Maybe now the experts will stop wetting themselves over Baylor

[UcMiami]

Kim being a coach and challenging her players to bail her out! Part of the we are the underdog mantra that I am sure they have been using since they were seeded 7th.

I think if both teams bring their A game Uconn should win by a bit. Kim is a good coach and a good motivator and her team will go to the wall for her. Is that enough? I don't think so, because I think our guards and wings are better, and our posts are equal.

Certainly wish this game was next weekend as I think the winner is going to play in the NC game.

 

[VA Huskie]

There were some posters on here wetting their pants over Baylor as well. Hopefully they showered and changed drawls at least.

I hope I didn’t wet my pants, but I did pick them to beat us and win the NC. I thought their defense was really good and their offense was good enough. After watching today’s game I realize that their offense is nowhere near as good as ours... and their defense isn’t as good as I thought. I now think that we’re the favorite, but that, if things go right for Baylor, they can beat us.

 

[gamer]

Baylor didn't look very good today. I don't know if they were looking ahead or if they're just not that great. They're not as good as the great Baylor teams of the past. But Smith is the best player on the court in about every game they play. They have zero depth and Richards wasn't looking too good today. I think UConn will exploit their weaknesses.

 

[DEpup]

It should be noted that:

1. Michigan (Baylor's opponent today) was a #6 seed in the tournament, and therefore (at least in the Committee's judgment) a slightly inferior opponent to Iowa, who was a #5 seed. This is despite the fact that Michigan was ahead of Iowa in the Big 10 standings -- but the Wolverines played many fewer games than Iowa due to COVID.
2. There was one head-to-head meeting between Michigan and Iowa, on February 25, and the result was a 22-point Iowa victory. Note that this was quite late in the season when both teams were presumably playing at or near the best.

So these data points suggest that UConn defeated a slightly better team by 20 points than Baylor beat in overtime by 3 points.

Just sayin' ...

This is one match up where covid really was a factor. Michigan was shutdown for a good long time and then they took awhile to get back up to speed. I'm not sure anyone knew how good they were..

 

[DEpup]

Baylor didn't look very good today. I don't know if they were looking ahead or if they're just not that great. They're not as good as the great Baylor teams of the past. But Smith is the best player on the court in about every game they play. They have zero depth and Richards wasn't looking too good today. I think UConn will exploit their weaknesses.

I think Michigan laid out a plan. They exploited Didi's weaknesses as their PG which really disrupted Baylor's offense.

 

[darkstar1]

Agree. Second chance points will be very difficult against Baylor. We need to shoot 46-48% and at least stay competitive in rebounds. I think these two things are key to winning for the Huskies.

Husky D should highlight Baylor’s penchant for turnovers. I think UConn’s transition game will be a key.

 

[Plebe]

There were some posters on here wetting their pants over Baylor as well. Hopefully they showered and changed drawls at least.

Pants wetting is a Boneyard staple. Hard to imagine this place without it.

It's an annual ritual with Baylor. They ALWAYS play the bully well against the crummy teams in their conference and in the first weekend of the NCAAs. More often than not, the world comes crashing in on them in the second weekend. Obviously it didn't happen two years ago, and there's no guarantee it will happen this year either. But it would still remain, for them, the exception rather than the norm.

 

[Scot-e]

DOOME!!!

 

[hoophuskee]

exactly. could go any way depending on varied factors. .... like who is 'hot' or 'not' or who has 'just not their day.' who knows?

i'm comfortable as things stand, but uncertain of the future.

Yes. OFC UCONN could get beat. Baylor is one helluva team as is UCONN.

To further that, these games are not being played by pros, and aren't a best of 5 or 7 series. The way the tourney has always been set up it's designed so that the top team(s) can get picked off.

 

[Baylor1994]

Silly comment by Kim because there's not an ounce of sincerity or humility in it.

Kim being Kim.

How do you know? You don’t know her!

 

[Littlemin]

ANY team in any game, but especially at this stage of a national tournament, is only as good (or bad) as they play that day. Other than to scout tendencies, comparative scores and what happened yesterday is meaningless; Uconn staff and players know that and will be ready. Throw up the ball and let’s see.
I believe UConn’s tremendous balance on both sides of the ball gives them a better than even chance. Do not underestimate how important it is that it is very difficult to create mismatches against Uconn‘s defense, Ono and Edwards can cover on the perimeter and their guards are tough and will fight and compete close to the basket.

 

[HuskyNan]

UConn actually is 2nd in APG. Cal Baptist is first. 21.3 to 20.9
NCAA puts CBU stats, "Below the Line" because of the transition to DI(3rd year). Dumbest thing NCAA does.

When looking at NCAA stats, NCAA.org is more detailed than NCAA.com

NCAA Statistics

stats.ncaa.org

You will have to got to each stat, then scroll down, below the line.

That’s where I got the statistics. If you click on the team name, you can see a summary of stats. NCAA Statistics

Here’s UConn’s, through March 24th:

Team Stats - Through games 03/24/2021
Stat	Rank	Value
Scoring Offense	4​	82.8​
Scoring Defense	2​	50.7​
Scoring Margin	1​	32.1​
Field-Goal Percentage	1​	51.7​
Free-Throw Percentage	118​	72.0​
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage	50​	34.7​
Rebound Margin	6​	12.0​
Defensive Rebounds per Game	12​	30.0​
Turnover Margin	34​	4.04​
Turnovers Per Game	79​	14.3​
Assist Turnover Ratio	4​	1.46​
Field-Goal Percentage Defense	3​	32.9​
Three Pt FG Defense	20​	26.3​
Blocked Shots Per Game	9​	5.7​
Steals Per Game	31​	10.0​
Personal Fouls Per Game	4​	12.8​
Assists Per Game	1​	20.9​
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game	112​	6.6​
View Complete Ranking Summary

 

[HuskyNan]

How do you know? You don’t know her!

She might. You have no idea who UConnCat is.

 

[Carnac]

I apologize if I sound like Tony +

I thought Baylor looked very ordinary today
Missed loads of chipie's, not so hot from the outside.
Thought that Iowa presented more problems (solved) for our defense
OK, their D and certainly their rebounding is a bit better than the Hawkeyes
But I don't foresee an especially difficult game

UConn is on a roll right now playing their best basketball of the season. Geno has often said that the hardest game of the tournament is game 4, the regional championship. 1 vs 2. The biggest game of the year for both teams.

Is Baylor formidable? Absolutely, but so is UConn. Baylor is just as concerned about us as we are of them. They know they are going to have to play their best game of the season to win.

As other posters have commented, because of the way our team has jelled and is playing right now, I feel very confident going into tomorrow’s game. UConn has an air of confidence now that as a fan, I find refreshing. Earlier in the season before big games, I had my doubts if certain players were going to show up. I don’t have those doubts going into this game.

If UConn can play tomorrow as they did against Iowa (and I see no reason why they can’t/won’t), they can advance to the final four. We saw and expected this match up when the brackets were revealed. Like Iowa, Baylor is not invincible, they can be beat, We saw some of the chinks in their armor yesterday. We know that Baylor will not shrink in the waining moments of the game and beat themselves.

Every team still playing is going to have games like this the rest of the way. Only the elite teams are left. Would you have it any other way?

 

[Bigboote]

FWIW, Massey has UConn over Baylor 69-66 with a 57% chance of winning. I would give UConn a bit better odds, but it’s by no means a gimme.

 

[cancontent]

Even though my pants are still dry, I thought. and still think, that Baylor is a very impressive team. That said, as one poster said, if UConn shows up firing on all cylinders, they can win. But to me, it's all about matchups. And while Bueckers presents problems for any team, Baylor's size could be a real issue, especially if our bigs get into foul trouble. That's been noticeably absent from the team recently, but it's been an issue in the past, and would really create problems if it were to happen.

Understand the point, but this could go both ways. Baylor can't afford Smith to get into foul trouble herself.

There were several times where Smith could have been called for a foul (or vice versa on the offensive player). I'm glad the refs didn't as it would have been bad for the game for both teams.

 

[cancontent]

This is one match up where covid really was a factor. Michigan was shutdown for a good long time and then they took awhile to get back up to speed. I'm not sure anyone knew how good they were..

I agree, but I thought this team was better than what people were thinking for some time. I've been a fan of this team throughout the season. I can understand the skepticism because of their late season swoon however when they were playing their best ball during the season I thought they could compete with a lot of the top teams. Beat them, maybe not, but definitely compete.

Had the BIG10-ACC competition during the regular season happened, I think there would have been some excellent games between the conferences.

I think Michigan laid out a plan. They exploited Didi's weaknesses as their PG which really disrupted Baylor's offense.

And they executed and remained committed to it. Preventing transition runs was key. That could have been where the game had gotten away from Michigan.