Sleeper final four | The Boneyard

Sleeper final four

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jchusky

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I've seen a lot of threads and they include the same teams penciled in the final 4, the obvious 3 are Uconn SC Stanford. I see the 4th is wide open and have mentioned some say Maryland, some possibly Nc st. Is there an Arizona or Mississippi State in this season's final 4?

I would go Maryland but I don't really think it's much of a sleeper. I'm going with Indiana. At first I admit I did not know much about them, just saw they were ranked highly and their games were massive competitively including a surprising upset of NC st last season. I feel that a lot of their past season is similar to Arizona. A team that had experienced players, but is not really getting recognition.
 
I'm going with Louisville my rationale is projecting that Louisville will be placed in the Kansas region which is the region that will likely have the weakest and most vulnerable #1 seed. NC region most likely will be South Carolina, Washington region will most likely have Stanford. UCONN will be in the Bridgeport Region.
 
I wouldn't say either Maryland or NCState is a sleeper.

I concur with the OP -- Indiana. Mackenzie Holmes is my favorite non-UConn player. She gets some press, but I still think she's underrated. Grace Berger is a Swiss-Army-Knife type of player. Add to them the soon-to-be-tenured Ali Patberg ;) , Gulbe, and several other really talented players, and I honestly won't be surprised if they win the B1G over Maryland.
 
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Maryland should get it if everyone is healthy. My sleeper is Indiana. They have the type of team that can win four straight games.
 
it seems pretty clear that other then the usual subjects these teams could certainly pose problems in the tournament........

Baylor
Louisville
Maryland
NC State
Oregon
 
UConn
South Carolina
TBD
TBD
Right now before the season starts, I'm not real sure about Stanford. Yes, they captured lightning in a bottle last year, but were not overly impressive in doing so. If you remember they won both final 4 games by 1 point. Arizona who was a dark horse going into the tournament, could have very easily won the championship game. The circumference of the rim closed up a bit in the closing minutes of the game. They couldn't buy a shot. :confused:

I think UConn and SC are a lock. The other two tickets are up for grabs. There's about 4-5 programs, some of which have been mentioned in this thread are very capable of punching those remaining tickets. It's quite possible that another "dark horse" wins their first 4 games of the tournament. As I recall, NO ONE picked Arizona to reach the final four once the brackets were revealed. :cool: When you're picking your final four teams, leave room for the dark horse. You never know if he'll show up.
 
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JonathanXIV said:
In fairness, don't these five teams fall under the "usual subjects?"
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very true but maybe not so much this coming season..........I think many would agree that UConn, South Carolina and Stanford are just so talented and deep that they stand out from the remainder of the field.....
 
Charliebball said:
very true but maybe not so much this coming season..........I think many would agree that UConn, South Carolina and Stanford are just so talented and deep that they stand out from the remainder of the field.....
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Agreed. But the premise of this thread was to go beyond the usual suspects for the fourth team.
 
oldude said:
…………,,,,,ND……………..

Just kidding. ;)
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It Aint Funny GIF
 
jchuskie said:
I've seen a lot of threads and they include the same teams penciled in the final 4, the obvious 3 are Uconn SC Stanford. I see the 4th is wide open and have mentioned some say Maryland, some possibly Nc st. Is there an Arizona or Mississippi State in this season's final 4?

I would go Maryland but I don't really think it's much of a sleeper. I'm going with Indiana. At first I admit I did not know much about them, just saw they were ranked highly and their games were massive competitively including a surprising upset of NC st last season. I feel that a lot of their past season is similar to Arizona. A team that had experienced players, but is not really getting recognition.
Expand ...

as far as a team currently on Creme's 3 line or below, I could only really point at Iowa and Oregon as teams I could really see making a Final Four appearance in this loaded season.

maybe Texas would be an interesting flyer but seems like too young a team.

I think Oregon and Baylor are being slept on a bit. To the extent 2s can be slept on. If Mulkey were still there this might be considered a better squad than last year. Oregon kind of dropped into the West Coast memory hole last year but has talent.
 
I had basically dismissed Arizona for this season as I’ve thought that they will take a step back after losing Aari McDonald. However, the more I think about it and hear scuttlebut here in Tucson, I am beginning to revise that opinion. Now, I’m not saying they will be in the FF or the championship game again, but considering the players they return, the quality of transfers they brought in, and the obvious ability of Adia Barnes and her staff to coach them up, I think they are being greatly underestimated. It would not surprise me at all if they are in contention for top two or three in the Pac12. Obviously Stanford remains the alpha dog but after them I think AZ is going to be in a three way dogfight with Oregon and UCLA. Oregon State may well push their way into that scrum as well. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I am beginning to think they (AZ) may end up a better team than they were last year! I think a lot of prognosticators may be eating some serious crow in March!
 
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My final 4 sleepers and winner are as follows
1 Tennesse- Just to piss us off
2 ND- Miles and Citron and they are back ARgggghh
3. South Florida- They mugg everyone in the tournament and come thru to meet us in a cage match
4. Uconn- They just automatically send us to the final four for like forever

And the winner is UConn because in the final Cage Match We start Nika, Dorka, Edwards and the Slimmed down but a powerful 6'5" inch Piath and since Paige has been in the weight rm and has muscles she gets the nod as the final starter for the beast mode team and we claw the former adversary's to death. By the way, we also take out the Vols, the Ville, ND, and Mississippi St along the way. The boneyard is finally satisfied and awaits for our new recruits to arrive so we can pick a new starting 5 for 2022. I see the 2022 starters have already come up for discussion in some forums.
 
Carnac said:
UConn
South Carolina
TBD
TBD
Right now before the season starts, I'm not real sure about Stanford. Yes, they captured lightning in a bottle last year, but were not overly impressive in doing so. If you remember they won both final 4 games by 1 point. Arizona who was a dark horse going into the tournament, could have very easily won the championship game. The circumference of the rim closed up a bit in the closing minutes of the game. They couldn't buy a shot. :confused:

I think UConn and SC are a lock. The other two tickets are up for grabs. There's about 4-5 programs, some of which have been mentioned in this thread are very capable of punching those remaining tickets. It's quite possible that another "dark horse" wins their first 4 games of the tournament. As I recall, NO ONE picked Arizona to reach the final four once the brackets were revealed. :cool: When you're picking your final four teams, leave room for the dark horse. You never know if he'll show up.
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I respectfully disagree. Stanford is a virtual FF lock. They won the tournament last year, which makes them much better. And the lost but one player. They are loaded. And, as we well know, Tara is one of the two best coaches in WBB. And they play a very tough Pac-12 schedule, which toughens them up for the tournament.

We shall see.
 
I'm thinking Maryland, predicated on them learning to play better defense this year. When they are scoring efficiently they can run teams out of the gym. When the shots didn't fall for them in the big dance last year we all saw what happened.
 
JonathanXIV said:
Agreed. But the premise of this thread was to go beyond the usual suspects for the fourth team.
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As long as we're looking under the bed for a dark horse surprise, I'll nominate Texas A & M.
 
uconn /SC/ Stanford/(Indiana or Louisville or nc state)
 
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I don't think any team is a lock this season.
 
I don't understand how Maryland or NC State can be considered a "sleeper" Final Four pick. It seems that most people would consider these two the leading contenders for the #4 spot in the preseason. Someone has to be #4.
 
You want a sleeper, I'll give you a sleeper no one else will pick. No I don't think they will be there but they do have a talented team, Iowa St. returning talent with a one two punch.
 
UConn82 said:
I respectfully disagree. Stanford is a virtual FF lock. They won the tournament last year, which makes them much better. And the lost but one player. They are loaded. And, as we well know, Tara is one of the two best coaches in WBB. And they play a very tough Pac-12 schedule, which toughens them up for the tournament.

We shall see.
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I expected some pushback on this comment. As I said. The season has not begun yet. It's way too early to "ACTURATELY" predict who will make the final four 4 months from now. Everyone has their favorites, as I do. There are (IMO) 6 teams that can make the final 4 this year.
The only 2 teams that I would bet the farm they make the final four are the two best teams (IMO) in WCBB: UConn and SC. While Stanford is an elite team, and the reigning WCBB champion, I'm not sold they are a lock. I'm not sure they are the best team is their conference. Time will tell.

If they make the FF, I will look you up and give you your "props" in open forum, and tip the turban to you. But right now, there are just too many unknowns for me to suggest or accept that Stanford is a lock. The regional you're assigned to and the teams in your bracket have a lot to do with how easy or hard your road to the FF is. How many games does Stanford lose this year?
 
It's been about a quarter century since NC State made a final 4, that makes them a sleeper
 
UConn82 said:
I respectfully disagree. Stanford is a virtual FF lock. They won the tournament last year, which makes them much better. And the lost but one player. They are loaded. And, as we well know, Tara is one of the two best coaches in WBB. And they play a very tough Pac-12 schedule, which toughens them up for the tournament.

We shall see.
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Agree that they are loaded.
Whether winning makes them better or not is unclear. It is hard to repeat. It is hard to have the same drive, same hunger if you’ve won.
Absolutely a favorite.
 
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