Ranking the Huskies Non-Conference Opponents

[ConwayGmck]

So that means they will most likely play South Carolina on November 22, the third game of the season. That ought to be interesting. I would expect a somewhat sloppy game as two titans match up early.

It would be the 6th game of the season for South Carolina if it plays out that way: with games against top 10 NC State on their court, in-state rival Clemson, a top 25 opponent in South Dakota State on their quasi court, and a likely match-up against top 10 Oregon in the Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals - all before facing CT if it happens - it's doubtful (certainly hopeful) that the Gamecocks won't be playing sloppy basketball by that point. If anything, they may be sloppy just by being worn out....

 

[ConwayGmck]

I would hazard that the Stanford game will be viewed as on equal terms with the CT game for Gamecock fans: that Stanford is the defending champs, and they won it going through the Gamecocks, that it came down to a missed Gamecock layup at the end of a 1-point loss, that there were some "intriguing" circumstances that happened during play of the game that Gamecock Nation will forever be a bit "miffed" over, that favored the Cardinal Conifers.

Of course this topic is a listing based on fanbase noise - and Huskie fanbase noise at that - so what Gamecock fans were talking about had little to do with it. Also while there was speculation and rumor about a game versus Stanford being added to the USC schedule for quite some time, it hadn't been official until just this week, so there was little cause for Gamecock Nation to consider it yet, even if we WERE taken into the account for this listing. But I feel the Stanford game will apply as much "redemption" for the Gamecock program - at least for this season alone - as the Connecticut game will......

 

[mbr33ct]

I was led to believe The Battle for Atlantis all teams play 3 games and go home. To my knowledge South Car and Oregon are in different bracket than UConn. Winners of each group/bracket do not play each other therefore a possible meeting between South Car/Oregon vs UConn will never happen...has this format changed?

 

[JellyBean]

South Carolina, if all of the pieces can blend, this is going to be a pretty exciting season for all. It is really going to come down to program skill development, players staying healthy, player Buy-In, and players blending their talents for the betterment of the TEAM. Just a few months away!!

 

[Inthepaint]

Of course, S.Carolina for the display of talent on both sides.Will Dawn play Boston and Cordozo together?
If so, we can counter with ONO & Dorka/Edwards. Hit em from the high and low posts.
Louisville because we got cheated out of the traditional meeting last year.
Razorbacks because it will be the 1st game, at Gempel with the crowd back, want to see if we let them score 90 again.
Doubtful, but great incentive for teachable defensive moments right off the bat. If AK gets easy baskets or the coverage breaks down early, look for Geno to send in whoever is on the bench ( like he did VS Providence last year). Would rather see the ladies jell from the get go, but it would be a glimpse of how the new depth would play out.
Especially interested in UCLA and Oregon this year due to the PAC-12 upping it's collective game last season.
If they both have to play Stanford and Arizona twice, they can't afford a let down against ANYBODY.
We had better not look past either of them.
Always enjoy a ND-UCONN game, even without Muffet to dislike.
Yeah, what's up with the Lady Vols not on the list?

 

[MooseJaw]

I would hazard that the Stanford game will be viewed as on equal terms with the CT game for Gamecock fans: that Stanford is the defending champs, and they won it going through the Gamecocks, that it came down to a missed Gamecock layup at the end of a 1-point loss, that there were some "intriguing" circumstances that happened during play of the game that Gamecock Nation will forever be a bit "miffed" over, that favored the Cardinal Conifers.

Of course this topic is a listing based on fanbase noise - and Huskie fanbase noise at that - so what Gamecock fans were talking about had little to do with it. Also while there was speculation and rumor about a game versus Stanford being added to the USC schedule for quite some time, it hadn't been official until just this week, so there was little cause for Gamecock Nation to consider it yet, even if we WERE taken into the account for this listing. But I feel the Stanford game will apply as much "redemption" for the Gamecock program - at least for this season alone - as the Connecticut game will......

I guess it would depend on SC winning the game, no redemption if Gamecock's take a loss.

 

[visitingcock]

I think the UCONN-SC matchup is super interesting for a variety of reasons. Both teams have a really talented Final Four core coming back; both have a deep and talented freshman class; and the teams present a contrast in styles. It's not just which team is better, but how do their different approaches - front court vs. back court, inside vs. outside - match up. It will be an athletic and strategic showcase. And with the strong possibility of multiple match ups (alas, none at home), it has the potential to be epic.

I know this is the UCONN board and this is not technically appropriate, it' still relevant to UCONN:

Using Charlie's Creme's way to early ranking, here's the highlights of SCar's schedule.\:

1. UConn Huskies: How does a Final Four team get any better? That's a loaded question for the Huskies, who have the AP Player of the Year in Paige Bueckers, are adding a generational talent for the second consecutive season and have no seniors. Guard Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 recruit in the country and one of Bueckers' close friends, has a reputation as an elite shooter and will join the Huskies for 2021-22. Three other top-30 recruits enter the mix on a team that is expected to return Christyn Williams, a former No. 1 overall recruit, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, Aaliyah Edwards and Bueckers, the most impactful freshman the game has seen in years.

3. Stanford Cardinal: Replacing the backcourt of Kiana Williams and Anna Wilson will have its challenges, but the talent at Stanford is still staggering. And after waiting 29 years to win another title, the Cardinal will be looking to make it two in a row. The experience that Cameron Brink and Fran Belibi have gained during this season's postseason run should only make them an even more formidable frontcourt duo. During any given game Lexie Hull, Hannah Jump and Ashten Prechtel have proven they can be game-changers. The point guard issue could be solved with Haley Jones taking on more of playmaking role or Jana Van Gytenbeek, a five-star recruit from a year ago, being ready to take on more minutes.

5. Maryland Terrapins: Brenda Frese remade her roster last offseason due to transfers and graduations, and turned it into a Sweet 16 run and AP Coach of the Year honors. Katie Benzan and Chloe Bibby, who each came to College Park as grad transfers, both announced they're coming back, which boosted the Terps a spot. With Benzan's 3-point shooting and Bibby's versatility, plus point guard Ashley Owusu, wing Diamond Miller and forward Angel Reese, Frese will continue to have a dynamic offense. Despite some great regular seasons, the Terrapins haven't been beyond the Sweet 16 since reaching the Final Four in 2015. How quickly Maryland can get over the disappointment of this year's loss to Texas in the regional semifinals might be the keys to ending that streak.

8. NC State Wolfpack: The model will remain the same in Raleigh: Play solid defense, rebound and run the offense through Elissa Cunane (16.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG). The 6-5 center will be on every preseason All-American list and will be one of the top prospects for the 2022 WNBA draft. She'll also be surrounded by familiar faces Jakia Brown-Turner (13.5 PPG), Jada Boyd (11.5 PPG) and point guard Raina Perez, who decided to take the extra year granted by the NCAA.

10. Oregon Ducks: (TOURNAMENT POSSIBILITY) This season didn't play out the way the Ducks had envisioned, but they still reached the Sweet 16. Expectations will be high again next season in Eugene. Full, healthy seasons for point guard Te-Hina Paopao, center Sedona Prince and guard Taylor Chavez will be a key. Taylor Mikesell regaining her outside shooting stroke (dipped to 34.8% in 23 games this season after 42.5% in 32 games at Maryland in 2019-20) and Nyara Sabally's continued growth into a dominating inside force would be enough for Oregon to reignite the rivalry

14. Kentucky Wildcats: Just having Rhyne Howard back for her senior year is enough to get the Wildcats into the top 25. A full year to develop better chemistry and get used to Kyra Elzy as the head coach might be good enough for a top-10 push. Howard (20.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG) will once again be on every preseason national player of the year list, and Elzy, who took over as head coach for Matthew Mitchell just before the 2020-21 season started, now has a full season of experience. The four transfers brought in last year -- Robyn Benton (Auburn), Dre'una Edwards (Utah), Olivia Owens (Maryland) and Jazmine Massengill (Tennessee) -- will have more time to work with Howard and the rest of a talented roster. Kentucky might be South Carolina's primary challenger in the SEC.

18. Tennessee Lady Vols: Losing Rennia Davis will be tough to overcome, but coach Kellie Harper can take comfort knowing that Rae Burrell (16.8 PPG), the other half of Tennessee's all-SEC duo, is back. Harper will build around Burrell and 6-5 sophomore center Tamari Key and plan on the continued growth of sophomore guard Jordan Horston and freshman Marta Suarez, as well as the impact of the 15th-ranked recruiting class.

22. Texas A&M Aggies: Point guard Jordan Nixon, a sophomore who hit a buzzer-beater in overtime to lead Texas A&M to the Sweet 16, emerged as the Aggies' star late in the season, and that should continue into 2021-22. Senior guard Kayla Wells will also return for an extra season in College Station. Alexis Morris and Zaay Green join them in what should be a deep and potent backcourt. How coach Gary Blair replaces N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson in the frontcourt will determine the Aggies' fate in the SEC.

25. South Dakota Coyotes: In Hannah Sjerven and Chloe Lamb, the Coyotes had two of the best players in the Summit League. Now they get them back after the two elected to take the extra year of eligibility. That makes South Dakota the big favorite to win the conference. If coach Dawn Plitzuweit can pick up some quality nonconference games, and the Coyotes get a win or two, they will be hanging around the top 25 all season. Sjerven (17.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG) and Lamb (15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG) will also be joined by senior Liv Korngable (14.7 PPG), South Dakota's third-leading scorer this season who also opted to take the extra year.

 

[Vowelguy]

Had this in a different thread

 

[ConwayGmck]

I was led to believe The Battle for Atlantis all teams play 3 games and go home. To my knowledge South Car and Oregon are in different bracket than UConn. Winners of each group/bracket do not play each other therefore a possible meeting between South Car/Oregon vs UConn will never happen...has this format changed?

This "format" has never existed for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. It used to be a tournament for MBB alone, and it was a straight-forward, single-elimination format with two brackets where the ultimate winner of each bracket played each other in a "championship" game. The MBB tournament has been held for many years.

Last season was supposed to be the inaugural WBB side of the tournament, but covid shut it down. This season will now be the official debut for WBB, and they are using the same format as the men's side.

There are only 8 teams - the only way for teams in either bracket can play 3 games, is to have a round-robin format, or make it to the championship game. The bracket already announced a month ago or so shows it is not a round-robin format.....

There is another holiday season invitational tournament called the "U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam" - it was started as solely a WBB tournament in 2000, then the next season the MBB side was added. It DOES involve eight teams that play three games each in divisions. Whoever scores the most total points by the end of the round robin "wins" the tournament. South Carolina last played in the Paradise Jam in 2019, and beat Baylor in their final game. The Gamecocks rushed down the court at the end of the game and put up a lay-up, which at first seemed like rubbing Baylor's noses in the loss, as they had already sewn up the decisive victory, but it turned out that they needed to make that last-second bucket to have more tournament points than Baylor, and win the tournament.

The Paradise Jam is held in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Battle 4 Atlantis is held in the Paradise Islands in the Bahamas. It's easy to get both confused with each other.....

 

[MSGRET]

I was led to believe The Battle for Atlantis all teams play 3 games and go home. To my knowledge South Car and Oregon are in different bracket than UConn. Winners of each group/bracket do not play each other therefore a possible meeting between South Car/Oregon vs UConn will never happen...has this format changed?

This is the first year the Women's tournament. Each team does play 3 games, but in each bracket the winner of game 1 play each other in game 2 and losers the same. Then the winner of game 2 plays the other bracket undefeated team for the championship. It's just like FIBA's quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.

 

[nwhoopfan]

3. Stanford Cardinal: Replacing the backcourt of Kiana Williams and Anna Wilson will have its challenges

Well they got that half right. Wilson is back. Williams is the only player Stanford has to replace. It's a big loss, but certainly not insurmountable. Plus they bring in another big recruiting class. And to add to guard depth they get Jenna Brown back from injury and add a grad transfer from Northwestern.

edit--wow, these snippets were way early and totally outdated now; Oregon has lost 2 of the players they mentioned (Chavez and Mikesell)

 

[Magy Cannon]

If AK gets easy baskets or the coverage breaks down early, look for Geno to send in whoever is on the bench ( like he did VS Providence last year). Would rather see the ladies jell from the get go, but it would be a glimpse of how the new depth would play out.
We're playing Alaska? (AK)

 

[southofnorth]

You're wrong, they can meet since it is a tournament and they are in two different brackets. They aren't scheduled to meet so it's allowed.

Are non-conference teams not allowed to meet more than once during the regular season or is that because of the SC-UConn series contract?

 

[MSGRET]

Are non-conference teams not allowed to meet more than once during the regular season or is that because of the SC-UConn series contract?

They can meet in a tournament like this because they originally start off in two different brackets and if they both win their first two games they go onto the championship game. That is considered a non-scheduled game and it is allowed.

 

[LoboDays]

This thread displays a very distinct difference between UCONN and its fans vs the rest of Women’s College Hoops. The OOC schedule is of major importance for UCONN. For the team, it’s the only test of how good they are and provides the only opportunity to evaluate players in competitive situations. For the fans, it’s the whole season.

No matter what school it is, having UCONN on your schedule is a big deal and a big game. But for them, it’s not the only game. These teams need to win their conference. That is their major focus. UCONN /SC is a game the UCONN fans have circled on their calendar. Kentucky, A&M, Georgia, Etc are the games SC has circled on their calendar. Same with the teams in the other power conferences. Their “big games” are in-conference and their conference tournaments.

UCONN has a decided advantage in these OOC games. With BE teams in front and back, they can prepare. No other team can afford that luxury. No coach will be fired for losing to UCONN. But they will be updating their resumes if they lose conference games they should have won.

 

[jchusky]

the biggest concern I have is that the schedule has a lot of cupcakes. Georgia Tech Arkansas and Minnesota I don't even think are tournament teams and if they are they will be bounced right away. I feel it was a missed opportunity not to schedule Maryland or Nc st.. I look at South Carolina and they face 5-6 potential final four teams including Stanford, Maryland, Nc st. I assume Tara never wants to play Uconn so I didn't include them.

 

[MSGRET]

the biggest concern I have is that the schedule has a lot of cupcakes. Georgia Tech Arkansas and Minnesota I don't even think are tournament teams and if they are they will be bounced right away. I feel it was a missed opportunity not to schedule Maryland or Nc st.. I look at South Carolina and they face 5-6 potential final four teams including Stanford, Maryland, Nc st. I assume Tara never wants to play Uconn so I didn't include them.

Maryland (Brenda) currently doesn't want to schedule UConn and NC State and UConn tried but couldn't get it scheduled until next year so how is it a missed opportunity. Arkansas is a home and home which was scheduled last year so that CW could have a homecoming game. It was to be against Ark-Little Rock this year which would be even worse than against any SEC team to include Arkansas.

Georgia Tech is the homecoming game for Nelson-Ododa who deserves that. UConn has no control of who they play in the Battle for Atlantis, the first two games are Minnesota and the winner of the Syracuse/USF game. If they win both games they go to the title game most likely playing either SC or Oregon.

Looking at Charlie Creme's early bracketology projection UConn could end up playing twice before the Tournament either #1 seeded SC or #3 seeded Oregon. They are scheduled to play #2 seed Louisville, #5 seeds UCLA and GT, if USF wins against Syracuse then they are a #6 seed, and Arkansas is a #10 seed.

Looking at Conference play which is a home & home they play De Paul which is a 8 seed, Marquette is a 11 seed, and Seton Hall is the second team in the "First Four Out" predictions. So UConn could end up playing a total of 16 games against teams, including the Big East tournament, that may qualify for the NCAA tournament.

 

[nwhoopfan]

GA Tech was a Tourney team last year, won a first round game and gave South Carolina a decent run for their money in second round, and returns pretty much everybody, plus added Strautmane from Syracuse. Don't see them as being unlikely for the Tourney or a cupcake.

 

[triaddukefan]

the biggest concern I have is that the schedule has a lot of cupcakes. Georgia Tech Arkansas and Minnesota I don't even think are tournament teams and if they are they will be bounced right away. I feel it was a missed opportunity not to schedule Maryland or Nc st.. I look at South Carolina and they face 5-6 potential final four teams including Stanford, Maryland, Nc st. I assume Tara never wants to play Uconn so I didn't include them.

Imma have to stand up for my fellow ACC squad... GaTech is no slouch... Barring an injury or total collapse they will be a NCAA Tournament team... and will probably be ranked in the Preseason Poll... somewhere between 18-22 I would think.

They return just about everyone from a team that made the Sweet 16 last season.

 

[Vowelguy]

Imma have to stand up for my fellow ACC squad... GaTech is no slouch... Barring an injury or total collapse they will be a NCAA Tournament team... and will probably be ranked in the Preseason Poll... somewhere between 18-22 I would think.

They return just about everyone from a team that made the Sweet 16 last season.

Creme had them #20 in his way-to-early rankings in April.

 

[Vowelguy]

Imma have to stand up for my fellow ACC squad...

Imagine if UConn were playing UNC. Woulda been tough for you.

 

[triaddukefan]

Imagine if UConn were playing UNC. Woulda been tough for you.

Not tough at all...... I'd just go dig my UCONN hat outta storage and cheer them on vs that hated team to the east