Latest (Nov 28) AP Poll

[Alydar]

The thing is, she hasn't done it this way every season. In 2012-13, Baylor played an extremely difficult nonconference slate that included UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford, and several other good teams. IIRC Baylor that season had the #2 nonconference SOS and #1 overall SOS.

In 2018-19 her Baylor team played UConn, Stanford, South Carolina, Arizona State, and South Dakota State. Their nonconference SOS wasn't gangbusters but it wasn't bad either (maybe in the 20s or 30s, I forget exactly).

So it's not like she's constitutionally incapable of scheduling good or great teams. I do suspect that the 2013 Sweet 16 upset left her with a bad taste for super-tough scheduling, rightly or wrongly.

When she has the players she schedules elite games. Whenever she schedules UConn you can be sure she has an elite team.

 

[FormerCTrez]

you can't be serious ---
or perhaps i misuderstand

Aluminny69 said:
Only 11 point difference between UConn and Stanford. How do you you count the Texas win? Sure they were #3 at the time, but they got that ranking before their All Star point guard was hurt. So that is a misleading win.
Someone pointed out that our three wins against Texas, N.C. State and Duke, were against teams dominated with "portal" players, which means it wll take time for them to play together. Iowa was the first real team. ...

My interpretation of the statement in bold is that Iowa is the first team with players that played together last year. I don’t think @Aluminny69 meant to be insultive.

 

[DEpup]

It's really not that important right now. The good thing is that Geno constructed a schedule that gives UConn the opportunity to beat SC and take over #1. They control their own destiny.

 

[nastynatty]

Realistically, how many more Top 10 or Top 25 wins til the voters move UConn up into the #1 or #2 loss? Or do we think they peak at #3 unless Stanford suffers another loss or we beat SC in February?

 

[eebmg]

Realistically, how many more Top 10 or Top 25 wins til the voters move UConn up into the #1 or #2 loss? Or do we think they peak at #3 unless Stanford suffers another loss or we beat SC in February?

We beat ND convincingly, we take over #2. Maybe even less than convincingly. (6pts MOV or more on the road should do it)

And we have done some good things where SC was #1 and we were #2

 

[socal613ws]

will never understand why people freak out over a week three poll

 

[Beemer]

Be careful, you will be accused of LV bashing....

Bring.it.on.

 

[Plebe]

Good point but in this one game both teams were missing their starting pg's so mitigating Texas' loss based on Harmon being out is unjustified. It was apples to apples as far as that one game is concerned.

Paige's unavailability was established and known since the beginning of August, and UConn had ample time to adjust accordingly. Harmon's injury occurred just days before the contest, and it's not a season-ending injury. So no, it's not apples to apples as far as the one game is concerned.

Put another way, if Harmon had suffered a season-ending injury in early August, do we think Texas would have been ranked preseason #3? I don't.

 

[visitingcock]

Paige's unavailability was established and known since the beginning of August, and UConn had ample time to adjust accordingly. Harmon's injury occurred just days before the contest, and it's not a season-ending injury. So no, it's not apples to apples as far as the one game is concerned.

Put another way, if Harmon had suffered a season-ending injury in early August, do we think Texas would have been ranked preseason #3? I don't.

You are really enjoying being the buzz killer aren’t you. Never use logic and reason on a fan page dude (especially when the team is looking very very good.

 

[Alydar]

Paige's unavailability was established and known since the beginning of August, and UConn had ample time to adjust accordingly. Harmon's injury occurred just days before the contest, and it's not a season-ending injury. So no, it's not apples to apples as far as the one game is concerned.

Put another way, if Harmon had suffered a season-ending injury in early August, do we think Texas would have been ranked preseason #3? I don't.

Any comparison of the value of Harmon to the value of Bueckers isn't anywhere close to apples to apples either. There are rarely 100% apples to apples comparisons. UConn's "adjustment" this season was to make their backup pg the starter. Nothing more. Sure, even I said it was better to lose Bueckers in mid-summer than like last year, but it wasn't much better. Last year, in addition to losing their starting pg, UConn lost their No 2 & No 3 pg's (Fudd, Muhl) along with their top 2 shooting guards (Bueckers/Fudd) Texas, if they were a legit FF candidate as the polls predicted then they should have had a backup pg. But they didn't. That No 3 ranking, as it turned out, was a house of cards.

 

[nastynatty]

We beat ND convincingly, we take over #2.

After looking at the individual AP voter ballots (AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll | AP News), I also think that one more Top 10 win over ND will put UConn at #2 in the nation.

6/11 voters had UConn at #3 while 5/11 had them at #2.

Even if UConn stays undefeated and gets good wins in the rest of their non-conference + conference schedule, I don't think they move up to #1 unless one of these instances occurs:
1) South Carolina suffers a loss
2) UConn beats South Carolina in February

Gotta beat the best to be the best!

 

[Plebe]

Texas, if they were a legit FF candidate as the polls predicted then they should have had a backup pg. But they didn't. That No 3 ranking, as it turned out, was a house of cards.

Well then, if you say Texas is that bad of a team, then you would agree with me that our win over them is not terribly significant and should not push us ahead of Stanford. Glad we can find something to agree on.

 

[Alydar]

Well then, if you say Texas is that bad of a team, then you would agree with me that our win over them is not terribly significant and should not push us ahead of Stanford. Glad we can find something to agree on.

Are you saying that any team that I don't consider a FF contender is a bad team? Because I certainly didn't say that.