Is the SEC overrated?

[SCGamecock]

Lol oh I'm not worried. Relax. It's only a game and I'm only a fan. But the thread is certainly a valid discussion especially with how SC looked last night and Miss St. looked today.

Perhaps Syracuse was underrated. SC went undefeated in conference, lost by 12 to the far and away best team in the sport, won all of its non-conf games against a plethora of NCAA tourney teams and ran away with its league tourney title... what's the lowest ranking possible for a team that's accomplished said outcomes.. I guess SC deserves that ranking/rating?

You pick any team from any p5 league with those accomplishments and I'll show you a top 5 team.

What that says to me is that Syracuse was underrated. Perhaps Miss State was overrated, but if UCONN doesn't want the praise that comes with beating the #15 team by 60 points then fine by me... I guess beating the #18 team by that margin is better... As long as said team is "properly ranked".

In the end, I just think Syracuse did a fine job of exposing and magnifying SC's weaknesses and UCONN did what UCONN does best... beat you in the first 3 minutes. Teams don't get to the Sweet 16 by being overrated.

 

[malevocalist#]

Every body on the other boards hyping up Baylor. But keep in they haven't really been tested at all by a team like Uconn. Very soft schedule.

I can't wait until this game is played.

 

[Blueballer]

I've been beating the drum all year about the SEC being over-rated. But I also thought the PAC 12 was going to be cannon fodder in the Tournament this year. That did NOT turn out to be true.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Will cheese get moldy? Does a bear....

 

[EricLA]

It's a shame that the SEC couldn't prepare Miss State for the weak AAC champions... pity really...

Well, they were prepared for UCONN because, after all, they "did play Tennessee".

 

[baggerbob]

Every body on the other boards hyping up Baylor. But keep in they haven't really been tested at all by a team like Uconn. Very soft schedule.

I can't wait until this game is played.

Don't overlook Oregon St. they just might be the 2nd best team behind UConn right now.

 

[bballnut90]

The analysts kept saying that the SEC was very good defensively this year. Methinks it was offensively challenged, which made the defense look better than reality.

I think this is a good point. The SEC did have some very good defense compared to other conferences or other teams, but a team with a great offensive system like Connecticut is going to decimate any team's defense. South Carolina managed to hold UCONN to 66, but it wasn't great defense as much as a slower pace of play. The offense in the conference has been abysmal though all year long. It was a conference that had 1 great team (SC) and a slew of teams in the 13-25 range. The teams in the 13-25 range have good records and tournament resumes, but aren't real threats to any of the top 4-5 teams. Now in the tournament, SC looks more mediocre and Tennessee out of nowhere has emerged as the best SEC team in the post season thus far.

 

[UcMiami]

Sitting in CT, it is very easy to look around the world of WCBB and call teams and conferences overrated or underrated because very few teams and coaches are able to play consistent basketball home and away like Uconn does - it is the genius of the Uconn coaching staff, that gets a team through 35+ games a year, every year with the team seldom producing less that their B+ work on the court. Maybe once every few years they through a real wobble and play C+ basketball, and if it happens against a St. John's playing their A game it can result in a loss, just like their B+ game against a Stanford playing A+ game.

But we live in a fantasy world that has nothing to do with how the rest of WCBB lives. Talent wise we have maybe five - ten programs on in our neighborhood, consistency wise, maybe 4 or 5 depending on year, and only one or two that overlap with the talent.

What I see this year is I thought there were two conferences that were overrated - Pac12 and SEC - neither conference had many teams that played with any consistency - SC didn't play up to their talent but they did play well enough against the better teams they faced to win, and Oregon State threw in a few shockers but generally took care of business. The rest of the teams were just wildly inconsistent, and I thought that was a sign that they were just mediocre teams beating up on each-other. As the tournament has played out, I would say the SEC generally confirmed that - the teams got more hype from their 'good wins' against conference mates but have petered down to a single team in a string of badish losses. On the other hand the Pac12 has played up in the tournament suggesting that the league was better than I thought, and it was good teams beating up against each other.

 

[JordyG]

Sitting in CT, it is very easy to look around the world of WCBB and call teams and conferences overrated or underrated because very few teams and coaches are able to play consistent basketball home and away like Uconn does - it is the genius of the Uconn coaching staff, that gets a team through 35+ games a year, every year with the team seldom producing less that their B+ work on the court. Maybe once every few years they through a real wobble and play C+ basketball, and if it happens against a St. John's playing their A game it can result in a loss, just like their B+ game against a Stanford playing A+ game.

But we live in a fantasy world that has nothing to do with how the rest of WCBB lives. Talent wise we have maybe five - ten programs on in our neighborhood, consistency wise, maybe 4 or 5 depending on year, and only one or two that overlap with the talent.

What I see this year is I thought there were two conferences that were overrated - Pac12 and SEC - neither conference had many teams that played with any consistency - SC didn't play up to their talent but they did play well enough against the better teams they faced to win, and Oregon State threw in a few shockers but generally took care of business. The rest of the teams were just wildly inconsistent, and I thought that was a sign that they were just mediocre teams beating up on each-other. As the tournament has played out, I would say the SEC generally confirmed that - the teams got more hype from their 'good wins' against conference mates but have petered down to a single team in a string of badish losses. On the other hand the Pac12 has played up in the tournament suggesting that the league was better than I thought, and it was good teams beating up against each other.

Honestly here in NYC I had the chance to watch the Pac 10 quite a bit and thought them underrated, while I thought the SEC and Big 12 overrated. Just in case you think me some great prognosticator, I thought the Big 10 was underrated as well so...Nevertheless as I said before and I'll stick to my guns. If Trish had the horses she'd be up there with ND every year. Jabir and Bruno as well.

 

[Kibitzer]

It's a shame that the SEC couldn't prepare Miss State for the weak AAC champions... pity really...

Point well made.

The intended sarcasm would have had a bit more bite had you said "the champions of the weak AAC."

 

[mdakota]

Point well made.

The intended sarcasm would have had a bit more bite had you said "the champions of the weak AAC."

I'll do better next time I promise

 

[Vowelguy]

Point well made.

The intended sarcasm would have had a bit more bite had you said "the champions of the weak AAC."

Compared to the P5, the AAC is weak. I don't know why anyone would even try to argue differently.

SAGARIN:
1 PAC = 84.9
2 SEC = 83.9
3 B12 = 82.8
4 B10 = 82.5
5 ACC = 80.8
6 BGE = 77.0
7 AAC = 74.0
8 WCO = 72.5
9 A10 = 71.2

==
MASSEY:

1. PAC 2.02
2. SEC 1.92
3. B12 1.90
4. ACC 1.83
5. B10 1.79
6. AAC 1.61
7. BGE 1.60
8. A10 1.45
9. WCO 1.41

 

[LouS]

I knew that UConn is playing a phenomenal game so far. But I have to ask again, was the S EC overrated of the season? I can't wait to hear what Fortner it and/or Peck have to say about this.

Against our Uconn Women, everyone looks overrated......