The AP Preseason Poll also Puts UConn at #6.

[Carnac]

UConn lost ballpark half their minutes and half of their scoring from last year.

Texas lost between a third and half their minutes and scoring from last year.

Stanford lost about half their minutes and a third of their scoring.

UConn lost a lot, but about as much or not much more than teams that have held steady or moved up.

Few teams return all 5 starters from last year. They still must contend with other teams that have improved adding freshmen and transfers.
We lost two seniors and a transfer and we are (I believe) as good or better than last year save losing Paige. Bottom line is we're going to score a lot of points. The question is how far down can we CONSISTENTLY keep our opponents scoring total?

If we can keep the opposition at or below 59 ppg (roughly 15 points per quarter), we're good. We MUST come out hard and fast against the ranked teams. No slow starts. EVERYBODY has to show up. No disapearing acts!!!! No waiting for the game to come to you (I hate that). Go out and take the game to them.

Teams no longer fear UConn like they did 5-6 years ago during the Stewart era. We lost 6 games last year, and our best player again this year. To some, it may appear that UConn is ripe for picking. I don't think so. We'll find out during the Texas game on Nov 14. One of us will get exposed that night. We'll see if Texas deserves their preseason #3 ranking.

 

[Alydar]

UConn lost ballpark half their minutes and half of their scoring from last year.

Texas lost between a third and half their minutes and scoring from last year.

Stanford lost about half their minutes and a third of their scoring.

UConn lost a lot, but about as much or not much more than teams that have held steady or moved up.

The 3 seniors played almost every game while Bueckers, Fudd, Muhl, Ducharme Griffin all missed time of varying amounts. If Fudd and Bueckers had been healthy they would have started every game and Williams and Westbrook minutes & pts. would have gone down, a lot.

 

[Plebe]

They share one thing, they want clicks. Most of the writers are regional. They know a lot about the conferences of the teams they mostly write about.

And yet they all voted South Carolina #1. Not sure how that helps these far-flung regional writers generate the clicks that are allegedly their sole motivation.

The tendency on this board to perceive a vast conspiracy to under-rank UConn is unbecoming. Most voters are just reacting to Paige's injury and the memory of how poorly we performed last year after Paige went down. It's not an irrational reaction, even if one may argue it's an overreaction.

We've had teams ranked #1 in the preseason that in the end did not live up to that billing. Was that satisfying? I'd rather finish #1 than start #1. Let's let other teams bear the burden of high expectations for a change.

 

[Alydar]

Preseason rankings are the silliest invention since square wheels. Great for discussion but meaningless. 8-10 games in rankings start to make sense.

What's worse is that they create a baseline status quo at a time when the least is known about the teams.

 

[Alydar]

And yet they all voted South Carolina #1. Not sure how that helps these far-flung regional writers generate the clicks that are allegedly their sole motivation.

The tendency on this board to perceive a vast conspiracy to under-rank UConn is unbecoming. Most voters are just reacting to Paige's injury and the memory of how poorly we performed last year after Paige went down. It's not an irrational reaction, even if one may argue it's an overreaction.

We've had teams ranked #1 in the preseason that in the end did not live up to that billing. Was that satisfying? I'd rather finish #1 than start #1. Let's let other teams bear the burden of high expectations for a change.

It's a reasonable perception only if you only take a superficial look. And that's my problem with these national polls. I'm reminded of the scene in Casablanca when Bogart kills the SS officer: Hey, I got picked to be on the AP poll. Give me a list of the usual teams and I'll sort them. I point to UConn because that's what I know but I'm sure fans of other teams would say the same about incorrect perceptions about their own teams.

Creighton beat Iowa & Iowa St in the NCAA's to reach the E8. They bring about their whole team back and are AP No 21? Iowa? No 5. ISU? 8th. OK it was 2 games but 5th, 8th, 21st? If you are going to rank teams why not start with how they ended last season? Why? We all know why. Creighton isn't a P5 team. LSU is 18th. How long did they last in the tournament?


I've read the consensus view of UConn by a lot of media outlets:

"UConn lost 3 senior starters to graduation and now have lost Paige "Buckets" Bueckers." (a true statement)

There's a difference between "truth" and "truth, all the truth & nothing but the truth". And if the voters are too lazy to look past superficials with UConn how can I trust what they say about all the other teams?

The only thing I like about these polls is that they make good discussion topics.

 

[Bone Dog]

I agree about Creighton. Flanagan is a great coach and he’s built something there. The P5 prejudice polls like this reflect makes it harder for teams like his to break through in the tournament, in recruiting, in everything. It is bad for WCBB.

 

[sweetspot]

They share one thing, they want clicks. Most of the writers are regional. They know a lot about the conferences of the teams they mostly write about.

Watch the polls in Nov and Dec. It's lose and move down, win and maybe move up, (but only if a team above you loses). That's the AP. Once you are on the list they pay little attention to the quality of opposition. It's all wins and losses. Watch LSU rise into the top 10 during December this season. Why? A pitiful OOC schedule almost guarrantees Mulkey will be undefeated at Xmas and an undefeated Mulkey team from the SEC will get lots of votes. Even if they go under 500 in the SEC they will get into the NCAA, based solely on their AP ranking early in the year.

Rebecca Lobo and Christy Winters-Scott ... who do vote but do not write for publications that publish the polls ... want clicks?

 

[Alydar]

Rebecca Lobo and Christy Winters-Scott ... who do vote but do not write for publications that publish the polls ... want clicks?

Lobo works for Disney. It's the entertainment business. And I think Lobo does want clicks to her FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc. accounts.

 

[Next 12]

In this Fox 61 interview from 10/19, Geno says that he won't know how far the team can go until December
because the team needs time to mesh.

I posted a reply to this video earlier. I want to clarify some of my comments. If you listen to the video, he is very positive of this team. His comments were not glowing, but confident. He praised his perimeter shooters as being very good. He commented on the post players as being agressive and capable of scoring. He revealed that certain players were showing good cohesive play between them and creating a working group he can count on. All in all, I thought it was a very positive interview. He was just being GENO by saying he won't know what he has until December. HE KNOWS and is happy. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[Skeets]

It's a reasonable perception only if you only take a superficial look. And that's my problem with these national polls. I'm reminded of the scene in Casablanca when Bogart kills the SS officer: Hey, I got picked to be on the AP poll. Give me a list of the usual teams and I'll sort them. I point to UConn because that's what I know but I'm sure fans of other teams would say the same about incorrect perceptions about their own teams.

Creighton beat Iowa & Iowa St in the NCAA's to reach the E8. They bring about their whole team back and are AP No 21? Iowa? No 5. ISU? 8th. OK it was 2 games but 5th, 8th, 21st? If you are going to rank teams why not start with how they ended last season? Why? We all know why. Creighton isn't a P5 team. LSU is 18th. How long did they last in the tournament?


I've read the consensus view of UConn by a lot of media outlets:

"UConn lost 3 senior starters to graduation and now have lost Paige "Buckets" Bueckers." (a true statement)

There's a difference between "truth" and "truth, all the truth & nothing but the truth". And if the voters are too lazy to look past superficials with UConn how can I trust what they say about all the other teams?

The only thing I like about these polls is that they make good discussion topics.

Creighton has more to be annoyed about the preseason poll than UConn. They are getting little or no respect.

 

[Zarathustra]

I agree about Creighton. Flanagan is a great coach and he’s built something there. The P5 prejudice polls like this reflect makes it harder for teams like his to break through in the tournament, in recruiting, in everything. It is bad for WCBB.

The Creighton Blue Jays are one "Big" ( every year ) away from being a perennial NCAA
threat to many teams. Of course, they will be very good this year, but the lack of
height hurts. Reference: see all the blocks by UCONN in that second UCONN vs Creighton
game last year ( I think that was the game when Caroline had three ( 3 ) blocks ). The
BigEast will have a number of interesting matchups this year beyon our usually focus on
UCONN vs ________. Can't wait!

 

[cohenzone]

Creighton has more to be annoyed about the preseason poll than UConn. They are getting little or no respect.

Why should they bother caring about a pointless poll. Im not even sure why im reading this thread other than being unmotivated to do anything else.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Only poll I pay any attention to is...THE GAME. Everyone has a poll.

 

[JellyBean]

So UConn is ranked 6th. I'm not going to worry about it. Means nothing right now.

So - let's play ball and really see who has the juice!

Yup. My feelings exactly. I do not worry about the rankings, especially this early in the season. Just play ball and everything will work itself out in the end.

 

[Plebe]

Creighton beat Iowa & Iowa St in the NCAA's to reach the E8. They bring about their whole team back and are AP No 21? Iowa? No 5. ISU? 8th. OK it was 2 games but 5th, 8th, 21st? If you are going to rank teams why not start with how they ended last season? Why? We all know why. Creighton isn't a P5 team.

Oh yes, such a conspiracy to bury Creighton. So much so that ESPN currently has this very unflattering picture emblazoned across the top of its WCBB page.

Did anyone really think Creighton last year was a top 8 team prior to the tournament? They lost to Drake, Nebraska, South Dakota and Marquette. Their best win was over Arkansas. They lost in the BE tournament to DePaul — who then lost by 20 to Marquette and was embarrassed by Dayton in the First Four. I was thrilled at their run to the Elite 8, but that doesn't negate all their other data points.

 

[Alydar]

Oh yes, such a conspiracy to bury Creighton. So much so that ESPN currently has this very unflattering picture emblazoned across the top of its WCBB page.

View attachment 79981

Did anyone really think Creighton last year was a top 8 team prior to the tournament? They lost to Drake, Nebraska, South Dakota and Marquette. Their best win was over Arkansas. They lost in the BE tournament to DePaul — who then lost by 20 to Marquette and was embarrassed by Dayton in the First Four. I was thrilled at their run to the Elite 8, but that doesn't negate all their other data points.

The data points are nice if you want to seed them for last year. Iowa lost 7 games and one of them was to Horizon Leagues IUPUI, at home. They got a 2 seed for beating ranked B1G teams late in the season, but how good were those teams really. I'm not saying that Creighton should have been seeded better last year. But to start the season those wins should count. They are coming off back to back wins vs the preseason Nos 6 & 8 And they are bringing almost everyone back. Creighton played great in those games and while it's no guarrantee that they will be great this season it's the best and most recent real evidence there is. Everything else is speculation, which is nice but shouldn't trump real evidence.

The media spends the entire season hyping March Madness and then ignores the results. And that about sums up my opinion. I say rank the S16 teams as the pre-season top 16 and then go from there.

 

[Bone Dog]

The media spends the entire season hyping March Madness and then ignores the results. And that about sums up my opinion. I say rank the S16 teams as the pre-season top 16 and then go from there.

My thoughts, too. We can't say none of this matters, it's all about who wins in March, and then say it's okay to ignore what Creighton did last March, too. What's more, Flanagan has booked a tougher schedule than Stanford... again.

 

[Bald Husky]

Polls, schmolls, we all know what they are, but for Creighton this may be their first venture into the national landscape. I'm sure they are flattered and not offended. They have a starting point of being relevant, but to prove their worth they have to perform, as we did a couple of decades ago. As for us, the emergence of SC and others are shadowing our past success, but just because the others are getting better dooesn't mean we are getting worse, just less dominate. The exploits of Paige last year has shadowed the rest of the team, with many thinking we cannot survive without her. That is a laugh since true Husky fans know this to be false, and what we accomplish early will change the minds of the mindless media. We are still great, and now we have the opportunity to knock off teams that are ahead of us in the polls. Instead of being expected to win, we are expected to lose which I find really comical. By the end of November, we may find us in the top 3, if not higher based on Tennessee and SC's schedule. We can enjoy this, and wait until the Dec. polls come out with UConn back where it belongs near the top of the national picture. It will be fun beating the "so called" best teams, so lets not fret about being #6- it's only a number. Go Huskies.

 

[Plebe]

The media spends the entire season hyping March Madness and then ignores the results. And that about sums up my opinion. I say rank the S16 teams as the pre-season top 16 and then go from there.

Not true at all. The tournament results are most assuredly the only reason Creighton is in the preseason top 25 at all. The same can be said for Princeton, despite the fact that Princeton lost its best player to transfer.

Copy-pasting the tournament results from the previous season, aside from being a rather pointless mechanical exercise, would fail to take into account personnel changes between seasons.

At least one Big East team seems to have benefited from a bit of voter amnesia. DePaul was included in several AP ballots (including PJ Brown of the Arizona Daily Star, who ranked them 14th). I'm not sure what their rationale was for including DePaul, but it certainly wasn't based on recent NCAA tournament performance.

 

[Alydar]

Not true at all. The tournament results are most assuredly the only reason Creighton is in the preseason top 25 at all. The same can be said for Princeton, despite the fact that Princeton lost its best player to transfer.

Copy-pasting the tournament results from the previous season, aside from being a rather pointless mechanical exercise, would fail to take into account personnel changes between seasons.

At least one Big East team seems to have benefited from a bit of voter amnesia. DePaul was included in several AP ballots (including PJ Brown of the Arizona Daily Star, who ranked them 14th). I'm not sure what their rationale was for including DePaul, but it certainly wasn't based on recent NCAA tournament performance.

DePaul has a potential star in Morrow.

I stand by my statement. ESPN has turned march madness into a year-long topic. And then they choose to base the next year's preseason rankings on Creme's 2022 pre-tournament seeding. Iowa was a 2 seed in 2022 and they are still a 2 seed in 2023, despite choking in the tournament. I say make the losers re-establish themselves instead of forcing E8 teams like Creighton to do it.

I'm not saying that the S16 teams of 2022 are the best 16 teams going into 2023, but it is an earned status. What's wrong with rewarding the winners? It's recognition of what they accomplished. The tournament results are just a starting point. If a team sucks they will sink.
I'm a Massey supporter and only after Jan 1 when their data-base is sufficiently large. The only use of polls are as discussion topics.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[BlueJayFan]

Our coach is Jim Flanery, not Flanagan.

But thanks for consistently arguing on our behalf for pretty much the last year! Appreciate it

 

[Bone Dog]

Our coach is Jim Flanery, not Flanagan.

But thanks for consistently arguing on our behalf for pretty much the last year! Appreciate it

Sorry for the mistake. I love the Blue Jays for the same reason I admire Indiana and what Terri Moran has done there. Two well-coached, disciplined teams.

 

[ballerfan]

Given that UConn lost Paige and three starting seniors and that several players are coming off injuries, UConn is hard to evaluate. So I’m not surprised by the ranking (which, of course, has no importance).

Actually I’m happy with #6. That means the AP gives UConn a good chance of getting into the FF.

 

[LowkeyX]

I think Utah & Kansas are being slept on based on what they have coming back. Utah should be ranked soon.

Michigan @ #25 is overrated to me. I think the loss of Hillmon will be huge.

I think MD, Baylor & Duke will be better than most people anticipate.

 

[Waquoit]

The tendency on this board to perceive a vast conspiracy to under-rank UConn is unbecoming.

More like embarrassing. UConn is stocked with talent and question marks.