So, did we turn a corner last night?

[BroadwayVa]

I went with my "gut" when I made those picks. But what do I know? I would have bet the farm UConn was going to win two years ago when they lost to Mississippi State. Nobody saw that one coming (UConn beat them by 60 points the year before).

I though UConn was invincible that year. Had they beat MS, they would have defeated South Carolina. I think those 4 teams have "the best chance" to win it all. Any one of them can pee in the bed at any time, get upset and sent home.

Again, there are no clear cut favorites this year. Anybody including UConn can get hot, find a rhythm and put a modest 6 game win streak together over 3 weekends.

All of your comments have merit, no arguments here. Three of the teams I picked have only one loss. It will be easier to pick 4 favorites you like once the brackets are revealed. Right now, it's a crap shoot. Some teams are going to have it easier than others based on their seeding and their placement in the bracket.

ND has 3 losses, but as we saw last year, they can do more with less, and can be extremely resilient when the situation calls for it. Nobody wants to play ND in the tournament, just like for years, no one wanted to play UConn, or be on their side of the bracket.

I would NOT want to play UConn right now. They're on a vicious roll, and I would not want to get caught in their wake. If they played Baylor and Louisville in Gampel this week, the results would be different.

Louisville depends a lot on Asia Durr. If she shows up and plays BIG, they have a chance. If a team can stop or slow her down (like UC did in the 1st qtr) the entire game, they're in trouble. I don't bank on teams that are dependent on just one player. Anybody can have a bad or off day.

Louisville can make it to the FF, but they're going to have to go through a least two very good teams to get there. Keep an eye on Iowa and Megan Gustafson, the leading scorer in the country. They have the makings of a potential dark horse.

IF (in BIG bold letters) UConn can play for 6 games like they played against South Carolina and UCF, they have a better than average chance of winning it all. They lost those two games because their shots did not fall. They shot 38% from the field vs Louisville. That's horrible!! They shot 29.4% against Baylor.

On the other hand, they shot 57% vs ECU, 62.9% vs Temple, and 56.9% vs South Carolina. All decisive wins. That's NOT rocket science. The numbers speak for themselves. When their shots fall, they win, and they win convincingly.

UConn is in a nice "vibe" right now. If they can maintain their current state of mind and body, they will be very hard to beat. The best thing to come of these last two games is that it appears that Christyn was emerged from the effects of hitting the wall.

Her shots are falling again, and she has her confidence back. They are going to need HUGE contributions from ALL of their starters, especially Walker and Williams if they are going to raise that trophy on championship Sunday in Florida. ONO may be needed for a few minutes in those last 3 games as well.

UConn will most likely have to face two #1 seeds that last weekend. I think UConn Nation should have a "corporate" group prayer before the tournament begins. A little divine intervention would not hurt. As Vic Schaefer likes to say: "Praise the Lord and go dawgs." Great post by the way.

@Scoop--always a fine read. No disagreement. I think we have seen CW and Walker and a bit of ONO turn a corner. CW has found her range. Walker is proving to be good under the boards and great passer to Napheesa as well as a more than fair to midland 3 ball and defender. This is a much better team than Louisville or Baylor (I'd rather not play Baylor again)

 

[Carnac]

New poster here - I like women’s basketball. UConn has lost two games this year at their opponents’ home stadium. I still think UConn is the slight favorite to win it all. Collier is one of the two or three best players in the country, and she is by far the most consistent of the bunch. And UConn beat Norte Dame, a team more talented than Louisville. It is odd to see UConn occasionally moribund on defense but it may be the AAU influence is extending to the women’s game now, even impacting Auriemma.

Welcome to the Boneyard.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

We have definitely turned the corner on offense over the last few games, our shooting is more crisp than earlier in the season - we are not hesitating and letting the defense close in. And our passing is really, really crisp.

I have gone back several times and watched a sequence in the Tulane game with 2:20 left in the third quarter. Napheesa rebounds the ball and brings it up the court. She passes to Christyn, who passes immediately to Megan, who passes immediately to Crystal, who passes immediately to Katie Lou, who immediately launches a perfect three point shot that barely ruffles the strings on the bottom of the net after it goes through the hoop. Meanwhile, all five Tulane players are trying to stop their heads from spinning on their shoulders trying to keep up with the location of the ball! I’m sure Crystal got an assist on that play. But if they were using Hockey scoring rules there would have been three or four assists on that play!

Its clear that ONO’s passing(and the rest of her game) is improving nicely. Olivia, Megan and Christyn are definitely communicating better with each other and with our three veteran stars. This is increasing confidence in all six in each other and in themselves. It surely means less pressure and more synergy.

And Batouly, Kyla, Mikayla and Molly are all starting to show that they have something to contribute as well

I believe this “small”, “under-maned”, “under-rated” and “under-appreciated”(by a few people here) team is going to surprise some teams and some people before the season is over.

You sound a little like Okie Dokie last June saying something like "people are going to feel the Huskeys".

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

I think they are all feeling a lot more okie dokie about themselves and each other now.