SOS

[vtcwbuff]

It just occurred to me that there is but one remotely competitive game left in the regular season - South Carolina - and I'm not convinced that game will be competitive. The Sagarin rank for the rest of the teams on the schedule probably averages around 130. Only USF offers the remote possibility of a competitive game. Currently the AAC ranks just barely ahead of the Big East and there is a significant gap between the top conferences and the "also ran" (AAC included).

While I don't believe UConn's weak schedule rank (I know it isn't weak yet but give it another month) will affect recruiting as long as Auriemma is coaching, I do believe it will contribute to the continued attendance decline. In recent years UConn probably played 10-12 non tournament games against ranked opponents. This year they will play five. Games against top tier teams put fannies in the seats. Games against bottom feeders do not.

 

[katiecrum1992]

While methinks the regular season besides our non conference games will be less competitive games, the NCAA tournament will be very exciting this year. There are many teams doing very well right now.

 

[grumpert]

It just occurred to me that there is but one remotely competitive game left in the regular season - South Carolina - and I'm not convinced that game will be competitive. The Sagarin rank for the rest of the teams on the schedule probably averages around 130. Only USF offers the remote possibility of a competitive game. Currently the AAC ranks just barely ahead of the Big East and there is a significant gap between the top conferences and the "also ran" (AAC included).

While I don't believe UConn's weak schedule rank (I know it isn't weak yet but give it another month) will affect recruiting as long as Auriemma is coaching, I do believe it will contribute to the continued attendance decline. In recent years UConn probably played 10-12 non tournament games against ranked opponents. This year they will play five. Games against top tier teams put fannies in the seats. Games against bottom feeders do not.

Well there were 13,500 at the Duke game. There was also 9,900 at the SMU game.

 

[ctkaiser]

If they can get a game at the XL during the day on a weekend they will probably get around 10,000 even with a poor opponent.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Funny about all the crying that goes on about the AAC. End of last year with Louisville and Rutgers departing there were rumors spread all over the place about how now UConn was in a wasteland with 10 midgets this year, none of whom would crack the top 100. So here we have South Florida rated just a little behind Stanford, a team that beat UConn earlier. Tulane's pretty decent at #37, and even after getting whacked by UConn, East Carolina is at #45 and rated well ahead of the majority of teams from the revered P5 conferences. And hey, fellow mid major and former Husky stomping ground the Big East has teams like Seton Hall, DePaul, and St. John's doing decently well in comparison to most P5 teams.

Last year the crying was about how bad the AAC was because even the next-best team Louisville was no challenge for UConn. This year a more balanced conference is coming in for the usual bashing from the usual bashers even though the majority of the teams are much improved and has four teams that will likely win well over 20 games and have serious shots at Tournament berths partly because three of them have UConn credited to their schedule two or three times. Last year UConn beat USF by an average of 26.5 points, and sure the Huskies would be better off in the ACC playing teams like Duke who you know will lose by less than 20 against UConn in any game except the ones where the margin is 31, but the AAC has some rising teams.

Sure we know that no team not in the top 20 is going to give UConn any challenge unless some team like that current #24 Stanford gets uppity. But it's no wonder that fans from other teams think UConn fans arrogant when game threads describe an ECU as a bad high school team even though they rate among the top 12% of teams in the nation. No, they can't all be UConn, but it wouldn't hurt to start giving the other AAC teams some respect.

Go back almost three years to current page 402 (soon to go higher) on the BY and see the predictions for the score of the upcoming home game against St. John's (next team up on this year's schedule). Predicted margins ranged from 22 to 40, and after a crushing 1-point loss, the plea was, "Can we delete this thread." Sobering, and maybe a bit like pre-Stanford this year.

Maybe best to enjoy the UConn team and the conference competition, avoid belittling the opposition, and remember that wherever you step, sssh-it can happen.

 

[dannykuconn]

Maybe best to enjoy the UConn team and the conference competition, avoid belittling the opposition, and remember that wherever you step, sssh-it can happen.

You do know this is the boneyard right?

 

[DavidK]

OT a but still talking about confrence.

The SEC West in college football was called the best division ever in college football history. They went 2-5 in bowl games.

Confrence doesn't matter as much who gets championships.

 

[rocky rococo]

If I'm not mistaken, the most widespread concern about this conference has nothing to do with RPIs, and everything to do with the fact that its media rights will never provide UConn with the wherewithal to pay athletes $10K a pop. That other conferences will, and that UConn will have to recruit against other colleges capable of making that offer that the Huskies will have no means of matching.