Your point is valid. But here’s the thing. Geno has been at this for 30+ years. He is the absolute best at building his team for a championship run in March. A 30-pt win in Columbia in February is not an “inherent one off.” I know that Dawn and some in the media attempted to portray it as such. But that was just not the case.
The common refrain was that “SC was not ready.” The Gamecocks had one of the most talented rosters in WBB, coached by one of the very best coaches in WBB, at home on national tv, before a sellout crowd against the greatest team in the history of WBB, and you’re asking us to believe that they “weren’t ready?” I didn’t buy it then, and from the result of the championship game, I think I got it right.
As for SC bouncing back, they won the games they were supposed to win, mostly in conference. A number were close, particularly with TX. Almost all were physical battles, the type of game SC thrives in. But no one SC faced until the championship game had UConn’s ability to spread the floor, move the ball and knock down outside shots, while playing relentless defense.
We’re not talking about some huge underdog pulling off a once in a lifetime miracle upset on a last second basket. I have watched many years of UConn WBB. After the beat down in Columbia, UConn was clearly the team to beat, and not by a little.
