McGraw & her team's mettle should not be underestimated

[bballnut90]

Very good post but I must offer the following correction:

ND lost Cable, Mabrey1, and Huffman from that 2016 team. So 2 starters and a player who played roughly 15 mpg off the bench. (I still think that 2017 team had a shot at the title if not for Turner's ACL tear, but that's a different rant.)

Thanks for noting the absence of Westbeld. It definitely winds me up when I hear that ND has everyone back. Westbeld and Nelson played important roles in last year's championship run.

Good point...I mixed up the year Cable graduated. She was fantastic as a senior.

 

[Florida Fan]

Remember in the 2017-18 season Notre Dame was beaten 80-71 on 3 December by UCONN and was totally blown out by Louisville (100-67) on 11 January. Then on 4 March they lost to Louisville again but this time score was 74-72. Yet McGraw rallied her team to beat UCONN and Miss St. to win the NCAA championship. No matter how battered their psyche was, they recovered to be champs. This isn't over.

ND has a great team, and deserved, until Sunday, to be number one. Muffet needed this loss to focus her athletes. Now she doesn't doesn't have to create losing scenarios, her "leadership players" provided that drama for the world to see. The Irish post players will get their touches and their inside-out offense will become even more lethal. When that happens, Arike and Marina will get better looks. The opposing teams will now require supreme offensive and defensive performances to stymie a more disciplined Irish squad.

 

[bballnut90]

They made them the concensus # 1 team. They put them in the same category that some past Uconn teams were placed. It wasn't just against Uconn in their last game that they looked vulnerable, but in some of their previous games as well. Yes Uconn winning was not a shock, most fans thought that Uconn was a team that could beat them. It was just on how ND lost. That combined with their showing in some of their previous games.

I think you are correct in your assessment on why they were rated so highly, but counter to your belief, except for some fans posting on the Boneyard,most bought into it. Most fans did not expect the result that transpired in the Uconn vis ND game. They expected ND to win, not Uconn, especially not as easily as they did. It wasn't just that they over rated ND but also that they underrated Uconn.

UCONN was a 3.5 point favorite over Notre Dame entering this game...so most betters didn't buy into it. The Boneyard was also the only place where I saw posters exclaiming in the preseason that an Elite 8 would be a successful year, or that this team might not be a Final Four squad. Any knowledgable fan knew UCONN was going to be in the title hunt again and will be a lock for Albany.

Of course ND was going to be preseason #1, and consensus #1 at that. Preseason rankings are all about what you return from last year and how you look on paper. Notre Dame returned more contributors than any other top team, plus they won the title last year. Teams that are preseason #1 almost always stay consensus #1 until they lose a game.

This game was strikingly similar to the 2016 game where ND was #1, UCONN #2, and UCONN led the entire way by 1-3 possessions before pulling away in the last 5 minutes. It wasn't an easy win or a blowout as the final score indicates....it was a tight game until about 5 minutes left.

 

[huskeynut]

ND has a great team, and deserved, until Sunday, to be number one. Muffet needed this loss to focus her athletes. Now she doesn't doesn't have to create losing scenarios, her "leadership players" provided that drama for the world to see. The Irish post players will get their touches and their inside-out offense will become even more lethal. When that happens, Arike and Marina will get better looks. The opposing teams will now require supreme offensive and defensive performances to stymie a more disciplined Irish squad.

I don't see ND's offense becoming as lethal as you suggest. Shepard and Turner both play down low - not going to work. For those two to be effective, its has to be the high/ low game. Based on their individual skill sets, Shepard has to be on the high post. She can pass, she can shoot from the foul line with very good accuracy. Turner has to be the low. Her shot is limited to about 6 to 8 feet from the basket. But that is not happening. Muffet should have known this from the start of practice. There is no evidence on any inside/ out game at all.

Arike is a gunner. She is either going to drive and try to get fouled, take a 10 to 15 foot jumper or bomb for the three. Mabrey, also a gunner, either shoots the three or drives and tries to get fouled. Both have been doing it their entire time at ND. Muffet allows it. Nothing is going to change. ND is not a disciplined offense - don't kid yourself.

 

[hussybulldog]

uconn should have lost the game so MM would not know of their handicaps till FF in April. Geno made a strategic error by winning Tu’s game!

ND has a great team, and deserved, until Sunday, to be number one. Muffet needed this loss to focus her athletes. Now she doesn't doesn't have to create losing scenarios, her "leadership players" provided that drama for the world to see. The Irish post players will get their touches and their inside-out offense will become even more lethal. When that happens, Arike and Marina will get better looks. The opposing teams will now require supreme offensive and defensive performances to stymie a more disciplined Irish squad.