New Coaches' Poll Out

[Ctpaul0825]

1 Connecticut (32) 20-0 800
2 South Carolina 21-0 766
3 Notre Dame 21-1 736
4 Baylor 21-1 703
5 Maryland 19-2 665
6 Texas 20-1 646
7 Ohio State 17-4 603
8 Oregon State 18-3 579
9 Florida State 18-4 517
10 Arizona State 18-4 487
11 Texas A&M 15-6 468
12 Mississippi State 19-4 428
13 Louisville 17-5 411
14 Michigan State 16-4 352
15 Stanford 17-5 317
16 UCLA 16-5 286
17 South Florida 15-5 271
18 Kentucky 15-5 265
19 Oklahoma 15-5 223
20 Miami (FL) 18-4 210
21 Missouri 18-4 137
22 Florida 18-4 121
23 Syracuse 16-6 67
24 DePaul 17-7 57
25 Tennessee 13-8 47

 

[BigBird]

With their latest losses, I would have expected UT to vault into the top five.

< shaking head at absolute lunacy mode : OFF >

 

[Carnac]

How in the world is Tennessee is still ranked in the top 25? They're in a free fall.
They've got some losses to unranked (VT & Florida at the time) teams. How do you lose to several unranked teams, and not fall like a rock?

The Lady Volunteers are flapping in the wind like a flag in a 80 mph wind storm.
On any given night, you never know which team is going to take the floor.

Observation: Look at the list beginning at #5 Maryland. Query, Who from Maryland on down has a prayer of defeating UConn if matched up in a tournament game?

IMHO, the only three teams that have a legitimate chance of beating UConn is numbers 2,3 and 4. South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor. I think the top 4 will be #1 seeds, and all will make the final four.

UConn will only have to play two of the three. If for some reason UConn does not win the tournament, the ultimate winner will have to beat UConn.

 

[JordyG]

UCONN beat Maryland in a closely contested game. I just don't see (yes the infamous eye test) SC or Baylor within 15 points of UCONN. I think both Maryland and ND are the real threats. It's a shame Maryland's (and Baylor's for that matter) OCC schedule is so soft.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Baylor has no chance. Nina will be limited by UConn defense and the rest cannot score anywhere near enough. As someone else noted yesterday, ND has not improved, UConn has. SC, well, February 8 is a test. I suspect, without looking, that UConn is plus 12-13 on the betting line.

 

[Uhuru]

Recommend that we not begrudge Tenn the no. 25 spot. It's. All. They. Have. Left.

 

[JordyG]

Baylor has no chance. Nina will be limited by UConn defense and the rest cannot score anywhere near enough. As someone else noted yesterday, ND has not improved, UConn has. SC, well, February 8 is a test. I suspect, without looking, that UConn is plus 12-13 on the betting line.

It was I who said ND hasn't improved. It was Orangutan who noted they had taken 1 step forward, 2 steps back. 2/8 is test really for SC, not UCONN. I agree with what you've said about Baylor.

 

[Carnac]

UCONN beat Maryland in a closely contested game. I just don't see (yes the infamous eye test) SC or Baylor within 15 points of UCONN. I think both Maryland and ND are the real threats. It's a shame Maryland's (and Baylor's for that matter) OCC schedule is so soft.

Jordy, first of all, I hope you're right about Baylor not being within 15 points of UConn. It's very possible the two can meet in the final four.

I was one of Baylor's biggest critics this year with respect to their soft OCC. I reamed them every chance I got. I've had to change my tune because in spite of said soft OCC, Mulkey has made it work in the same fashion that UConn has not let being in a soft AAC conference diminish their team skills or competitiveness. I can't in fairness rip her or any other coach in doing whatever they feel they need to do that gives their team the best chance to win games down the road.

I agree with you that I would like to see them play a more competitive OCC. There's a method to Mulkey's madness. She plays a soft OCC schedule, and still garners a #1 seed (and hosts the first 2 games) for the tournament.
So in her eyes, there's no reason to change her way of doing things at this point. Like UConn, if you're going to beat Baylor, you've got to got them away from their home court. They hold serve at home.

Baylor is a very good basketball team right now. Remember what Parcells said about records. I've watched two of their games. I'm moderately impressed. They're good, but not invincible. I keep track of their games, and peruse the box scores. Their one loss was to conference foe Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Dec 30. They've already knocked off Oklahoma and Texas (the only other ranked teams in their conference) in the first round of conference play. I don't expect any upsets this time around either.

They'll get the chance to avenge that loss when they host Okla. St. on Feb 17. I'm very interested to see how that one turns out. Baylor is going to be a real tuff pill to swallow in the tournament. I don't think they'll lose until they get to Indiana. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it.

 

[Zorro]

New LV fight song to replace Rocky Top

 

[UcMiami]

Baylor's schedule last year was terrible, its schedule this year really isn't that bad - they played USF, DePaul, MSU, and Miami - all ranked for some or all of this season - it is not a strong OOC but much better than a lot of other P5 teams including Maryland. I agree that the rest of the schedule is pretty miserable, but for really good teams, whether you are playing 35-50 ranked team or a 200+ ranked team doesn't really matter as long as you have a few teams in the top 25. No one talks about SC, but they have played OSU, ASU, UCLA, and Duke which is only a little stronger - of course they have a game on the 8th that may pose problems.

 

[msf22b]

Recommend that we not begrudge Tenn the no. 25 spot. It's. All. They. Have. Left.

For this week.