregon. That was partly a joke, referring back to the summer of 2010 which she spent watching every one of UConn's games from the previous season. That preparation worked, of course, as Stanford ended UConn's 90-game winning streak the following December. Seriously though, something else was going on Sunday. That was a serious beat-down.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think Oregon is over-rated. Granted, they have a superstar. But they don't play too many rally tough teams, and they have been kicked out of the tourney several years in a row. Stanford is good; Oregon State is good. Pac 12 teams are often over-rated because they have strong win-loss records. But tough to compare to UCONN, Baylor; Louisville, SC, etc. But, I can be wrong. But number 1 in the country doesn't sound right.

Everybody has been kicked out of the tournament several years in a row, including UConn. Every team in the Tourney ends the season with a loss, except the National Champion, right? 2 years ago there was no way anybody expected the Ducks to get to the Elite 8. Last year they slightly under performed relative to their seed, but they did lose to Notre Dame, who no one else managed to beat in the Tourney. I simply don't understand what you're trying to say about Oregon's Tourney performances.

Pac 12 teams, overrated, same story every single year. Never matters how well the conference performs in the Tourney collectively, just gets repeated again the next year. You realize Baylor's season has been ended by Oregon St. 2 of the last 3 years, and Stanford has knocked Notre Dame out several times in recent years, right?

 

[Boreifs]

I think Oregon is over-rated. Granted, they have a superstar. But they don't play too many rally tough teams, and they have been kicked out of the tourney several years in a row. Stanford is good; Oregon State is good. Pac 12 teams are often over-rated because they have strong win-loss records. But tough to compare to UCONN, Baylor; Louisville, SC, etc. But, I can be wrong. But number 1 in the country doesn't sound right.

The PAC 12 is the strongest conference in the country according to Massey. That has been the case for several years.

 

[Longtime fan]

Not when you look at NCAA tournament results. And that is my measure.

 

[wallman]

Sorry but you can’t lose by 40 at home and blame it on lack of time to gameplan. That’s just the other team being superior.

Not blaming it on anything but whatever, just making an observation being a PAC observer of every game, but go ahead make yourself feel like you know you are psychic SMH.

 

[wallman]

Funny, I said to another BYer that Tara clearly didn't have enough time to study video of Oregon. That was partly a joke, referring back to the summer of 2010 which she spent watching every one of UConn's games from the previous season. That preparation worked, of course, as Stanford ended UConn's 90-game winning streak the following December. Seriously though, something else was going on Sunday. That was a serious beat-down.

Yep, she is one of the best when it comes to prep when she has the time. I have seen Stanford come out in the first game looking masterful as they did against Uconn and then sucking as they did in the Texas game following that Uconn game. They beat down a very tough ASU team one year on the first game and then lost to a terrible AZ team on the second game and that AZ team had not won a game in conference so that tells you all you need to know about how much her prep time benefits the team.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Not when you look at NCAA tournament results. And that is my measure.

I just do not get what criteria you are using. I think you are thinking of 15 years ago or something and haven't been paying attention the last 3 or 4 years.

 

[Plebe]

Not when you look at NCAA tournament results. And that is my measure.

Okay, let's talk about NCAA tournament results.

How many other conferences have had 4 different teams make the Final Four since 2013?

 

[bballnut90]

At this point any of the top 6 teams look like major title threats regardless of if you rank certain squads higher or lower. In terms of head to head between the 6, the home team has won every game besides ND-UCONN.

The difference between 1 and 6 is negligible this year. For example, if Big T gave a better effort vs Oregon (something was very off with her that game) and MSU ended up winning, MSU would be undefeated and the #1 team in every poll. However they lost a close game which has them back down to 4/5/6 according to most fans.