So, whom do we prefer?

[Icebear]

Doesn't matter who we want because the B1G has shown itself to be a pretender of a conference this far, while the SEC has proven that it's rock solid. Based on how its six conference mates have gone out, does anyone have any faith that Penn State can win this game in Red Stick? Sorry, Icebear.

Can, yes, will, of that I'm far more skeptical for the reason you note.

 

[alexrgct]

Indeed UConn is not the Tennessee LVs of the 2009 tourney. That was a 10-loss team, a five seed.

I think the St John's loss has people spooked a bit. UConn hadn't suffered a loss like that in a long time. Whereas the Baylor and ND losses were understandable, that one was out of the blue and reminded people that yes, on any given night, even UConn can lose to teams it shouldn't. Fortunately, the evidence seems to point to the possibility that the SJU loss, in conjunction with the second ND loss, may have lit a fire under the girls. KML and Bria have bounced back without Tiff regressing, while Stef seems to have found her niche on this team as well.

So yes, anything can happen on any given day, but it would take an exceptionally poor performance by UConn to lose to either Penn State or LSU. And there's nothing wrong with stating a preference; you're not on the team, and empirically, many people's preferences have little to do with the teams per se (see: residual dislike for SEC, "I live in PA", etc.).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fun facts about the Sweet 16 below.

Since 1993-1994, UConn's Sweet 16 results have been as follows:

1994- W 78-64 USM
1995- W 87-56 Alabama
1996- W 72-44 USF
1997- W 78-73 Illinois
1998- W 74-57 Arizona
1999- L 58-64 Iowa State
2000- W 102-80 Oklahoma
2001- W 72-58 NC State
2002- W 82-64 Penn State
2003- W 70-49 Boston College
2004- W 63-55 UCSB
2005- L 59-76 Stanford
2006- W 77-75 Georgia
2007- W 78-71 NC State
2008- W 78-63 Old Dominion
2009- W 77-53 Cal
2010- W 74-36 Iowa State
2011- W 68-63 Georgetown

So that's 11 easy wins, five close wins, and two losses (one of which being an upset). Three of the five close wins portended doom in the next round; in fact, all three of those teams were deeply flawed (2006 and 2007 were teams that struggled to have the right pieces with the right amount of experience, 1997 was suffering from the Shea Ralph injury hangover). One went on to win a NC, and one lost in the national semis.

When you get to this point, it's all about matchups and styles of play. I don't think LSU or Penn State match up well with UConn or play a style that would give UConn a lot of problems. Then again, you often do have to pull out one ugly game to make a deep run, so we'll see.

 

[Vowelguy]

Indeed UConn is not the Tennessee LVs of the 2009 tourney. That was a 10-loss team, a five seed.

I think the St John's loss has people spooked a bit. UConn hadn't suffered a loss like that in a long time. Whereas the Baylor and ND losses were understandable, that one was out of the blue and reminded people that yes, on any given night, even UConn can lose to teams it shouldn't. Fortunately, the evidence seems to point to the possibility that the SJU loss, in conjunction with the second ND loss, may have lit a fire under the girls. KML and Bria have bounced back without Tiff regressing, while Stef seems to have found her niche on this team as well.

So yes, anything can happen on any given day, but it would take an exceptionally poor performance by UConn to lose to either Penn State or LSU. And there's nothing wrong with stating a preference; you're not on the team, and empirically, many people's preferences have little to do with the teams per se (see: residual dislike for SEC, "I live in PA", etc.).
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So that's 11 easy wins, five close wins, and two losses (one of which being an upset). Three of the five close wins portended doom in the next round; in fact, all three of those teams were deeply flawed (2006 and 2007 were teams that struggled to have the right pieces with the right amount of experience, 1997 was suffering from the Shea Ralph injury hangover). One went on to win a NC, and one lost in the national semis.

I don't know that I'd charactertize that as 11 "easy" wins. Final margin of victory can be deceptive if there's a lot of foul shots, for example.
And though the 09 Cal game ended comfortably, wasn't that the game where they built a 10 point lead in the first half (something that hadn't happened all year) ?

 

[HuskyNan]

I like the coaches of both teams but Coquese Washington is a former Big Easter so I'm rooting for PSU.

That's how I pick football teams too, btw.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Doesn't matter who we want because the B1G has shown itself to be a pretender of a conference this far, while the SEC has proven that it's rock solid. Based on how its six conference mates have gone out, does anyone have any faith that Penn State can win this game in Red Stick? Sorry, Icebear.

Agreed. But Ice is a big guy and he can handle the truth!

 

[HuskyNan]

Fun facts about the Sweet 16 below.

Since 1993-1994, UConn's Sweet 16 results have been as follows:

1999- L 58-64 Iowa State


So that's 11 easy wins, five close wins, and two losses (one of which being an upset).

That Iowa State loss still annoys me. It was one of the few times the team completely lost its poise. It probably helps that Shea Ralph, one of the participants in that loss, is a coach on this year's team because you know she'll be in the players' ears about it.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

That Iowa State loss still annoys me. It was one of the few times the team completely lost its poise. It probably helps that Shea Ralph, one of the participants in that loss, is a coach on this year's team because you know she'll be in the players' ears about it.

I agree Nan! That loss ranks up there as one of the truly hard one's.

 

[alexrgct]

Hmm...that's a fun thread idea- worst losses in UConn history. I'm suresome flavor of it's been done before, but not since I've been on the board. Maybe one for tomorrow after the dust settles on tonight's games.

 

[alexrgct]

I don't know that I'd charactertize that as 11 "easy" wins. Final margin of victory can be deceptive if there's a lot of foul shots, for example.
And though the 09 Cal game ended comfortably, wasn't that the game where they built a 10 point lead in the first half (something that hadn't happened all year) ?

A fair point. Perhaps "reasonably comfortable" would have been more apropos.

 

[justML]

I forgot the question.

 

[alexrgct]

Doesn't matter who we want because the B1G has shown itself to be a pretender of a conference this far, while the SEC has proven that it's rock solid. Based on how its six conference mates have gone out, does anyone have any faith that Penn State can win this game in Red Stick? Sorry, Icebear.

Hi. I was wrong. That is all.

 

[Wonkster]

Hi. I was wrong. That is all.

Nope. You don't get away that easily, alexrgct. We want a detailed explanation of why you were wrong, after we all waded through this crystal ball reading thread.
.

 

[alexrgct]

Well, LSU didn't impress either of its two games. South Carolina, a team with a very similar profile throughout the season, did impress. Penn State and Purdue, who also have similar profiles, were their respective opponents, and LSU was playing at home. What happened?

Tough to say, but LSU didn't seem that well-prepared. They were down for much of the SDSU game before their superior athleticism prevailed, and then they gave up their highest point total of the season, largely as a result of lousy perimeter defense (and it's not a surprise that PSU has some kids that can shoot). Firstly, kudos to Penn State for being a mentally tougher team than their conference mates. However, I have to question Nikki Caldwell a bit. She was a hot coaching name because a) she IS hot, and b) she did some nice things at UCLA, none of which involved winning in the postseason. Could it be that Nikki just isn't a good tourney coach at this stage of her career? Alternatively, as a (very involved) father of a four year old and a two year old, I remember clearly what it was like to have a newborn. Suffice it to say I did not perform at anything close to my highest level professionally when I returned to work. I admire the effort, but it may have ultimately impacted her coaching. It would have in my case, and I wasn't the one breast feeding.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Not good karma. I wholeheartedly agree with Milford Husky, HGN, and anyone else expressing similar sentiments.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I prefer LSU, because I would like to see how Caldwell interacts with Geno and the coaching staff. I mention this because I remember when UConn played Texas, Demoss escaped to the lockeroom to avoid the end of the game handshake with Geno. I would think that Caldwell would show more class, but you never know.

I was at that game in San Antonio and neither witnessed the snub nor heard anything about it until reading this post. If Ms DeMoss did, in fact, escape to the lockerrom to avoid Coach Auriemma, then that is awfully, awfully petty. Hopefully, it can be verified by my recording.

 

[Icebear]

I was at that game in San Antonio and neither witnessed the snub nor heard anything about it until reading this post. If Ms DeMoss did, in fact, escape to the lockerrom to avoid Coach Auriemma, then that is awfully, awfully petty. Hopefully, it can be verified by my recording.

It is an old story that happened long ago.