Leave it to Baylor

[1-of-the-6]

UCONN has the toughest region can I get at least one person to agree... Seriously why won't anyone realize look at the brackets enough said. Isn't having the number 1 overall seed surpose to be the easiest road to the final four? I know I'm
Not crazy but everyone seems to think I need a drink!!! The brackets don't lie!!

I agree with you. Now go get a drink anyway.

 

[UcMiami]

UCONN has the toughest region can I get at least one person to agree... Seriously why won't anyone realize look at the brackets enough said. Isn't having the number 1 overall seed surpose to be the easiest road to the final four? I know I'm
Not crazy but everyone seems to think I need a drink!!! The brackets don't lie!!

We have to win six games, and the first one was pretty easy. No question in my mind we got a 15 seed instead of a 16 seed when you look at the bottom dwellers in the tournament, but I actually think it is better for us to have a pretty decent game for our first one than something that really isn't a game at all. Texas Southern, Hampton, UNC Ashville were clearly the dregs of the tournament - Robert Morris also belongs in that category, but we toughened them up a little last year and they gave ND a little bit of competition. And NM State (seeded correctly as a 15) was also a worse team than Albany, but they sure made Stanford sweat a little.
I'll also agree that Syracuse , and WV are probably seeded lower than they should have been, but UCLA once they sent the other Pac12 teams above them to other regions was forced into Bridgeport regardless of where they fell on the 4 seed line. Maryland ... based on their schedule probably should have been our 2 seed and Duke our three seed, but as far as our competition is concerned it really doesn't matter. And we have to beat the teams we face each round - if we can't handle those in our region, we would lose at the FF regardless of who they gave us. It is what it is.

 

[triaddukefan]

I actually feel bad for the HBCU's that make the tournament. They're just good enough to beat the other teams in the MRAC and SWAC but not even close to being competitive outside the leagues.

But.... but... but.... Hampton beat the #2 team in the AAC (Temple) earlier in the season.

 

[MikeR01950]

My point is why go out and schedule the toughest out of confrence schedule if the committee isn't going to reward!! No one seems to answer my single question. The committee did a hack job on the huskies ... No way South Carolina gets a easier path to the final four!!! The committee has no clue on what they are doing its all about location ... So maybe next year geno schedules all cupcakes And still end up
Getting screwed next year!!! When a team wins as much as UCONN deep down inside people want to see someone else win!!!

 

[hoophuskee]

My point is why go out and schedule the toughest out of confrence schedule if the committee isn't going to reward!! No one seems to answer my single question. The committee did a hack job on the huskies ... No way South Carolina gets a easier path to the final four!!! The committee has no clue on what they are doing its all about location ... So maybe next year geno schedules all cupcakes And still end up
Getting screwed next year!!! When a team wins as much as UCONN deep down inside people want to see someone else win!!!

IMO you're too focused on the seedings and not enough on the winning. If we win is all- it heightens everything because we weren't supposed to win. Tell me that some young kids don't love the style we play. If we win it all- it just highlights who we are to all the young players coming up. Cuse is capable certainly. We'll see what happens. Who do you think is better? Hopefully we win.

 

[southie]

I didn't get to watch the UConn game today, so I have no idea the "strategy" used to just finish the game without pouring it on even more.

Up by like 70 points to begin the 4th quarter, Baylor continued shooting (and making) 3 point shots, and it's not like they were milking the shot clock. I was only half paying attention, but saw them knock down at least five of them. That is my gripe. They were launching shots early and often in that final quarter and determined to stretch out that 70 point lead to 90 points.

In football, when a team is up by like 40 points, they typically just run the ball and play a conservative offense to allow the clock and game to just run out. Most teams aren't throwing long passes towards the end of the game trying to increase their 40 point lead to 60 points. Even as most offense get close to the end zone with less than a minute or two in the game, some will take a knee so as not to inflate the scoring margin.

 

[mhshuskies]

With all these ridiculous blowouts in the first round it may be time to think about cutting back on the number (56, 48 ?) of teams in the tourney. Maybe there should be play-out games? All the lowest seed 16 teams play to get 4 spots in the tourney.

 

[hoophuskee]

I didn't get to watch the UConn game today, so I have no idea the "strategy" used to just finish the game without pouring it on even more.

Up by like 70 points to begin the 4th quarter, Baylor continued shooting (and making) 3 point shots, and it's not like they were milking the shot clock. I was only half paying attention, but saw them knock down at least five of them. That is my gripe. They were launching shots early and often in that final quarter and determined to stretch out that 70 point lead to 90 points.

In football, when a team is up by like 40 points, they typically just run the ball and play a conservative offense to allow the clock and game to just run out. Most teams aren't throwing long passes towards the end of the game trying to increase their 40 point lead to 60 points. Even as most offense get close to the end zone with less than a minute or two in the game, some will take a knee so as not to inflate the scoring margin.

I don't know enough about Baylor but I don't think you're right. Unless Baylor was pressing late? UCONN can't run a lot with their 2nd five this year. Next year UCONN can. But if I were to see players at the end of the bench who don't normally get a lot of minutes have a chance to do some running and taking 3's for UCONN next year, I wouldn't mind one bit. Why can't they have an opportunity to have some fun and play at a fast pace? I'm not suggesting pressing.

For example Kyla Irwin is stroking the ball well. Many of us criticize Molly Bent for not taking shots. Maybe one of our recruits next year AEH who appears to be a terrific shooter maybe she is at the backend of the bench--- so these players can't go out and play their game for most of the 4th quarter and take quick 3's?

And I don't agree with your football analogy. Most real good teams in college have capabilities to both pass and run. My counter to yours is do you tell your 2nd string QB's, rb's and wr's to deliberately not put forth a complete effort to score when they are running the ball or catch a short pass etc? Do you tell your cornerbacks that they can't intercept a pass and try to run for a td?

Next year UCONN is going to be a beast with a deep bench. We'll have some 70+ point wins imo. Are you going to come after UCONN then?

 

[hoophuskee]

With all these ridiculous blowouts in the first round it may be time to think about cutting back on the number (56, 48 ?) of teams in the tourney. Maybe there should be play-out games? All the lowest seed 16 teams play to get 4 spots in the tourney.

I hope not. Stanford had trouble today. Then more of the smaller teams don't get bids. The teams that got invited from small schools are mostly thrilled. IMO Let it Be. It shouldn't all be about "the score" and we did see this year in fact a 2seed have trouble.

 

[Sonny44]

It's all about guess what; money. The first two games are joke. No way does half those teams belong there. The tournament should be comprised of 16 teams at the most.

 

[huskeynut]

Let it go. Mulley is going to do what she wants.

Some of these 16 seeds are very weak. Albany was not a weak sister.

The committee set the regions. Stop complaining. We have been down that road before. Let's just play ball!

 

[Icebear]

In the end it just draws more attention to Baylor and that means everyone who searches on the net for Baylor sees the hypocritical moral mess that that university is. So in the long long it just hurts themselves more.

 

[TitleTown]

Hampton the 15 seed Duke is playing is always a lot worse than ours lol.

It is quite obvious that geographic location was the main factor in determining the placement of teams. The NCAA felt the need to pinch pennies and keep teams within a bus ride distance, instead of adhering to the S curve. In doing this they also benefit financially from the added ticket sales from local fans.

 

[oldude]

I didn't get to watch the UConn game today, so I have no idea the "strategy" used to just finish the game without pouring it on even more.

Up by like 70 points to begin the 4th quarter, Baylor continued shooting (and making) 3 point shots, and it's not like they were milking the shot clock. I was only half paying attention, but saw them knock down at least five of them. That is my gripe. They were launching shots early and often in that final quarter and determined to stretch out that 70 point lead to 90 points.

In football, when a team is up by like 40 points, they typically just run the ball and play a conservative offense to allow the clock and game to just run out. Most teams aren't throwing long passes towards the end of the game trying to increase their 40 point lead to 60 points. Even as most offense get close to the end zone with less than a minute or two in the game, some will take a knee so as not to inflate the scoring margin.

For what it's worth, UConn scored 33 pts in the 4th qtr, most of which came from beyond the arc. Basketball is different than football. I don't think you stop running your offense when you're up. Maybe you stop pressing on defense, and UConn stopped pressing in the 1st half.

There are lots of things to get on Baylor about, but running up the score is not one of them. As for UConn's draw in the tournament, it's time to get over it. I could be wrong, but I don't see a single team in UConn's bracket that will push the Huskies in a close game, including MD.

 

[connboy77]

Baylor is the only team in the tournament that I think has a reasonable chance of beating UCONN. It is unfortunate that they are on the same side of the bracket as UCONN.

 

[oldude]

Baylor is the only team in the tournament that I think has a reasonable chance of beating UCONN. It is unfortunate that they are on the same side of the bracket as UCONN.

I would add ND as the other team besides Baylor capable of beating the Huskies. Still, I like UConn's chances for #12.

 

[eebmg]

Baylor is the only team in the tournament that I think has a reasonable chance of beating UCONN. It is unfortunate that they are on the same side of the bracket as UCONN.

I still think ND is a team that can give us trouble.

 

[JFC613]

I didn't see the game, but the box score tells us a lot. Mulkey played her entire bench; everyone. Twelve players played. The lowest two off the bench played 12 minutes a piece. Of the starters, only two played over 20 minutes; 21 & 22. Texas S. shot 13.8% and had 21 TOs. Baylor had 11 blocks, 60 rebounds and shot 63% with 50% threes. Looks like the bench could have played the game and hit 90 points. Texas S. didn't belong on the same floor with Baylor. I think she took adavantage of the opportunity to get solid minutes for her role players and the score was what it was?

 

[UcMiami]

My point is why go out and schedule the toughest out of confrence schedule if the committee isn't going to reward!! No one seems to answer my single question. The committee did a hack job on the huskies ... No way South Carolina gets a easier path to the final four!!! The committee has no clue on what they are doing its all about location ... So maybe next year geno schedules all cupcakes And still end up
Getting screwed next year!!! When a team wins as much as UCONN deep down inside people want to see someone else win!!!

Because the committee this year decided that travel distance was a more important consideration than getting the seeding order correct, next year they will decide the most important consideration is ______________. And the year after, they will decide something else completely. This year, if they could place a team within 300 miles in a first round location, or in a regional location, then they would figure out a way to do so regardless of proper seeding.

As far as Syracuse - they chose RPI as justification to give them an 8 seed and keep them within 'driving distance', like they did with Maryland to give them a three seed. Of course RPI didn't help Temple, Elon, or Drake who all had better RPI than Syracuse. The committee has about six criteria they are looking at when evaluating schools, and they seemingly do a mix and match process to justify sending schools where they want to send them and giving them the seeding that makes that decision work. It is what it is and the same kinds of issues exist every year. And no, beyond getting you into the tournament, the regular season does not seem to make much difference when you look at position within say 10 seed spots once you get outside the top 16.

What I said in another thread is the committee claims to have watched 1200+ WCBB games this year in aggregate and yet you cannot look at a single decision they have made that suggests that the 'eye test' was involved with a single one of those decisions. In fact the opposite - they seem to have closed their eyes to actual play and looked only at numbers on a piece of paper. So one wonders why they all waste so many hours watching games and taking supposedly copious notes.

 

[CocoHusky]

I didn't get to watch the UConn game today, so I have no idea the "strategy" used to just finish the game without pouring it on even more.

Up by like 70 points to begin the 4th quarter, Baylor continued shooting (and making) 3 point shots, and it's not like they were milking the shot clock. I was only half paying attention, but saw them knock down at least five of them. That is my gripe. They were launching shots early and often in that final quarter and determined to stretch out that 70 point lead to 90 points.

In football, when a team is up by like 40 points, they typically just run the ball and play a conservative offense to allow the clock and game to just run out. Most teams aren't throwing long passes towards the end of the game trying to increase their 40 point lead to 60 points. Even as most offense get close to the end zone with less than a minute or two in the game, some will take a knee so as not to inflate the scoring margin.

In the last five minutes of the UCONN vs Albany game Crystal made Three 3PT FG and Kyla made another. I double check to make sure Albany had 5 defenders on the floor and sure enough they did. I hope Crystal's shooting carries over to the next game.

 

[UcMiami]

On the OP - no problem with Baylor's score. They are a long team that is just the kind of team that 16 seeds can find impossible to score against or defend as the shooting percentage for all the Baylor bigs points to. Baylor used the entire bench for extended minutes and at some point you just can't stop scoring (it is why some HS leagues implement mercy rules.)

What I will say is that there are a number of coaches who do not coach the way Geno does in blow out situations. When Uconn is in one of those ridiculous games, most of the time the team specifically shuts down all transition offense and all pressure defense - they work on zone on defense and half court offense using 20+ seconds off the shot clock, as if it were an extension of a practice session. A lot of other teams and coaches just continue running their normal game offense with their bench players in - if they get a transition chance they take it. And final score to some extent depends on the other team's choice of offense - if they choose to run and take quick shots, then you get a lot more offensive possessions even if you are trying to take 20 seconds on each one.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Set a NCAA's tourney record with largest win a 89 point blow out!! 119-30. I really can't stand Baylor and I really can't stand Mulky!! I hope they get knocked out before Dallas!!! Why anyone would want to play for her or that university especially after all the scandals and investigations going on. She has no class .. Really 89 point win... Don't call the dogs off? She's all about making records and when something goes wrong she's the first to cry and blame someone!! They by far are my most hated program... If UCONN doesn't win it all I hope anyone but Baylor cuts down the nets!!!

Does the embarrassment for the losing team get better if you only beat them by 45 or 50 points?? What is the cut off point--60, 70, 80??
I truly hate drubbing opponents into the ground---but Uconn can't stand tall in this--they are not alone however. My formative BB coach Father Taylor--told us it is enough to win the game --you should not embarrass an opponent. Obviously this wasn't big time BB.
A team should not need to be up by more than 30 to put in the second line of players--they need PT and in game learning time--whether you are in the 4 quarter or not.

 

[BroadwayVa]

On the OP - no problem with Baylor's score. They are a long team that is just the kind of team that 16 seeds can find impossible to score against or defend as the shooting percentage for all the Baylor bigs points to. Baylor used the entire bench for extended minutes and at some point you just can't stop scoring (it is why some HS leagues implement mercy rules.)

What I will say is that there are a number of coaches who do not coach the way Geno does in blow out situations. When Uconn is in one of those ridiculous games, most of the time the team specifically shuts down all transition offense and all pressure defense - they work on zone on defense and half court offense using 20+ seconds off the shot clock, as if it were an extension of a practice session. A lot of other teams and coaches just continue running their normal game offense with their bench players in - if they get a transition chance they take it. And final score to some extent depends on the other team's choice of offense - if they choose to run and take quick shots, then you get a lot more offensive possessions even if you are trying to take 20 seconds on each one.

1
I agree if you use your whole bench long before you reach 40 points --the coaching staff has done all it can to keep the score reasonable.
Then that really asks the question should that badly beaten team been in the tournament.
These--blowouts---are an exceptional chance to give the end of the bench load of "in-game" experience--I still am not a fan of them. Albeit--I like comfortable leads--

 

[UConnNick]

You have a shot clock in any BB game. You have to take a shot within the prescribed time or the ball goes over to the other team. Therefore, you only have three ways to keep from running up the score. You either don't take any shots and just play defense, you deliberately miss shots, or you slow the pace of the game and only take shots late on the shot clock.

The first two choices are not viable alternatives, particularly when you've inserted your second teamers. They deserve the chance to play the game normally. They don't get to play much so they want to do all the things that constitute playing BB. You also need to give them the experience of playing the game normally.

The best example I remember about it was a season many years ago when Teresa Grentz was coaching at Illinois. They had played Tennessee earlier that season and then played us. Both games were blowout losses, but after our game, when asked about the two lopsided losses, she said "Geno is a gentleman." It was a not-too-subtle dig at Pat Summit because she used a full court press right up until the last minute of their game against Illinois while ahead by over 50 points. Grentz didn't appreciate it. I recall Pat once defending her practice of doing that by saying she never stops working on things she thinks her team needs practice with, no matter what the score of the game is.

 

[UcMiami]

There is another consideration specific to the first round game that gets lost in scores and looking at minutes - it comes after a long layoff from games, one that is unique for most teams from November to March. Coaches are always concerned with how their team responds, and a lot of them even in blow outs are more concerned with the timing and flow of their starters and primary bench than their are with anything else. And they are going to play those players until they think the rust has been knocked off and they are ready for the next game regardless of score.