Losing at Baylor would be the best thing to happen to UConn | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Losing at Baylor would be the best thing to happen to UConn

bbballfan23 said:
Why don’t you go ahead and tell that to our seniors (that have never lost a regular season game) they should just go ahead and drop one for fun. Should go over well with them. :rolleyes:
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The parent of another player on my daughter's HS BB team, used to talk about how he'd rather have a close lose than a blowout win under the notion that the closer competition made the games fun. He asked me and I said 'nah Jim, winning is always the goal when you play.' I suggested that he ask the team how they felt about so he called over our point guard and asked her. She looked at him incomprehensibly, as if he was speaking another language and then with an angry expression said "NO" with a look of utter disgust on her face. Now she was a scrappy little thing and tough competitor (reminded me of Rizzotti) but I guarantee every player on this team is more competitive and more driven. You have to be to play at this level.
 
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Jmsdawg said:
Never good to lose. Sometimes a loss points out weaknesses that need correcting but with a mature team like UCONN, they already know strengthens and weaknesses.
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When a fan puts out a comment that a Loss at Baylor could be/wouldbe a good thing; it appears that fan expects a loss. I'm the original glass half full guy but I expect a win.
Will I get it ??? Geno will never ever lose by design any game must be wrestled from his team. Yes you may learn from a loss TRUE. But a qualified honest coach shall never lose by design. Geno HATES to lose Geno is NOT a good loser--go back and look at the losses and see his demeanor as he walks off--it is pure hating to lose, the loss is personal, regardless of what he may say in a presser his feelings aren't for the media.
 
I don't believe the issue is whether they win all their games or lose one or two.

It is more a question of how well they are playing and executing: are our young woman able to solve the obstacles that other teams are throwing at us? Can they solve the problem inherent in that some teams will have larger and bulkier players that we don't necessarily have the personnel to match up with? That there are a plethora of great shooters sprinkled about...Is there any reason to doubt that one or more of them might not go off on any given evening.

Our D is not air-tight; our rebounding threshold has to be considered (at least) suspect and the integration of the lower class-men into Geno's system is not complete. This is not a perfect team such as Stewie, Moriah, Tuck, plus anyone else who shows up.

But the other leading teams have issues as well.

Our's is a team that might well go all the way but that is far from inevitable. To date, Geno and the team has been able to finesse our way to an undefeated season. Archibravo! (esp. ND).

We may go all the way...We also may be blown out in a manner similar to the carnage we executed on Notre Dame in the semi's of the first year of Stewie's reign (after losing to them...what was it...3 times that season)?

Please don't freak out if that happens...This imperfect group is one to savor like a good bottle of '56 Bordeaux.

i intend to enjoy this season with eyes wide open.

Happy Holidays all.

Michael
 
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RockyMTblue2 said:
Toughen Up Clint.
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You make me smile
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BackBay said:
I'll put it out there. I think if UConn enters the tourney undefeated for 3 straight years (!), there will be unbelievable extra pressure on all the players. Losing a regular season game will be a sigh of relief for the players (& Geno). Also, a loss at Baylor wont change their ranking much if at all. At Baylor, seems to be the best candidate. Of course, you dont want to intentionally lose, but maybe if Geno plays his bench more minutes...
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Okay, I'm ambivalent about this conceit. On one hand I see the logic that losing could force some players to step beyond their individually perceived capabilities and/or force certain improvements as a team. As Geno has said, this team lives in a fantasy world and getting their ass kicked would be a good thing. Yet as a fan I never see losing as a good thing. Since the Stewie years I've said plainly that each of these teams have had weaknesses that other teams can exploit, and that indeed each of these post Stewie teams are beatable; indeed they've proven so. That to me is facing reality. As a fan though I'd rather see them win a series of tough games against tough teams on the road than to lose one. So I'm a even 60/40 on this in favor of losing one or two. And yeah, I agree with Geno that I'd rather lose the right way than win the wrong way.
 
Does anybody think that other WCBB coaches or fans really want their team to lose a game just "to experience it"?
Of course if UConn is on their schedule, well...
 
Husker Husky said:
A loss and the Irish jump to #1 and won't give it up.
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So? There's no bonus points for being #1 in any poll. The only real goal is to be #1 after the NC Game!!!!!!! Head bang:rolleyes:
Unless of course being #1 entering the Big Dance guarantees the NC.
 
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Maybe I'm in the minority but I think a tough loss can be a great thing for a team on the brink of an undefeated season. Aside from 1995, when UCONN has gone undefeated they almost always are head and shoulders better than everyone else in the nation and that isnt the case this year. It also wasnt the case the past two seasons (several close calls) and in 1997 and we saw how those years turned out. In 2003 UCONN looked to be on the brink of another undefeated season but lost in the conference tournament. Im not sure they would've won the title that year or had the same grit down the stretch against Texas and Tennessee in the tournament if they played with the streak on the line. As a fan I'd want my team to win every game, but with how the past two seasons went and how this team appears to be headed down a similar path, a loss in the regular season might not be a bad thing.
 
Interesting concept but many here almost had a nervous breakdown during the OU game.... if a real lost occurred they would write the season off as over.

For me there is no reason to lose. The bitter taste of the 2 FF losses still remain and listening to CW she was just as hurt. I think these close games serve a better purpose because very few times did UConn have to fight to win during the regular season, and I think that has more to do with March success than taking an L....
 
Centerstream said:
So? There's no bonus points for being #1 in any poll. The only real goal is to be #1 after the NC Game!!!!!!! Head bang:rolleyes:
Unless of course being #1 entering the Big Dance guarantees the NC.
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Well, there is something to it. Personally, I feel the world is set right when UConn is on top, otherwise things seem out of joint. However, other teams will always bring their A games when playing the Huskies because we are still the standard of excellence in the sport. #1 is the symbol of our aspiration.
 
I’d be excited to see Geno pull what he did a few years ago when he was trying to develop his bench. He started a bunch of bench players to teach them that they need to do more than just go through the motions when the game is already won. I don’t expect that to happen against Baylor, but I hope a couple games are like that in conference and play.
 
This UConn program is so good its mindboggleing. Over the past few years we've had 2 heart breaking losses both in the FF and both in overtime and in both we were in foul trouble which I question for a team that very seldom is in foul trouble. We dont need another Heart Breaking Loss. If we've havent learned by now and I think we have this season judging from the Cal St Johns OK and especially the ND where we showed what we're made of. Because of those games I think we're ready to win another NC.
 
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msf22b said:
I don't believe the issue is whether they win all their games or lose one or two.

It is more a question of how well they are playing and executing: are our young woman able to solve the obstacles that other teams are throwing at us? Can they solve the problem inherent in that some teams will have larger and bulkier players that we don't necessarily have the personnel to match up with? That there are a plethora of great shooters sprinkled about...Is there any reason to doubt that one or more of them might not go off on any given evening.

Our D is not air-tight; our rebounding threshold has to be considered (at least) suspect and the integration of the lower class-men into Geno's system is not complete. This is not a perfect team such as Stewie, Moriah, Tuck, plus anyone else who shows up.

But the other leading teams have issues as well.

Our's is a team that might well go all the way but that is far from inevitable. To date, Geno and the team has been able to finesse our way to an undefeated season. Archibravo! (esp. ND).

We may go all the way...We also may be blown out in a manner similar to the carnage we executed on Notre Dame in the semi's of the first year of Stewie's reign (after losing to them...what was it...3 times that season)?

Please don't freak out if that happens...This imperfect group is one to savor like a good bottle of '56 Bordeaux.

i intend to enjoy this season with eyes wide open.

Happy Holidays all.

Michael
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I often disagree with your posts. Sometimes even though I agree with much of what you say, I have issues with a "slant" you may take.

But, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with your entire post. I agree with the content, I agree with the tenor and I agree with the conclusion.

This team's issues are visible and watching them deal with them will be intriguing.

I've never had the pleasure of a 56' Bordeaux, but I assume it is high on the enjoyment scale.

Well done and well posted. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
 
Biff said:
I often disagree with your posts. Sometimes even though I agree with much of what you say, I have issues with a "slant" you may take.

But, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with your entire post. I agree with the content, I agree with the tenor and I agree with the conclusion.

This team's issues are visible and watching them deal with them will be intriguing.

I've never had the pleasure of a 56' Bordeaux, but I assume it is high on the enjoyment scale.

Well done and well posted. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
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Well thank you Biff and a Happy Holiday to you
 
BackBay said:
I'll put it out there. I think if UConn enters the tourney undefeated for 3 straight years (!), there will be unbelievable extra pressure on all the players. Losing a regular season game will be a sigh of relief for the players (& Geno). Also, a loss at Baylor wont change their ranking much if at all. At Baylor, seems to be the best candidate. Of course, you dont want to intentionally lose, but maybe if Geno plays his bench more minutes...
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Man, I remember the first time I drank 5 straight V.O. and gingers.
 
bballnut90 said:
Maybe I'm in the minority but I think a tough loss can be a great thing for a team on the brink of an undefeated season. Aside from 1995, when UCONN has gone undefeated they almost always are head and shoulders better than everyone else in the nation and that isnt the case this year. It also wasnt the case the past two seasons (several close calls) and in 1997 and we saw how those years turned out. In 2003 UCONN looked to be on the brink of another undefeated season but lost in the conference tournament. Im not sure they would've won the title that year or had the same grit down the stretch against Texas and Tennessee in the tournament if they played with the streak on the line. As a fan I'd want my team to win every game, but with how the past two seasons went and how this team appears to be headed down a similar path, a loss in the regular season might not be a bad thing.
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UConn may not be head-and-shoulders above everybody else this year [??], but they were in 1995. They (and the world) just didn't know it 'til they beat Tennessee, and beat everybody else, and then beat Tennessee again, and there was nobody left to beat.
 
j66kicker said:
UConn may not be head-and-shoulders above everybody else this year [??], but they were in 1995. They (and the world) just didn't know it 'til they beat Tennessee, and beat everybody else, and then beat Tennessee again, and there was nobody left to beat.
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They were the best team, but not head and shoulders better than the rest of the nation. All other years UCONN went undefeated they never had single digit games (besides the 2010 title game where they had a 16 point lead late and won comfortably despite the margin). In 1995 they had a very close call in the regionals vs Virginia and trailed most of the game vs Tennessee before pulling ahead for a 6 point win. Were they a deserving champion and the best team? Yes. Head and shoulders better than everyone else? Far from it.
 
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Plebe said:
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Top-ranked Kansas was upset Saturday night by No. 18 Arizona State, but to Jayhawks coach Bill Self, the 80-76 loss came at the right time.
​
"I think that losing sucks, and it's never good, but it actually can be a positive if you learn from it so that it doesn't happen again the same way," Self said. "We didn't close the game right at all, so hopefully, we can learn from that. But the reality of it is, we weren't going to run the table. Let's not get carried away.​
​
"I hate saying this, you never ever want to lose, but certainly you'd rather learn from a nonconference loss than a conference loss. So hopefully, we'll learn something from it and get better from it. I think it'll be a good teaching tape for us."​
​
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That says it all. There is a difference. Losing, or worse, wanting to lose is a negative. Having lost (i.e past tense), it may be a positive. Sounds practical to me.
 
History would suggest no benefit to a single regular-season loss

Ten unbeaten regular seasons:

UCONN finished the regular season unbeaten in 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018, winning the NC in seven of those ten years (Losing in 1997 after a major injury, and also the past two years, taking a BE semifinal loss to Villanova in 2003 but prevailing in the NCAAs)

Four single-loss regular seasons:

UCONN took a "Fortuitous" regular season loss four times: to Tennessee(by 1 point on a buzzer-beater IIRC) in the 2000 season, to Rutgers in 2008, to Stanford in 2010-2011, and to Stanford again in 2015, winning the NC in 2000 and 2015, losing in 2008 and 2011, succeeding twice in four instances. You can argue the 2003 loss to Villanova into whatever category you want, but the Rutgers loss in 2008 and the Stanford loss in 2010-2011 were ultimately no help. I remember the relief felt in December 2010 when Stanford ended the 90-game winning streak, but there would still be no NC.
 
reno tony said:
Does anyone think it would be a great idea to beat Baylor and allow them to have this learning experience?
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Completely agree..:):cool::D let Baylor "learn from losing"... and UCONN "learn from winning"...against the "bigs" of Baylor...a different type of team for them to play. Learn from how they beat them and how they will use what they learned from that against Baylor or MSST should they meet them later... GO HUSKIES!!! Merry Christmas Team~ :cool::D
 
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