Official Selection Show thread

[HopJim]

It does kind of look that way at times, but statistically NC State is one of the top offensive teams in the country. 76.8 PPG, #6 in Massey offensive efficiency. Not too far behind in defensive rating. I agree with the assessment that they’re the “third” threat but they are very much in the title conversation. Bowed out early last year and returned their entire core. Seem to be on a mission.

While happy with UConn's draw, have seen NC State play several times and they offer some unique issues. While South Carolina has a few higher upside players like Boston, similar to UConn, NC State has a balanced team where on any given game anyone could excel on either offense and defense. Hoping we get to see UConn-NC State play. Would be wonderful game to watch with UConn winning by 9.

 

[HopJim]

I hope for the LV Aces that she's better at being Team President than she is at coaching and being on TV. She is horrendous as a TV analyst. She knows how to talk about one thing, the SEC.

Elle Duncan sucked
Carolyn Peck is a mess
Fargas is atrocious
And poor Rebecca has to sit there with them.

Where is Andy Landers? Andreya Carter?

Please. No Andy Landers is a gift.

 

[Charliebball]

It does kind of look that way at times, but statistically NC State is one of the top offensive teams in the country. 76.8 PPG, #6 in Massey offensive efficiency. Not too far behind in defensive rating. I agree with the assessment that they’re the “third” threat but they are very much in the title conversation. Bowed out early last year and returned their entire core. Seem to be on a mission.

when they are good they are very good maybe just not as overwhelming as South Carolina.....their offensive numbers were skewed a bit with two 100 point games and a 90 point game against awful competition but I would never take them lightly.......Wes Moore is a very good coach.....

 

[HopJim]

For many seasons, there have been comments that UConn's strength of schedule hurts UConn's seeding. This year, UConn's end of year total domination of a relatively poor to average set of Big East teams helped accelerate them from a likely 4th seed to a Bridgeport based 2nd seed. Just saying.....

 

[Wonder 12]

I have no idea as to the quality but there is a Holiday Inn in Bridgeport which is within walking distance of the arena. I’ve parked there and once ate there. The food was okay and the place looked clean, Ralph and Rich’s is a good restaurant choice near the arena.

The holiday inn in Bridgeport closed.

 

[Wonder 12]

This is what ESPN has become! Pretty sad. A bunch of phony people talking about everything except what they really should be talking about. Painful, is the word that comes to mind

Rebecca is not phony.

 

[Wonder 12]

I hope for the LV Aces that she's better at being Team President than she is at coaching and being on TV. She is horrendous as a TV analyst. She knows how to talk about one thing, the SEC.

Elle Duncan sucked
Carolyn Peck is a mess
Fargas is atrocious
And poor Rebecca has to sit there with them.

Where is Andy Landers? Andreya Carter?

Andy and Andreya are great. Reeeebecca and Andy are terrific together.

 

[triaddukefan]

No. She will have foul trouble.

I have enjoyed last years image of her crying everytime ESPN has played it, unlike the images of the overtime buzzer beaters against UConn. At least most people can't tell UConn is being beaten.

We will see last years tears for 3 more weeks. Surprised she was not shown after losing to Kentucky.

She should have come to UConn, Especially all the free tickets she took.

Just when you think you have read it all on a sports forum, along comes a post like this. Stay classy dude.

 

[jaydee602]

Of course, ESPN neglected to address this. But how are the brackets devised? Which region does UCONN play if they win the Bridgeport region? Since Stanford is #2 & NC State is #3, does the winner of Bridgeport play the winner of Spokane?

 

[shiverz45]

Aaaweee! If UCONN had won all their games, they’d have earned the #1 seed in Bridgeport. And if NC State had won the SC game, they’d be the #1 seed in the Greensboro region. Both teams had significant losses, so this is where they end up. I’m happy for the Bridgeport placement, but it means squat, if the team only shows up. They have to play, and win the games. And....... Geno will make sure they are ready for the big stage.

No they would have not. SC has 5 more Quad 1 wins than NC State. That is more important than an early season head to head on an opponents homecourt.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

The movie script continues to evolve quite nicely. We go from early season high expectations, #2 ranked team...then the disappointing 4th qtr vs SoCar in the Bahamas, then getting past that and bringing up the level of play until the star player's injury, then rebounding from that, and then getting hit with more "bumps in the road" including covid and injuries, and "bench" players stepping up and getting more minutes and chances to show their abilities, then slowly getting all the pieces back and blending them together like a beautiful piece of art work... winning conference tournament, climbing the rankings. And becoming the team the whole NCAA WBB world thought they would be at the beginning of the season, even with Paige playing only very few minutes and not contributing a whole lot. Finally, Paige now back to form and the tournament bracket putting them in the Bridgeport region...adding some angst and upset in other teams.
The final chapter starts to be written next Saturday at 1pm... let the games begin!!

I love this TEAM!!

Go Huskies

 

[Forego]

This leads me to wonder if Geno's comment about "a former coach who doesn't snow s_ _ t" referred to Carolyn Peck & not to Muffet McGraw. We could see that her comments would irritate Geno.

Geno’s really good at this. One potshot - two birds.

 

[Forego]

Hefty bag with sticker. Odd choice?

When you say hefty bag are you referring to....... (in my best Rosanne Rosannadanna voice). Never mind.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

People overlooking UCF here. They lost three games all year, all by single digits, two of them to Tennessee and Iowa. They are incredibly physical and great on the boards. UConn will have to grind that one out.

Also think no team has a potentially tougher path to the title: UCF, Kentucky/Indiana, NC State, Stanford, SC.

As things stand today, I think that every team with UConn in their way, i.e., everyone else, has a tougher path to the title.

 

[Centerstream]

Well, SCar IS in a different state than Greensboro.

And do you think less fans will travel from SCar to Greensboro because of it?

 

[mudcat]

SCar has no one that can guard Clark, but Iowa has no one that can contain Boston. What will kill Iowa though is the rest of SCar's front line and their bench. The 3rd and 4th quarters will be real tests for Iowa's stamina and determination. SCar's front line will beat them to death and their bench will have them dragging their feet at the end. IMO no matter how many teams from the B1G 10 made the dance, ain't a one of them really scares me. Clark's a fine player, but one off night and that team goes home.

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I think the Big 12 is even more overrated. I only see one team there making it to the final 16

 

[jaydee602]

Well, SCar IS in a different state than Greensboro.

If there was a Providence, RI region & UCONN was selected to play there, don't you think fans would still complain that they have a hometown advantage?

 

[visitingcock]

If there was a Providence, RI region & UCONN was selected to play there, don't you think fans would still complain that they have a hometown advantage?

50 miles as opposed to 160.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

If there was a Providence, RI region & UCONN was selected to play there, don't you think fans would still complain that they have a hometown advantage?

Or Boston or NYC or Albany

 

[Tonyc]

All these people complaining about UConns unfair home court advantage. The NCAA is a business and if you want a home court advantage support your team like UConn fans support theirs. If you think its unfair that UConn is in Bridgeport because they draw fans well then think about that. Support your team and you may have them closer to home and the NCAA will make money. I dont blame the NCAA for having UConn in CT. We pay alot more for tickets and sell out then you do in other regions. Other teams dont support womens bb. In CT we do.

 

[hoopsfan22]

If there was a Providence, RI region & UCONN was selected to play there, don't you think fans would still complain that they have a hometown advantage?

There was a regional at URI not too long ago, and yes there were still complaints that it was essentially a regional in UConn's backyard, which is true.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

This leads me to wonder if Geno's comment about "a former coach who doesn't snow s_ _ t" referred to Carolyn Peck & not to Muffet McGraw. We could see that her comments would irritate Geno.

The other part of the comment was about Evina playing PG at Tenn, (my words: so Geno could have also been using her that way and prevented the problems when both Paige and Nika were out). She must be blind....Evina slips into that role sometimes, even last year, to bring the ball up. Nobody knew what Evina's personal issues were early this season when she wasn't playing well.....now? Best I have ever seen her play, both at UConn and at Tenn. These days, whether it is Paige or Nika on the floor with her, Evina gets her share of PG work - that was never an issue, even last year from what I saw.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

4 Big East teams!!!!

So, they had better make some noise......that's one better than what Charlie Creme projected. I was hoping Marquette would get in, too....

 

[Rb335]

The NCAA is a business at the end of the day, and they need to generate revenue from the less popular Women’s tournament any way they can. You could argue it’s actually pretty unfair to have the top 16 teams host the first two rounds. Yes, every team has the opportunity to play their way into the top 16, but once the tournament starts, it’s a huge advantage.

I’m not super familiar with why regionals are where they are, and why bids are accepted. But if you have a regional in the home state of one of the most loyal fan bases in the country, it’s a no brainer to figure out a way to place that team there. It might not be totally fair, but is the top 16 advantage fair?

Uconn in Bridgeport generates revenue, but also puts people into the seats. I remember watching a game when Karlie Samuelson was a senior, and their regional had less than 2,000 fans. In what appeared to be a rather large arena. A casual person tuning in must see that and question the true importance of what they are watching. It’s not a good look if you’re trying to grow the sport.

As a Uconn fan, I get the complaints, and understand it’s not completely fair. But I 100% understand why the committee did what they did and created a narrative to justify it. UConn’s injuries basically gave them a free pass to excuse any losses, or weigh those losses more heavily to get them into Bridgeport on the S curve.

Perhaps Ms. Antonelli was into something when she wanted all 16 teams playing at one location. I honestly don’t think it’s a half bad idea, and eliminates all of the geography concerns. Until that once location is near a top team, of course.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

I agree with you.

There is no way no way UCONN was just a 1 player team. It's not only wrong but insulting to the players that performed (as well as the insult to Geno.).

Secondly, a healthy Paige Buckers playing all year would've only made the team stronger. Great players which are unavailable that can defend, pass, and shoot don't make your team stronger when they are out. There's a reason why Paige is great.

Third, we hear what I feel as a myth that UCONN wouldn't have developed it's 9 player bench if Paige was in. IMO a complete myth. Many of us felt that the bench was going to be at least 8 players anyway even with Paige. Ducharme broke through as the 9th. But she broke through in just two games after the Azzi injury, CD broke through. In other words they were already at near full strength before the Azzi injury, and CD was so good 2 games later that she would have inevitably broke through. And you'd have to think Geno is an idiot if he couldn't see that. Look at the 2nd game vs ND (A Quality Opponent) - she comes in when the offense was sputtering in 2nd quarter and team goes on a 10-2 run. Then in the 2nd half she pours in 14. In other words, she showed right from the get-go that she was a player.

So with the history of early this year at the start of the season the offense was sputtering, and last year there were issues with the offense, that Geno wouldn't have played her any more? Geno is not an idiot. CD showed early on she was a beast. But what is she right now? The healthier Paige gets, CD is the 9th player. A terrific 9th player just as valued in that ND game as she is now.

And if we want to get really picky, we might be able to say that CD wouldn't have had the concussion if she wasn't playing as many minutes as she has. Which Chris D has eluded to her struggling a bit down the stretch.

Bottom line is that the team would've been stronger with a healthy Paige, and would still be a 9 player deep rotation.

Geno was not only praising Azzi in the preseason but also CD, so I agree.....he was going to find a role for her.