There are some truly dreadful teams in the American...

[EricLA]

This is by NO means an exhaustive analysis - just a cursory glance/overview of the American thus far

First on the positive side - UCONN and USF - the class of the league. Cincy Houston and Temple come next all at 4-2. Kudos to Cinci and Houston for smart scheduling - lots of cream puffs, and let's be honest, at this time for these teams, the optics are more important than the SOS or RPI.

UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, and SMU come next - all at 4-3, 3-3, or 3-4.

1. UCF has losses to Mercer, Va Tech, and Elon.
   
2. Tulsa losses to American, Belmont and UAA (Alaska Anchorage - didn't know they even had a hoops team)
3. Tulane has losses to Dayton, USM and ISU. They did beat Vandy and SDSU - I suspect they are better than their record compared to other teams in the AAC
4. SMU had a respectable loss to Oklahoma by 12, but lost to TCU, UTA, and Nevada - UCONN's next opponent

ECU is at 2-4. Blech.

Memphis and Wichita State are both 1-6. WSU's claim to fame is a 12 point loss to... wait for it... Tennessee. A dreadful team that Tenn could only manage to beat by 12? Goodness. Memphis only lost to Depaul by 14. They lost to OSU by 31. And pretty much everyone else as well. Just a pair of awful teams at the bottom of our league...

 

[trisailin]

So what you are saying is that the American is just like every other conference: the bottom is dreadful. Whether in the "P5" or not.

 

[EricLA]

So what you are saying is that the American is just like every other conference: the bottom is dreadful. Whether in the "P5" or not.

Fair enough, but did you actually look at the standings of the "worst" teams in the P5 conferences? I'm guessing not...

1. ACC - UVA at 3-4, Wake 2-4
2. Big 12 - Oklahoma 3-2, TTU 3-2
3. B10 - Illinois - 5-3, Wisconsin 3-3
4. Pac 12 - Arizona and Washington both 2-3
5. SEC - LSU 3-3, Vandy 1-6

So basically, it's not even close. Many of the bottom 2 teams in every single power conference have at least a .500 or winning record (5 out of 12 teams). Only 1 team is off to a 1-6 start, while the American's bottom 3 are 2-4, 1-6 and 1-6.

 

[Vowelguy]

Alaska Anchorage is D2.

"The bottom of the conference is dreadful like any other conference." lol. He listed SEVEN of the 12 teams. And he didn't say Houston & Cinci were good -- merely that they had scheduled well so far.

The AAC is a dumpster fire in wcbb. Trying to deny it is silly.

 

[Plebe]

This is by NO means an exhaustive analysis - just a cursory glance/overview of the American thus far

First on the positive side - UCONN and USF - the class of the league. Cincy Houston and Temple come next all at 4-2. Kudos to Cinci and Houston for smart scheduling - lots of cream puffs, and let's be honest, at this time for these teams, the optics are more important than the SOS or RPI.

UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, and SMU come next - all at 4-3, 3-3, or 3-4.

1. UCF has losses to Mercer, Va Tech, and Elon.
   
2. Tulsa losses to American, Belmont and UAA (Alaska Anchorage - didn't know they even had a hoops team)
3. Tulane has losses to Dayton, USM and ISU. They did beat Vandy and SDSU - I suspect they are better than their record compared to other teams in the AAC
4. SMU had a respectable loss to Oklahoma by 12, but lost to TCU, UTA, and Nevada - UCONN's next opponent

ECU is at 2-4. Blech.

Memphis and Wichita State are both 1-6. WSU's claim to fame is a 12 point loss to... wait for it... Tennessee. A dreadful team that Tenn could only manage to beat by 12? Goodness. Memphis only lost to Depaul by 14. They lost to OSU by 31. And pretty much everyone else as well. Just a pair of awful teams at the bottom of our league...

I've also been keeping an eye on the AAC teams, and yeah, there hasn't been much to get excited about.

Tulane and UCF have been playing a relatively strong schedule, with mixed results. Mercer was a whisker away from beating Chattanooga in the SoCon final last year, and they have all their players back from last year. Elon also has a lot of returners from last year's NCAA team. UCF does have wins over Chattanooga, IUPUI, and Northern Iowa, none of whom are chopped liver. UNI was an NCAA at-large last year, and IUPUI finished in the RPI top 70.

FWIW, SMU's best player (Alicia Froling) hasn't played yet this season. I'm assuming she's injured, though I haven't seen anything reported on her status.

Temple is pretty clearly not as good as last year after losing Fitzgerald and Butts to graduation and Fountain to graduate transfer.

 

[Plebe]

Some interesting trivia on Alaska-Anchorage:

They compete in a D2 conference called the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which is the only NCAA conference that includes a Canadian university (Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC):

Great Northwest Athletic Conference - Wikipedia

 

[JordyG]

Thank goodness for OOC scheduling.

 

[Vowelguy]

Sagarin conference rankings:

1 BIG 12 ..= 82.7 .... 82.3 10 ( 1)
2 PAC-12 ..= 82.6 .... 81.8 12 ( 2)
3 SEC ... .= 81.7 .... 80.5 14 ( 3)
4 BIG TEN .= 81.0 .... 79.0 14 ( 4)
5 ACC ... .= 77.5 .... 79.0 15 ( 5)
6 BIG EAST = 73.4 .... 73.8 10 ( 6)
7 IVY LGUE = 67.7 .... 66.4 .8 ( 8)
8 MAC ... .= 66.3 .... 65.9 12 ( 9)
9 AMERICAN = 64.5 .... 67.9 12 ( 7)

 

[vtcwbuff]

With the exception of UConn and USF and possibly Temple all of the other teams in the league are dreadful. A couple of them (ECU and Memphis) are an embarrassment to WCBB and should not be playing Div 1.

 

[EricLA]

With the exception of UConn and USF and possibly Temple all of the other teams in the league are dreadful. A couple of them (ECU and Memphis) are an embarrassment to WCBB and should not be playing Div 1.

You can add to that Wichita State, at least for this year.

I'm hopeful that with UCONN being in the conference, over time, the bottom feeders will improve. But I'm an eternal optimist, so...

 

[Plebe]

One thing that's odd about the AAC is that the level of the men's BB teams is WAY higher, overall, than that of the women's teams. Not really sure what to make of that, other than a commentary on the relatively greater parity of the men's game.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Sagarin conference rankings:

1 BIG 12 ..= 82.7 .... 82.3 10 ( 1)
2 PAC-12 ..= 82.6 .... 81.8 12 ( 2)
3 SEC ... .= 81.7 .... 80.5 14 ( 3)
4 BIG TEN .= 81.0 .... 79.0 14 ( 4)
5 ACC ... .= 77.5 .... 79.0 15 ( 5)
6 BIG EAST = 73.4 .... 73.8 10 ( 6)
7 IVY LGUE = 67.7 .... 66.4 .8 ( 8)
8 MAC ... .= 66.3 .... 65.9 12 ( 9)
9 AMERICAN = 64.5 .... 67.9 12 ( 7)

This is way different from what I see. We’re #7.

 

[Longtime fan]

I've also been keeping an eye on the AAC teams, and yeah, there hasn't been much to get excited about.

Tulane and UCF have been playing a relatively strong schedule, with mixed results. Mercer was a whisker away from beating Chattanooga in the SoCon final last year, and they have all their players back from last year. Elon also has a lot of returners from last year's NCAA team. UCF does have wins over Chattanooga, IUPUI, and Northern Iowa, none of whom are chopped liver. UNI was an NCAA at-large last year, and IUPUI finished in the RPI top 70.

FWIW, SMU's best player (Alicia Froling) hasn't played yet this season. I'm assuming she's injured, though I haven't seen anything reported on her status.

Temple is pretty clearly not as good as last year after losing Fitzgerald and Butts to graduation and Fountain to graduate transfer.

So this becomes a training academy for our reserves.

 

[tomcat]

You know, I really had hopes that last year was the start of overall improvement in the AAC. Central Florida was a plucky opponent last year. South Florida is always tough. Temple looked good and improved as the year went on. We saw UConn play SMU in Dallas and SMU was not awful at all. largely because of Alicia Froling, whose game I love, and who (according to a poster above) has yet to play this year. She is the heart and soul of a team that has not a lot else to offer.

Now this. ECU is a nightmare. Tulsa seems always to be Tulsa, as Memphis seems to always be Memphis. Huston seems no better. Cincy has all that support from its administration, which tucked the team into a high school gym, as I recall. I'm sure that did wonders for morale. I saw Tulane play an early game on TV and they were, um, not good.

I had hoped that the presence of UConn would cause administrations to realize what their women's basketball teams could become, and would provide an opportunity for investment in personnel and recruiting. I've been wrong. This league is the top three and a bunch of mid-majors.

 

[Vowelguy]

Cinci had a 9 point lead entering the 4th quarter, but lost to St Francis PA 77-73

 

[Kaizen]

UCF's football is pretty good. They are 11-0, #12 rank. One of the only 2 teams undefeated.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Cinci had a 9 point lead entering the 4th quarter, but lost to St Francis PA 77-73

Ugh. I have been tracking wins and losses by the BE and AAC (in addition to my usual P5 and RU/AZ opponents). I actually was mildly impressed by Cincinnati so far, however, I have little - make that no - respect for teams in the NEC.

 

[Puppy Love]

I don't think it matters how bad the AAC is. In the early days of Uconn success, people called the Big East the 'big easy'. As time went on, some of those teams upped their skill and competed at a higher level. However, it takes a lot of time for that to happen. Maybe it will eventually in the AAC, but to me the only detriment if it doesn't s that the overall women's game won't grow.

 

[BroadwayVa]

This is by NO means an exhaustive analysis - just a cursory glance/overview of the American thus far

First on the positive side - UCONN and USF - the class of the league. Cincy Houston and Temple come next all at 4-2. Kudos to Cinci and Houston for smart scheduling - lots of cream puffs, and let's be honest, at this time for these teams, the optics are more important than the SOS or RPI.

UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, and SMU come next - all at 4-3, 3-3, or 3-4.

1. UCF has losses to Mercer, Va Tech, and Elon.
   
2. Tulsa losses to American, Belmont and UAA (Alaska Anchorage - didn't know they even had a hoops team)
3. Tulane has losses to Dayton, USM and ISU. They did beat Vandy and SDSU - I suspect they are better than their record compared to other teams in the AAC
4. SMU had a respectable loss to Oklahoma by 12, but lost to TCU, UTA, and Nevada - UCONN's next opponent

ECU is at 2-4. Blech.

Memphis and Wichita State are both 1-6. WSU's claim to fame is a 12 point loss to... wait for it... Tennessee. A dreadful team that Tenn could only manage to beat by 12? Goodness. Memphis only lost to Depaul by 14. They lost to OSU by 31. And pretty much everyone else as well. Just a pair of awful teams at the bottom of our league...

The American was needed to give Uconn a conference--to provide a championship for rankings. So until Uconn gets another conference we need to accept what we have. Tulane,is well coached--took uconn to the wire.
Cincy and Temple coached by Uconn assistants. Houston has a good, not very good, coach---used holding the ball to lower the score--but allowed steals.
What SMU needs is another Doak Walker.\ USF also took Uconn to the wire--has reloaded with foreign players (I think).

 

[BroadwayVa]

Cinci had a 9 point lead entering the 4th quarter, but lost to St Francis PA 77-73

Now you are rubbing it in!! At least you didn't mention the 13 point differential---so I won't either.

 

[BroadwayVa]

So this becomes a training academy for our reserves.

E

SEE---there is always something to be grateful for, if you really dig.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Alaska Anchorage is D2.

"The bottom of the conference is dreadful like any other conference." lol. He listed SEVEN of the 12 teams. And he didn't say Houston & Cinci were good -- merely that they had scheduled well so far.

The AAC is a dumpster fire in wcbb. Trying to deny it is silly.

What conferences : Asked Uconn to Join or Would accept Uconn should they ask so---what choice does Uconn have? This is it--you don't have to like it--it is what it is---grin and BARE (bear) it. This is the time of the year a dumpster fire would feel great.

 

[ndmb]

I don't think it matters how bad the AAC is. In the early days of Uconn success, people called the Big East the 'big easy'. As time went on, some of those teams upped their skill and competed at a higher level. However, it takes a lot of time for that to happen. Maybe it will eventually in the AAC, but to me the only detriment if it doesn't s that the overall women's game won't grow.

See Old Dominion or LaTech for the long term viability of teams in bad conferences. We'll be fine as long as Geno is around, but after that, it could get rough.

 

[USFMB]

See Old Dominion or LaTech for the long term viability of teams in bad conferences. We'll be fine as long as Geno is around, but after that, it could get rough.

Just curious, does Geno have an assistant he has been grooming to possibly take over after he retires? I think that he would want to choose his successor to continue in his footsteps.

I know that is still some years into the future, but have people here given that much thought?

 

[Carnac]

Since we're chiming in on dreadful conference teams here, I'd like to add an observation about tonight's opponent, The Nevada Wolfpack.
Other than serving as a homecoming platform for a player, they are not the kind of team UConn would typically schedule. I'll put it this way, if Nevada were to join the AAC, they would be down at the bottom of the conference rankings with Memphis and the newcomer Wichita State. This game should be competitive for about the first 3 minutes. If UConn wins the tip, they'll never trail.

That being said, I take my hat off to them from accepting UConn's request for this game (unlike Syracuse who refused to schedule a homecoming game for Brianna Stewart, forcing UConn to seek a game with the next closest D1 school, Colgate, who graciously accepted). This is a "homecoming game" for Gabby Williams. Sometimes the schools that are the hometown "local" school for a player is not very competitive. This is one of those cases. The Wolfpack finished next to the bottom (Air Force 2-16) with a 5-13 Mountain West Conference record last year.

I'm not going to suggest how much playing time any of the players will get. There may be some things Geno wants the starters to work on based on their performance the last two games, and may leave them in the game until he sees improvement. If there is a game on their schedule that he can afford to give the bench players a lot of minutes, this is it!!

UConn's next game is against Notre Dame this Sunday. There's a real good chance Geno will use the same rotation against the Irish that he used against UCLA. It's rumored that Katie Lou may be ready to return for that game, we'll see. I look for this game to be as competitive as their first exhibition game against Fort Hays State. Nevada is doing the best they can, as they don't attract the top 100 rated players that the top 25 schools do.