Poll. Which team gives us the biggest challenge head-head

[jaundicedeye]

Baylor. We're small, they are big and their guard play ain't bad either. If we meet we have to stay out of foul trouble and be able to rain 3s on them and have a decent transition game. Do that and we run em out of the gym. Oxygen tanks are not allowed on the sidelines are they?

Agree. The leadership and play they are getting from Wallace should be a focus for Geno.
Time to deploy special shadow agent Nurse.

 

[blacklisted]

Uconn lost to Miss.State last year because they Uconned Uconn in the first quarter and out hustled them the whole game. Uconn walked the ball up the court. Only Gabby played a good game! The biggest reason they lost was OVERCONFIDENCE! They won by 60 the year before. It was 61-12 at halftime. On top of that a 111 game winning streak and it was a recipe for disaster! MS won by 2 in OT and deserved to win that game. Uconn will not let this type of play happen again. If they play this year Uconn wins by at least 23 points!!!

In 2016, Miss State was something like 7 for 41 through the first 3 quarters, including numerous missed layups. That was a bad combination of UConn being much better AND Miss State playing far worse than we have ever played. While UConn can take credit for causing a lot of missed shots, it can't reasonably be argued that 7-for-41 happens if Miss State doesn't also play poorly beyond what UConn caused.

Don't think anyone should use 2016 as a barometer of what to expect from Miss State. Games like that happen sometimes...maybe not to UConn, but it has happened to some of the best teams in multiple sports over the years. 2016 was UConn being the best team in the country by far, and Miss State being not as good, but also playing as bad as we could possibly play.

 

[blacklisted]

Wasn't a fluke, and shouldn't have gone to OT. Y'all benefited from some charitable calls down the stretch.

 

[Carnac]

Uconn lost to Miss.State last year because they Uconned Uconn in the first quarter and out hustled them the whole game. Uconn walked the ball up the court. Only Gabby played a good game! The biggest reason they lost was OVERCONFIDENCE! They won by 60 the year before. It was 61-12 at halftime. On top of that a 111 game winning streak and it was a recipe for disaster! MS won by 2 in OT and deserved to win that game. Uconn will not let this type of play happen again. If they play this year Uconn wins by at least 23 points!!!

Agreed, I can't see UConn turning in another sub-par performance if they were to meet again. I find it hard to believe that MS would go into a rematch leaning heavily on its laurels from last year. This is a new year, and a different team. IF UConn plays their "A" game this time (and I believe they will), UConn wins by double digits.

 

[Oldbones]

We are at the time of season where we have seen our main competition multiple times including some matchups against UConn directly and our own team seems to have stabilized.

Discussions across multiple threads are already underway regarding who has the best chance to beat us so
it is time to quantify our opinions.

My vote is Baylor. The combination of Brown/Fox/Wallace and some strong coaching / motivation from Mulkey. I think we match up a little better with Miss St. McGowan seems more inconsistent and I think we can take Vivians out of the game a little easier plus there is no way we would let Miss St take us out 2 times in a row.

Why are five people worried about OTHER? They haven't given us a problem since February 19, 2012, six years ago.................

 

[cbraarj]

In 2016, Miss State was something like 7 for 41 through the first 3 quarters, including numerous missed layups. That was a bad combination of UConn being much better AND Miss State playing far worse than we have ever played. While UConn can take credit for causing a lot of missed shots, it can't reasonably be argued that 7-for-41 happens if Miss State doesn't also play poorly beyond what UConn caused.

Don't think anyone should use 2016 as a barometer of what to expect from Miss State. Games like that happen sometimes...maybe not to UConn, but it has happened to some of the best teams in multiple sports over the years. 2016 was UConn being the best team in the country by far, and Miss State being not as good, but also playing as bad as we could possibly play.

Uconn was overconfident last year because of the 60 pt. beat down from the year before. That is the main reason Uconn lost last year! Uconn was the better team last year too! Just had a hiccup in FF!

 

[Tonyc]

Only UConn can beat UConn. If UConn plays poorly they could loose and even then an opponent would have to play great. UConn is that good and that much better then any team in WCBB. If UConn plays their A game they will not loose. Which brings up what if UConn plays their B or C game who could beat them?

UConn depends on defense to win. Almost all opponents depend on offense to win and lets face it UConn has alot more scorers then their opponents.

Many fans are worried about teams with height. Im not. Defense takes care of that. I am more concerned about teams with balanced scoring. The bottom line is teams have to play UConn one on one and no sluffing off any player. UConn executes on both sides of the ball and very few teams do that. So Im not concerned about any team giving UConn a game unless UConn is having an off nite and it would have to be a very off nite.

 

[Bronx23]

After watching Baylor beat TX last night, I'm convinced that MS St poses the biggest threat to UConn. While Baylor may have more talent, the Bulldogs are a much better all around team, particularly on the defensive end. As dominant as Baylor has been against a large collection of cupcakes + TX & an early season matchup vs a then struggling Stanford, Baylor is masking over lots of weaknesses. Brown and Cox are very good, but they're foul prone and neither of them run the court worth a damn. There were several times last night that Brown didn't even cross half-court. Defensively, Baylor had lots of breakdowns vs a TX team that doesn't execute particularly effective team offense. Finally, while Wallace has set the world on fire lately on offense, she turns the ball over when pressured, and she will get a large dose of Kia Nurse against the Huskies.

I too agree with old dude and his analysis of Baylor is spot on. I agree that MS is probably our greatest threat but think the outcome with them won't be particularly close. How and why do I say this?
Yes they outplayed U Conn most of last tears SF game and deserved to win. Yes, some of many posters comments have valid points and issues or concerns. And maybe most importantly, their coach is truly Geno's closest competitor NOW. Usually MM & ND and VDV & Stanford are the best other coaches and they have coached their butts off this year. But their teams have real limitations. First of all, Geno, CD and the other coaches will have the team much better prepared to handle MS defense and pressure and not let them fully set the pace. There won't be any surprises, overconfidence or maybe almost call it complacency. This program rarely if ever allows or accepts that but I think even with Geno's repeated warnings it happened sub-consciously and unconsciously. His repeated warnings which at times seemed like he was an alarmist or fear mongerer were actually things he saw (few if any others outside the program did) but I believe actually worked against him and them. They played so well up to that point they started to tune him out about these comments and banter. I think both the coaching and players will be much better prepared for the pressure (and some twists and tweaks) MS brings. I think there are some major differences in this years team than last year that's going to set MS back on their heals. CD has become on of the better point guards in the country and is a true point guard throughout her playing days. Saniya had a great season up to that point but couldn't handle the pressure and couldn't step it up. AZ will play a meaningful role with her foul troubles and all. I am much less impressed with MCGowan than most. I see her (although she is improving and developing) as a 6'7" player who because of her size and strength overwhelms most teams. I don't find her quick either offensively or defensively and she's not close to Griner. I don't think she's ever played against a big with AZ quickness and offensive skill set(their are very few if that) and will get out quiched repeatedly. KLS had a decent(not strong game) but has been and is now the best player in the country. She will do her thing and get her 20-25 points and make her amazing passes when overplayed or just through her movement of the ball. Kia and Pheesa both had pretty poor games last year against MS and will be totally into a different outcome. Gabby will be Gabby! I don't expect the rest of the team to be able to play or contribute much, but MW or one other might give them a few valuable minutes.
The main difference I'm saying will be psychological as CD, Pheesa, Gabby and KLS will be totally ready and psyched to essentially both beat their butts and NOT have a game close to resembling last year. They will remember the horrible feeling that loss brought and is still there.
I actually don't think there will be a game closer than 12-15 points and that might be understating it! Essentially watch out! And if any team can actually play U Conn close they have demonstrated this year how to pull it out!
Bronx23

 

[Carnac]

Uconn was overconfident last year because of the 60 pt. beat down from the year before. That is the main reason Uconn lost last year! Uconn was the better team last year too! Just had a hiccup in FF!

I agree completely with Tonyc's comments above. We all saw the MS game. We all know what happened. IF UConn plays a NORMAL game, they win by double digits. I'm not going to name names, but a couple of players either did not show up, or they showed up small. Bottom line..........as hard as he tried, Geno did not have his girls ready to play. I refuse to believe that the 60 pt. win over MS the year before, did not play a role in the team's over confidence and bravado going into that game.

Theoretically, a team does not get 60 points better in a single season. UConn was not prepared for the pressure and hard nose play that MS brought to the table. UConn could not get going. They were not able to make that early first quarter "run" that they usually make that puts their opposition on its heels, and has them playing catch up the rest of the game. UConn played from behind the entire first half, being down 8 points, 36-28 at the half.

UConn out scores MS by 8 in the 3rd qtr, and plays them even in the 4th. We all know what happened in OT. UConn missed a lot of easy bunnies, layups and free throws. IF they make just 1 of those missed shots in regulation, they win. It was a "perfect storm" for the Bulldogs that day. UConn played a sub-par C+ game at best, while MS state brought their "A" game. The fact that Geno got no help from his bench (a transfer, 3 freshmen and a walk-on) didn't help. Crystal (who was still playing like a freshman) played 17 mins, Butler played 6. Together they produced a grand total of 1 point.

Schaefer used 5 players from his bench (allowing his starters to get several blows, which allowed them to remain relatively fresh) that produced 12 points. BIG difference. No one expects this scenario to manifest itself a second time. This time Geno has a bench (Stevens, Walker and Irwin), and UConn will enter the game WITHOUT the macho bravado demeanor they did last year. Let's not forget, as bad as UConn played that day, the game still came down to the last shot.

UConn will be ready for a rematch if it occurs this year. If it does, it will be in the championship game, because they will be on opposite sides of the bracket. IMO, UConn has a much better team this year. The quality (and depth) of this year's bench is better. You're not going to beat him twice using the same tactics. I like UConn in a rematch against MS. I fully expect Geno to keep his record in tact of not ever losing a championship game.

 

[Centerstream]

Wasn't a fluke, and shouldn't have gone to OT. Y'all benefited from some charitable calls down the stretch.

Miss St's win was the biggest fluke in the history of WBB. And if it wasn't, they would have crushed SoCar.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Wasn't a fluke, and shouldn't have gone to OT. Y'all benefited from some charitable calls down the stretch.

It wasn't a fluke, but wtf are you talking about with "charitable calls"?

If you mean the refs missing KLS getting elbowed in the throat while going for a rebound, only to rectify it later, that is a pretty skewed definition of "charitable".

 

[Vowelguy]

Miss St's win was the biggest fluke in the history of WBB. And if it wasn't, they would have crushed SoCar.

If by "history" you mean 2016-17, then yes it was. If you mean history as in 1970-present, no, not at all.

 

[Centerstream]

If by "history" you mean 2016-17, then yes it was. If you mean history as in 1970-present, no, not at all.

Maybe not in your opinion, but in my opinion...

 

[PGBully]

Only UConn can beat UConn. If UConn plays poorly they could loose and even then an opponent would have to play great. UConn is that good and that much better then any team in WCBB. If UConn plays their A game they will not loose. Which brings up what if UConn plays their B or C game who could beat them?

UConn depends on defense to win. Almost all opponents depend on offense to win and lets face it UConn has alot more scorers then their opponents.

Many fans are worried about teams with height. Im not. Defense takes care of that. I am more concerned about teams with balanced scoring. The bottom line is teams have to play UConn one on one and no sluffing off any player. UConn executes on both sides of the ball and very few teams do that. So Im not concerned about any team giving UConn a game unless UConn is having an off nite and it would have to be a very off nite.

If your lady huskies come in that overconfident then it may very well be a long night for them.

State's team relies on defense everymuch as y'all do and has 5 girls that can drop 20 on any given night including 3 that have notched 40 point games.

 

[PGBully]

Or it could have been that we played a team that was a bad matchup for us only 36 hours after the double OT game with y'all was over. Everyone could see our girls had no legs.

Coach Geno gave our girls credit, why can't you?

 

[Baroloboy]

Assuming Baylor and MSU are both in the other side of the bracket (as is likely) and meet in the semifinals that will be an interesting game. If Wallace plays as well as she has been recently she will offset Vivians and Brown will dominate McGowan. Cox is good although not a difference maker. MSU however is a much better defensive team and wins by 10. Thoughts?

 

[cbraarj]

If your lady huskies come in that overconfident then it may very well be a long night for them.

State's team relies on defense everymuch as y'all do and has 5 girls that can drop 20 on any given night including 3 that have notched 40 point games.

Last year was overconfidence. That is main reason Miss. State won and deserved to. This year Uconn will be confident and will win by 23 pts or more!

 

[PGBully]

Last year was overconfidence. That is main reason Miss. State won and deserved to. This year Uconn will be confident and will win by 23 pts or more!

A coach the quality of Mr Geno would not let his girls be overconfident, especially in a final four game. Again I think you are doing your ladies a disservice by this claim. You will not find a bulldog fan or player that has given your huskies anything but respect. It's funny that you can't do the reciprocal.

 

[cbraarj]

A coach the quality of Mr Geno would not let his girls be overconfident, especially in a final four game. Again I think you are doing your ladies a disservice by this claim. You will not find a bulldog fan or player that has given your huskies anything but respect. It's funny that you can't do the reciprocal.

Read my post I did give them credit. Being overconfident after a 60 pt thumping is actually a normal response. Mississippi State is not as good as you Bulldogs fans think! Uconn by at least 23!

 

[PGBully]

Read my post I did give them credit. Being overconfident after a 60 pt thumping is actually a normal response. Mississippi State is not as good as you Bulldogs fans think! Uconn by at least 23!

I read your post and you gave us no credit for beating y'all. You said we only deserved to win bc y'all overlooked us. Miss St isn't as good as we think? We stopped an 111 game winning streak and we've dominated a far superior conference. I would not be near so presumptionous to say we would win a rematch but what would you say this time if we did? [mod edit: personal attack] I hope there is a rematch in the finals. WBB, State, and UCONN fans deserve as much, though I'm not so sure that you do.

I hope the other boneyard fans realize that I mean your ladies and your program no disrespect and have shown none. [Mod edit: personal attack. Cut it out, PG.] I will root for y'all here thru the nationalal semifinals.

Here's to the battle of the dawgs, present company not withstanding!

 

[RegisteredUconn]

I read your post and you gave us no credit for beating y'all. You said we only deserved to win bc y'all overlooked us. Miss St isn't as good as we think? We stopped an 111 game winning streak and we've dominated a far superior conference. I would not be near so presumptionous to say we would win a rematch but what would you say this time if we did? [mod edit: personal attack] I hope there is a rematch in the finals. WBB, State, and UCONN fans deserve as much, though I'm not so sure that you do.

I hope the other boneyard fans realize that I mean your ladies and your program no disrespect and have shown none. [Mod edit: personal attack. Cut it out, PG.] I will root for y'all here thru the nationalal semifinals.

Here's to the battle of the dawgs, present company not withstanding!

You should and can be extremely proud of the program you support. I know I would were I a bulldog fan. However, a little perspective on your part will go a long way. For example, what is the level of accomplishment when comparing the team that won 111 games in a row vis-a-vis the team that won the game that stopped the streak? Is stopping the streak on a par with accomplishing the streak? Is winning 111 in a row twice as worthy as stopping 111 in a row? Ten times as worthy? What multiple would you put on the value of halting a streak vs. amassing the streak.

 

[PGBully]

You should and can be extremely proud of the program you support. I know I would were I a bulldog fan. However, a little perspective on your part will go a long way. For example, what is the level of accomplishment when comparing the team that won 111 games in a row vis-a-vis the team that won the game that stopped the streak? Is stopping the streak on a par with accomplishing the streak? Is winning 111 in a row twice as worthy as stopping 111 in a row? Ten times as worthy? What multiple would you put on the value of halting a streak vs. amassing the streak.

I have total respect for the program that won 111 straight games, but what bearing does that have on your 2017-18 team? They have won what 26-27 straight? MSU has won 28 straight. Those 111 straight does not merit accomplishment for the here and now. Mods I apologize for my prior comment. My choice of the word ignorant meant nothing more than the Websters definition as "lack of knowledge", which was not meant as a personal attack. I have been a reader of your board since mid 2017 and my few posts here will show that I have done nothing but shown your team nothing but the total respect due. I acknowledge that y'all are probably the better team. If I had to handicap the game on a neutral court I'd probably make y'all a 6-8 point favorite. But to throw out that last year was nothing but a fluke and y'alled win by 23 this year is asinine. Your own coach Geno anc former player Rebecca Lobo acknowledged on that court that night that we were the better team. Failure to admit so gives no merit to either team. Katie Lou and and Victoria Vivians deserve better, as do coach Geno anc coach Vic. Thankfully 99.9% of both fan bases haven't made this mistake. Hopefully we both hope for a finals rematch so that said arguments will be futile and moot. I wish your ladies nothing but the best going forward.

 

[BroadwayVa]

We are at the time of season where we have seen our main competition multiple times including some matchups against UConn directly and our own team seems to have stabilized.

Discussions across multiple threads are already underway regarding who has the best chance to beat us so
it is time to quantify our opinions.

My vote is Baylor. The combination of Brown/Fox/Wallace and some strong coaching / motivation from Mulkey. I think we match up a little better with Miss St. McGowan seems more inconsistent and I think we can take Vivians out of the game a little easier plus there is no way we would let Miss St take us out 2 times in a row.

Other: You need a qualifier; is Uconn playing with 6 playing or 8 playing for Uconn? With 6 --it becomes ALL may take Uconn. With 8 or more Baylor maybe could, on a warm april day, with the stars aligned --take out Uconn
No WAY Miss St would take UConn out once--but they did!! The match up along with who can Uconn put on the floor to produce, beyond the core 5 is critical.
With the limited producing bench, Miss St has an excellent chance of a repeat. With most of the bench producing Baylor may have more problems than they can handle.
Bench or no Bench, ND is always ready to pounce.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I have total respect for the program that won 111 straight games, but what bearing does that have on your 2017-18 team? They have won what 26-27 straight? MSU has won 28 straight. Those 111 straight does not merit accomplishment for the here and now. Mods I apologize for my prior comment. My choice of the word ignorant meant nothing more than the Websters definition as "lack of knowledge", which was not meant as a personal attack. I have been a reader of your board since mid 2017 and my few posts here will show that I have done nothing but shown your team nothing but the total respect due. I acknowledge that y'all are probably the better team. If I had to handicap the game on a neutral court I'd probably make y'all a 6-8 point favorite. But to throw out that last year was nothing but a fluke and y'alled win by 23 this year is asinine. Your own coach Geno anc former player Rebecca Lobo acknowledged on that court that night that we were the better team. Failure to admit so gives no merit to either team. Katie Lou and and Victoria Vivians deserve better, as do coach Geno anc coach Vic. Thankfully 99.9% of both fan bases haven't made this mistake. Hopefully we both hope for a finals rematch so that said arguments will be futile and moot. I wish your ladies nothing but the best going forward.

Ignorant---meaning; you don't know what you don't know. An insult only to those who don't fully understand the word. We are all ignorant about something.
Some, maybe more than some, didn't fully believe the April 17 Ms St /Uconn was a TRUE fluke. Unusual, uncommon, un-Uconn. The experts are still dissecting that game! Fans can argue who on that night was the better team and it's not always the score.
In today's world the 4 NC's in a row or the 11 total NC' s are for bragging rights--and should the stars allow--in April all those won't mean diddly beans because those now on Uconn will not have produced all of those numbers. Fans will be asking, as they did last April--what have you done today?
Personally since this season started I suggested I don't want Uconn to meet Ms St this April. With Geno now suggesting he may go only 6 deep the future isn't overly bright if that should hold true.

 

[BostonCanuck]

S

I too agree with old dude and his analysis of Baylor is spot on. I agree that MS is probably our greatest threat but think the outcome with them won't be particularly close. How and why do I say this?
Yes they outplayed U Conn most of last tears SF game and deserved to win. Yes, some of many posters comments have valid points and issues or concerns. And maybe most importantly, their coach is truly Geno's closest competitor NOW. Usually MM & ND and VDV & Stanford are the best other coaches and they have coached their butts off this year. But their teams have real limitations. First of all, Geno, CD and the other coaches will have the team much better prepared to handle MS defense and pressure and not let them fully set the pace. There won't be any surprises, overconfidence or maybe almost call it complacency. This program rarely if ever allows or accepts that but I think even with Geno's repeated warnings it happened sub-consciously and unconsciously. His repeated warnings which at times seemed like he was an alarmist or fear mongerer were actually things he saw (few if any others outside the program did) but I believe actually worked against him and them. They played so well up to that point they started to tune him out about these comments and banter. I think both the coaching and players will be much better prepared for the pressure (and some twists and tweaks) MS brings. I think there are some major differences in this years team than last year that's going to set MS back on their heals. CD has become on of the better point guards in the country and is a true point guard throughout her playing days. Saniya had a great season up to that point but couldn't handle the pressure and couldn't step it up. AZ will play a meaningful role with her foul troubles and all. I am much less impressed with MCGowan than most. I see her (although she is improving and developing) as a 6'7" player who because of her size and strength overwhelms most teams. I don't find her quick either offensively or defensively and she's not close to Griner. I don't think she's ever played against a big with AZ quickness and offensive skill set(their are very few if that) and will get out quiched repeatedly. KLS had a decent(not strong game) but has been and is now the best player in the country. She will do her thing and get her 20-25 points and make her amazing passes when overplayed or just through her movement of the ball. Kia and Pheesa both had pretty poor games last year against MS and will be totally into a different outcome. Gabby will be Gabby! I don't expect the rest of the team to be able to play or contribute much, but MW or one other might give them a few valuable minutes.
The main difference I'm saying will be psychological as CD, Pheesa, Gabby and KLS will be totally ready and psyched to essentially both beat their butts and NOT have a game close to resembling last year. They will remember the horrible feeling that loss brought and is still there.
I actually don't think there will be a game closer than 12-15 points and that might be understating it! Essentially watch out! And if any team can actually play U Conn close they have demonstrated this year how to pull it out!
Bronx23

Superb analysis. Of course all of this assumes that we'll get the rematch. Indications from the selection committee are that Baylor will be in Mississippi State's half of the draw, and Baylor is the one other team that I think has a reasonably good chance of beating them. Match-up wise, I just think Baylor would give them fits.

If we do end up playing them, my three keys to the game, based on the few areas I feel we are still somewhat vulnerable, are: (1) Guard play. Kia Nurse in particular is going to have to be a lot better at handling their pressure and pass-denial defense than she was last year, by moving closer in from center court to achieve the proper spacing, and by creating off the dribble where necessary. (2) Defensive rebounding, to limit the scoring damage by McCowan. (3) Shutting down the Vivians three AND penetration to the hoop by effectively face-guarding her. Given her versatility as kind of a combo-guard/forward, I'm not sure who Geno is going to assign to that one, but success on that front could be the most critical. So if we can do those three things, we should win this one going away.