Is There Any Chance of a Let Down For the Upcoming LSU Game?

[Charliebball]

OK..............two victories over highly ranked opponents..............the team struggling for the win in game one followed by a much improved effort against the number two team in the nation...............so it stands to reason that the LSU game on Sunday should be the first of many walkovers for the Huskies, right?

I would say probably but with a note of caution..............isn't this the perfect trap game? A lower ranked opponent that should be dispatched in the first half with ease............LSU is actually off to their best start in a number of years (3-0) including victories over Wake Forest and Rice..............I have not seen them play this year and I would certainly place a large wager that UConn will win this game without issue but there is a little voice in my head saying be careful............................

 

[Sonny44]

We don't suffer from such maladies Charlie.

 

[SCGamecock]

Moncrief is good but no. UConn will roll.

 

[donalddoowop]

I don't think Uconn is ALLOWED to take ANY team lightly. I would think that any player who does will be benched immediately.

 

[Vowelguy]

This team has more potential for high variance between games because of the number of folks in new roles. I will not be surprised if the team, particularly Crystal, is off compared to the Baylor game. But I don't see LSU as good enough to be able to take advantage if that does happen.

 

[UcMiami]

With too many folks picking up too many fouls, and others struggling at various stages of both games, I think there is enough to keep them on edge this early in the season. If they do have a trap game, it will come later in the season once they get used to winning games and their roles are more defined.

(And yeah, I could see Crystal having an off night - it is not all going to be roses for any freshman)

 

[BroadwayVa]

OK....two victories over highly ranked opponents....the team struggling for the win in game one followed by a much improved effort against the number two team in the nation.....so it stands to reason that the LSU game on Sunday should be the first of many walkovers for the Huskies, right?

I would say probably but with a note of caution....isn't this the perfect trap game? A lower ranked opponent that should be dispatched in the first half with ease..LSU is actually off to their best start in a number of years (3-0) including victories over Wake Forest and Rice....I have not seen them play this year and I would certainly place a large wager that UConn will win this game without issue but there is a little voice in my head saying be careful........

Geno teaches, and speaks often during the season to not look past the game you are playing. To me this means don't take the this opponent for granted.
Your caution is well taken. But Uconn has struggled in two games--neither was a cake walk--Geno has so much ammo to use to let them know they are not the Uconn team of last year. Katie Lou will be learning how to free herself. Gabby how to keep fouls minimal, Dangerfield to bounce pass waist high to Butler. Kia to relax and go with the flow. Collier keep on keeping on!!

 

[Topdawg]

How about a big night for Kyla and Molly?

 

[BroadwayVa]

With too many folks picking up too many fouls, and others struggling at various stages of both games, I think there is enough to keep them on edge this early in the season. If they do have a trap game, it will come later in the season once they get used to winning games and their roles are more defined.

(And yeah, I could see Crystal having an off night - it is not all going to be roses for any freshman)

UCMiami--Uconn has had years where each game was a struggle--fun from the mystery point of view. The beautiful part of this team is:::::: it's talented. Now on to chemistry. It shall be interesting if Crystal can have two,three or so games in double digits-with 2 or less to's.
As always you nailed this one.

 

[alexrgct]

My hope and assumption is that Geno is a madman who is experienced enough in these scenarios not to allow a letdown

 

[BroadwayVa]

This team has more potential for high variance between games because of the number of folks in new roles. I will not be surprised if the team, particularly Crystal, is off compared to the Baylor game. But I don't see LSU as good enough to be able to take advantage if that does happen.

I'LL bet Crystal has a double digit night/afternoon against LSU. If I am right you will double my 590 points--if I'm wrong you can take half.

 

[alexrgct]

On a related note, LSU is 3-0, with some close games against soft competition. When such teams run into uconn, it tends to be a rude awakening.

 

[Charliebball]

I don't think Uconn is ALLOWED to take ANY team lightly. I would think that any player who does will be benched immediately.

Well if that's the case he could run out of players!!!!

 

[pvdoggy]

I'LL bet Crystal has a double digit night/afternoon against LSU. If I am right you will double my 590 points--if I'm wrong you can take half.

I am curious.... What is so important about "Trophy Points" ?

 

[Tontobruto]

Tontobruto says probability of letdown is .21, which is not 0.0

 

[bags27]

It's so early in the season, but Geno has slyly set himself apart from his own team. What I mean is at the presser last night he said that he doesn't know what to make of the team: whether to think it has limitations or whether by thinking that he himself is imposing those limitations. Effectively, he's challenging this team to craft its own identity. And you can tell that these kids, out of the shadows of the big 3, really want to do this. With all respect to Saniya, there is really no senior leadership; there is barely junior leadership (with all respect to Kia, who's not hitting her shots, and Gabby, who's spending too much time in the penalty box). Leadership consists of whoever has the hot hand, and all the kids seem really to dig this rotation: one for all, all for one, to be trite about it.

Which is a long winded way of saying that I don't believe there will be emotional letdowns with this team. There may well be loses, upsets, and bad games. But this team will leave it on the court every time, because they aren't looking beyond themselves.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

No. These kids are chasing history and they know it.

 

[BigBird]

Is There Any Chance of a Let Down For the Upcoming LSU Game?

Yes. How great is that chance? I don't know, and I'd bet that neither do the coaches and players.

 

[JordyG]

This team has a massive chip on their shoulder. Unlike teams from the last 8 years they feel they have something to prove every second of every game. They may be guilty of trying to do too much, but over expectancy or doing too little is not in this teams nature.

 

[JordyG]

It's so early in the season, but Geno has slyly set himself apart from his own team. What I mean is at the presser last night he said that he doesn't know what to make of the team: whether to think it has limitations or whether by thinking that he himself is imposing those limitations. Effectively, he's challenging this team to craft its own identity. And you can tell that these kids, out of the shadows of the big 3, really want to do this. With all respect to Saniya, there is really no senior leadership; there is barely junior leadership (with all respect to Kia, who's not hitting her shots, and Gabby, who's spending too much time in the penalty box). Leadership consists of whoever has the hot hand, and all the kids seem really to dig this rotation: one for all, all for one, to be trite about it.

Which is a long winded way of saying that I don't believe there will be emotional letdowns with this team. There may well be loses, upsets, and bad games. But this team will leave it on the court every time, because they aren't looking beyond themselves.

I agree to a certain extent. To me team leadership is whose voice is listened to in the huddle and on the practice court. Whose will asserts itself during tough gametime moments. When a team takes on a personality whose personality does it most resemble? Who does the team look to for guidance when the blue cheese hits the fan? To me for this team the leader has yet to be determined.

You know, they used to call the Chicago Bears under Ditka a "lunch pail" team. These young ladies have much of that in them.

 

[EricLA]

This team has a massive chip on their shoulder. Unlike teams from the last 8 years they feel they have something to prove every second of every game. They may be guilty of trying to do too much, but over expectancy or doing too little is not in this teams nature.

Normally I would disagree somewhat as I don't believe UCONN teams in recent history have had "chips on their shoulders" By that I mean they didn't pay much attention to whether or not they felt disrespected because they had a firm grasp on their own identities and what the team was trying to achieve. They strove to play the "perfect game" and didn't need the "chip on shoulder" type of motivation (IMHO)...

I think we all know what this team is trying to achieve, but as bags pointed out, and you did as well, even Geno has said "I don't know what to make of this team. We lost so much, maybe my expectations should be lower". How do you think tough cookies like Kia and Gabby feel about that? "Bull crap coach. We are a great bunch of talented and hard working players who will lay it all out on the court every single game and we should not be underestimated" (or something like that)...

We've often noted that Geno is a master motivator. Perhaps his thought with this team is to be more "gentle" with them and talk about "lower expectations". Any kid with an ounce of pride and gumption will cry foul and try to prove Coach wrong big time...

 

[pacific 44]

Any player who is just mailing it in will have the distinct odor of pinesol on the back of their shorts.

 

[HopJim]

Any player who is just mailing it in will have the distinct odor of pinesol on the back of their shorts.

Love this quote. On the other hand, Geno doesn't have one of his tools for poor play-a deep bench where he can sit down starters. Appears he barely has enough players to make it through foul situations. Looking forward to the blow out games so we can see if the bench is deeper than it currently looks.

 

[tomcat]

They may have chips on their shoulders, but after the really tough win against Baylor, it would be almost impossible for there not to be some kind of letdown at the start. If this happens, I think the coaches will quickly get the players' heads back in the game.

 

[Zorro]

I am curious.... What is so important about "Trophy Points" ?

You gotta have 'em.