Should we go there?

[Bald Husky]

I am so tired of talking about this. Was there an advantage, yes there was, but it wasn't UConn fault. Fans of other teams and media people always find a reason to disrespect UConn. If your team is good enough, they will win anywhere they play, regardless of the competition. McNutt is an a------e, she doesn't deserve to be in the studio, although they did take the hosting job away from her. The studio crew are a joke, McNutt, SEC commentator Vargus, and, well, whoever that other person is. UConn is women's basketball at it best and they deserve to be in the final 4 with SC, Stanford, and Louisville. NC State is a great team, and they both played one of the best games ever, but the haters that have to persist on bringing up the location does not help the image of WBB. Until there are more fans of the game, this thing will happen. Right now, this is the state off WBB, so get over it, because this just takes away from the skill of these players and teams. Another dumb thing would be if supposedly UConn has an advantage because Paige is from Minnesota. Believe it, some mindless fan will bring it up, and in todays social media awareness it will happen. Lord help us.

 

[Drumguy]

This is a non issue. What was NCS's excuse against Notre Dame? No home advantage there and without a last second mistake by ND, NSC wouldn't have been in the finals. You play the game and all then teams are good at this point.

Let's hope this is the last thread on this.

 

[Huskie837]

Geno has stated many times he doesn’t care where they play. People can howl all they want. UConn is in the Final Four. Period.

For the 14th straight season. A record that will stand for a long, long time….

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Yea...UCONN or any team never wins on the road. I heard none of this when SC played UNC in Greensville....and they were a #1 seed.

 

[geordi]

They can say whatever they want. It just shows their ignorance. Arenas bid to host the tournament - men's or women's. Bridgeport won the bid. It doesn't matter which teams are nearby. If Fairfield were the #1 seed, they'd play in Bridgeport. Would anyone be complaining then? The committee has a process by which it assigns seeds to the closest site. Since USC was the first #1 seed, they go to Greensboro by default. Bridgeport was the next closest site for NC State. Same holds true for the #2 seeds. UConn as the first #2 seed go to the closest site. Would they be complaining if the site were Boston rather than Bridgeport? Same distance but another state.

Sheesh! You don't hear this kind of rubbish when Puke gets assigned to Greensboro in the men's tournament.

 

[Lynx23]

Not a Husky hater by any stretch. It just didn't seem appropriate to seed that way. Picture us as the #1 seed having to travel to Greensboro or Winston-Salem where #2 seed NC State is in the bracket and the stands are packed with their fans. Follow through the scenario to a double OT loss for UConn. You think everyone here would serenely say "oh well, that's the way it goes, no big advantage..." Would you? I know I would be a bit butt-sore about it. Just trying to be fair-minded here.

No, I wouldn't complain about something I can't control. Maybe it's just my personality, but I've been on this planet a long time and I find that life isn't always fair and complaining gets you no where other than seeding bitterness. Ultimately you played the game, and you played it well and, crowd or no crowd on your side, you nearly won. And FWIW, I had no reason to believe you're a UCONN hater.

 

[Dooooooomed]

For those acting like this kind of thing has never happened before and/or it's some kind of UConn bias:

 

[Carnac]

It was a tough situation for NC State. I don't pretend to know in any detail how the NCAA Tourny sausage is made. There has to be a way to avoid making the number one seed play in such non-neutral circumstances.

That said, if the goal was to sell out an arena, putting UConn in Bridgeport was a lock.

That said.......I would be very interested in seeing the final ticket sales totals for all of the regional venues. Wasn't it reported that the Bridgeport Regional was sold out? If making as much money from ticket sales was one of their objectives, I agree that putting UConn in the Bridgeport Region made sense. Reflecting on that old business proverb: "If it makes dollars, it makes sense (cents).

 

[eyeroll]

I didn't read any of this, but to answer the post headline - no.

 

[mbr33ct]

Looking back to previous NCAA tourney's (stopped at 2009), how about Stanford getting some home cooked meals also and I don't recall this much "unfairness" chatter from so many. Wasn't it in 2014 they had a Regional, in all places, Maples Pavilion with #1 South Carolina and yep you guessed it #2 Stanford. Going back to 2009 there was the Berkeley Regional (39 miles from Maples Pavilion) with #1 Duke and yep # 2 Stanford...and I won't say how many times #1 Stanford was in Spokane (including this year), Fresno and Sacramento Regional. The Spokane Arena could be considered Stanford's second home court. I have to believe Tara in not one saying UConn should not have been placed in Bridgeport.

 

[Deadrody]

Should we go there or something close to that? This was from the ESPN young studio announcer at the half of the Michigan - Louisville game. She was getting ready to imply the fact that UConn was playing in Bridgeport and that NC State had a huge disadvantage. I was watching the game with a friend and I brought this us a few times during the game with her. When are they going to say that UConn is playing at home. Granted they did have the advantage. And, I'm sorry that NC State got burned. But in the end if you have the better team you will prevail. Did the committee screw up? Maybe! Or they should have thrown the S Curve the other way and sent NC State to Wichita instead.

Nonsense. As has been mentioned on this topic multiple times, this still happens in the men's tournament, and has happened to the UConn men multiple times.

And yet, with members of the 1998 team sick with the flu, on the road in Greensboro, NC, they still had a chance to take a lead against a UNC team with the #4 and #5 picks in the NBA draft that year.

It happens. It isn't necessarily a women's tournament thing, but it is a fact that Bridgeport is a regional site specifically to generate revenue from the hottest women's basketball fanbase in the entire country - Connecticut. You can't have it both ways.

 

[Deadrody]

Kind of an ancient history example... that's around 50 years ago . Can't we expect a vastly more sophisticated seeding plan in 2022?

No way to know if it determined the outcome of this game, but NC State EARNED that #1 and should not have been playing so close to the #2 seed's campus (if UConn were the 12th seed it may not have been such an issue). I'm sure the committee could offer justification, and I'm not up for the work it would take to find an alternative seeding plan, just saying that this is a circumstance that really needs to be avoided as a priority in the planning of the tourney.

Sure. And you do that by not chasing dollars in CT by making Bridgeport a regional site. And when the NCAA makes changes to the way they prioritize such things, great.

 

[GoUconn7961]

The only ones endlessly carrying on about this is the media circus. It's a storyline they like to put out there because it gets clicks. If NCST fans are saying it's the reason the team lost then they are doing their own excellent team a disservice.

UConn never used a "hostile" crowd as an excuse; they usually fed off of it.

 

[Deadrody]

That was Monica “I can’t stand UCONN” McNutt who tried to get that conversation going. The other two commentators backed off.
McNutt won’t be happy until Geno retires and every D1 women’s team is coached by a female.

I'm not going to comment on how far downhill ESPN's coverage has gone of late.

 

[Deadrody]

I think the Bridgeport fire marshal has some splaining to do ... the Bridgeport Arena's own web site says in basketball configuration the capacity is up to 9,000 attendance while for concerts it is 10,000 - last night's reported attendance per ESPN was 10,119 so 1,119 above max attendance for basketball and 119 above max attendance for any event! And ... that is why the NCAA has so often accepted bids from Bridgeport - it is no college team's home court and it consistently outdraws other regionals. For example this year:
Greensboro: 6,579
Wichita: 4,695
Spokane: 7,739

Exactly. And those numbers would not likely change significantly if UConn wasn't there. But the numbers somewhere else would have gone up.

 

[jaydee602]

That said.......I would be very interested in seeing the final ticket sales totals for all of the regional venues. Wasn't it reported that the Bridgeport Regional was sold out? If making as much money from ticket sales was one of their objectives, I agree that putting UConn in the Bridgeport Region made sense. Reflecting on that old business proverb: "If it makes dollars, it makes sense (cents).

The UCONN game had over 10,000 in attendance & sold out. The Louisville/ Michigan game had only 4,500 fans in a 15000 capacity arena. The Stanford & South Carolina games had between 6,000 & 7,000 spectators, only 1/3 of the arena capacities.
It is still a business whose goal is to be profitable.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Husky fans are kidding themselves to say that we'd be in the Final Four if we didn't play in Bridgeport. With that said, it's now game on and the best team will win.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I am so tired of talking about this. Was there an advantage, yes there was, but it wasn't UConn fault. Fans of other teams and media people always find a reason to disrespect UConn. If your team is good enough, they will win anywhere they play, regardless of the competition. McNutt is an a------e, she doesn't deserve to be in the studio, although they did take the hosting job away from her. The studio crew are a joke, McNutt, SEC commentator Vargus, and, well, whoever that other person is. UConn is women's basketball at it best and they deserve to be in the final 4 with SC, Stanford, and Louisville. NC State is a great team, and they both played one of the best games ever, but the haters that have to persist on bringing up the location does not help the image of WBB. Until there are more fans of the game, this thing will happen. Right now, this is the state off WBB, so get over it, because this just takes away from the skill of these players and teams. Another dumb thing would be if supposedly UConn has an advantage because Paige is from Minnesota. Believe it, some mindless fan will bring it up, and in todays social media awareness it will happen. Lord help us.

Me too. Stanford has played at least 5 times in California as the #2 in the regional final and...crickets. Purdue, Duke and Oregon...at least twice as well. And then...there are the teams that didn't play as the #2 in their home state....BECAUSE...they lost before the regional final. To be IN Uconn's position you have to WIN. They aren't given Bridgeport. They earned it.

 

[willtalk]

I think it is possible for people to complain about the way the NCAA decides where the play off are held without it being taken personally. It is a fact that UConn has had an advantage for a long time because Bridgeport is usually chosen for a regional due to the fact that it sells tickets. Unlike other sites it has been consistently chosen. It's all about money and not done to give UConn an advantage. However, when someone complains about that being unfair as it certainly was to NCS this time around, UConn fans react like it was an attack on their program. For a program that has dominated for so long the fans are really thin skinned about so many things.

Why couldn't the subject remain focused on the issue of fairness in regionals instead of it becoming an issue about any particular team. It was unfair to the first seed to be playing basically a home game for the 2nd seed. And everyone knows that home court does hold an advantage. Although other factors might often negate that. There are many factors that might influence and dictate an outcome. and most can not be planned for. In fact due to monetary concerns I doubt that the regionals will ever be held on neutral sits in the near future. That still should not stop people being able to vent their frustrations or concerns about the present system, or without people taking it as a personal criticism of their team.

Although it is a UConn site, some subjects could be discussed without it being perceived as UConn hate. I do remember this subject being discussed before without the site being Bridgeport or UConn being one of the teams. Can we just acknowledge that the playoffs are not always fair while also recognizing that it would be impossible to make them consistently so.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

I do not understand why so many people have a stick up their... you know what... about this. Does playing in Bridgeport give UCONN 10 extra points from the tip off? If it was at Madison Square Garden would it still be a home game for UCONN? South Carolina was in Greensboro which is not that far from South Carolina... isn't that a home game compared to Creighton? Why do people make issues over silly things?

 

[my2cents]

I think it is possible for people to complain about the way the NCAA decides where the play off are held without it being taken personally. It is a fact that UConn has had an advantage for a long time because Bridgeport is usually chosen for a regional due to the fact that it sells tickets. Unlike other sites it has been consistently chosen. It's all about money and not done to give UConn an advantage. However, when someone complains about that being unfair as it certainly was to NCS this time around, UConn fans react like it was an attack on their program. For a program that has dominated for so long the fans are really thin skinned about so many things.

Why couldn't the subject remain focused on the issue of fairness in regionals instead of it becoming an issue about any particular team. It was unfair to the first seed to be playing basically a home game for the 2nd seed. And everyone knows that home court does hold an advantage. Although other factors might often negate that. There are many factors that might influence and dictate an outcome. and most can not be planned for. In fact due to monetary concerns I doubt that the regionals will ever be held on neutral sits in the near future. That still should not stop people being able to vent their frustrations or concerns about the present system, or without people taking it as a personal criticism of their team.

Although it is a UConn site, some subjects could be discussed without it being perceived as UConn hate. I do remember this subject being discussed before without the site being Bridgeport or UConn being one of the teams. Can we just acknowledge that the playoffs are not always fair while also recognizing that it would be impossible to make them consistently so.

Of course its UCONN hate, what else could it be?
Since our current players never played in Bridgeport before, in no way shape or form, was that OUR HOME.

 

[Happydad745]

If Paige had not been injured, plus a few others, UConn would have beaten Louisville and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[Lynx23]

If Paige had not been injured, plus a few others, UConn would have beaten Louisville and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Careful now, some might think you're the voice of reason. My thoughts exactly. If we had gotten a one seed, we wouldn't now have to play the likes of NC State, Stanford, and potentially South Carolina three games in a row. BTW, our losing Dorka certainly gave NC State an unfair advantage, perhaps an equalizer of sorts as she likely would not have allowed so many uncontested layups later in the game, but no one complained We moved on, as we should now as well. You make the best of the hand you're dealt.

 

[Performance]

That was Monica “I can’t stand UCONN” McNutt who tried to get that conversation going. The other two commentators backed off.
McNutt won’t be happy until Geno retires and every D1 women’s team is coached by a female.

Oh so true!!!

 

[#12in21]

I am not suggesting that Uconn didn't benefit from playing so close to home but wherever they play in a big game they have a significant fanbase that travels to support them. I was at the regionals and my seats were opposite the NCState bench and diagonally up from their band so their contingent of fans were possibly concentrated more at my end of the court but I can tell you from my eye and ear test they were well represented by a large assembly of very engaged fans.

Next year we will be traveling to a regional nowhere near Storrs and Husky fans will flock to support our women wherever they land. My hope would be that that will be the case for all the teams participating. Things are getting there but at this point Uconn's fanbase is simply the most engaged in WCBB. As mentioned by others, Bridgeport had the highest attendance of any site, and if my memory is correct, was sold out ( not speaking of resale tickets) prior to the official announcement of where UCONN would be headed. The NCAA would love to have that type of fan engagement throughout the country. Uconn didn't dictate where we were going to play, the NCAA did and our fans showed up!