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Message: [QUOTE="TheFarmFan, post: 3119240, member: 9403"] I think Stanford in November and Stanford in March will look very different, so the question is whether we rank teams based on where they are at in November, or how they will finish the season. For Stanford, those are very different questions. (And I suspect the same will be true for Baylor, given that they will need three new starters to step up, and Notre Dame, although their ceiling will be sufficiently low next season that I'd be shocked if they even got back to the final four.) Tara prizes defense first, which incoming frosh are rarely able to do well at the college level from day one (the Hulls were a big exception and that was basically the reason why one of the two of them started every game this season even though they were very uneven offensively). Moreover, Tara's new Princeton offense has enough different sets and screens that it will take the frosh a while to adjust and learn. For these reasons, I wouldn't be at all surprised if our team's trajectory looks more like our 2016-17 team: some early, dispiriting losses (that year, to Gonzaga and Tennessee) that cap our rankings and ability to be in position for a #1 seed, but then roll through February and March and beat a #1 seed to get back to the final four. (We also play Oregon and Oregon State twice next season, and it's very probable that the three teams beat each other up enough that none of them has fewer than 2 PAC-12 losses, which means we could end up with 3 #2 seeds depending on how dominant other top teams are in their conferences.) So, if I had to guess, in November I would put Stanford around 6-8, but I think we are better than 50/50 odds to get to the final four, and I think we end the season ranked in the top 4. And let me tell you: I'd love nothing more than a fifth, rubber match vs. Notre Dame in next year's tournament. [/QUOTE]

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