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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 1815372, member: 5798"] Agreed. Every year, I remind folks that [B]there is ALWAYS a sleeper[/B] in the NCAA tournament. Last year, there were three that came out of nowhere. One of them (Washington) was unranked going into the tournament. I think your take has merit. Right now, we don't know anything about any team (including UConn). Lots of teams have an abundance of talent, but as you know, talent alone means little if that talent can't jell, or the team suffers an injury to key player(s). Syracuse, Washington and Oregon State all proved that you can do some great things in the tournament if you can get in, and play your best basketball for 4-5 games. If I were a betting man, I would have lost my shirt, because there was no way I could possibly conceive [B]Notre Dame, South Carolina [/B]and [B]Baylor[/B] [U]all [/U]failing to make the final four. When March rolls around, all the regular season can do for you is get you a decent seed, no more. It may act as a barometer of things to come, and it may not. It will not reveal the sleeper(s). Several beat/sports writers have said that there doesn't appear to be a dominant team in Division 1 women's basketball this year. It's perceived that UConn's loss of the BIG 3, allows it to fall back towards the pack so to speak. This remains to be seen. "[I]The field is wide open[/I]" they said. The road to the final four is like a German Autobahn for who so ever dares to get on it. There will be a lot of teams jockeying for position before conference play begins. Trying to get a top 10 ranking, then holding on to it for the rest of the regular season. The first 5 weeks of the season should be very interesting, with top teams playing other top teams out of conference. [B]Official practice begins in only 3 more weeks[/B] (23 days). We're getting there. :) [/QUOTE]

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