Stanford the # 2 team in the country???????

[UConn990411]

I have no doubt UConn and Notre Dame are better (it's close...but they are), but Stanford deserves to be ranked ahead of them right now.

Part of the problem with playing in real conferences is that you're going to get a much better challenge from even some of the "middle-of-the-pack" teams (West Virginia and St. John's, for instance, would both be top 3 or even 2 in the Pac-12...with a wide margin between them and everyone else). Stanford only has one real challenge in the Pac-12, although to their credit, they grinded out the game against Cal and handled everyone else with ease.

Besides, the whole "win and you move up, lose and you move down" thing is how the rankings have worked since, like, ever. I'm not sure why people are so surprised by this.

 

[easttexastrash]

ND may have secured a number 2 overall seed tonight unless they lay an egg in the BET. UCONN may have secured an overall 4th seed in the NCAA tourney, unless
They win the BET. That was not competitive down the stretch.

Did anyone think Geno gave up too soon? Did he pull the starters with three minutes left and down by only 11? I've seen teams come back from worse. I can't imagine Mulkey conceding a game to her biggest rival at that juncture of a game.

 

[HuskyNan]

Did anyone think Geno gave up too soon? Did he pull the starters with three minutes left and down by only 11? I've seen teams come back from worse. I can't imagine Mulkey conceding a game to her biggest rival at that juncture of a game.

He didn't give up until it was clear the team had:

“If you only knew,” Auriemma said about yanking his players. “If you only knew how many times this season we’ve come out of a timeout and no one knew a thing about anything we were supposed to be doing. And when you ask them, three guys have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. So at that point, it all became pointless. It was pointless.
“We have to play really smart, really hard and we have to play really unselfish to overcome whatever lack of talent we have, especially against a team like Notre Dame. But we have guys on our team who just won’t listen to anybody, not just me. We have guys who will not listen to anybody; they won’t. And there is nothing I can do about it.

 

[Icebear]

He didn't give up until it was clear the team had:

“If you only knew,” Auriemma said about yanking his players. “If you only knew how many times this season we’ve come out of a timeout and no one knew a thing about anything we were supposed to be doing. And when you ask them, three guys have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. So at that point, it all became pointless. It was pointless.
“We have to play really smart, really hard and we have to play really unselfish to overcome whatever lack of talent we have, especially against a team like Notre Dame. But we have guys on our team who just won’t listen to anybody, not just me. We have guys who will not listen to anybody; they won’t. And there is nothing I can do about it.

Bingo. At the last timeout he was speaking very calmly to the team looking at them directly when he knew there was nothing left to be done then made the change.

 

[easttexastrash]

A very eccentric move, IMO. Leaving them in could have helped them know how to fight through that situation and making them fight through it could have paid dividends down the road. That is not a move he would have made in the national championship game. But, that is what makes Geno Geno I guess. He has the trophies to prove that he knows what he is doing.

 

[UConnCat]

That is not a move he would have made in the national championship game.

It's a move he wouldn't have to make with a team that made it to a national championship game. That's not this team.

 

[easttexastrash]

It's a move he wouldn't have to make with a team that made it to a national championship game. That's not this team.

Can't say that I agree with that. UCONN still has a lot of talent and maybe this loss will fuel them to do better. Or, it could break their spirit. It will be interesting to see how they respond in the BET.

 

[UConnCat]

Can't say that I agree with that. UCONN still has a lot of talent and maybe this loss will fuel them to do better. Or, it could break their spirit. It will be interesting to see how they respond in the BET.

I meant right now. There's no way anyone could watch last night's game and think that UConn is a team prepared to challenge for the national championship. It wasn't so much losing to a very good Notre Dame team, but it was the way they lost and the circumstances (home court, big rival). But as you say, we'll see how the team responds.