UCLA (8) @ Arizona (16) - 1/31/20

[nwhoopfan]

82-52 midway thru Q4. I thought UA had a decent chance of winning this game, but I did not expect this!

If I heard correctly Coach Barnes has not beaten UCLA previously. That will obviously change.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Arizona hasn't beaten a Top 10 team since 2004.

UA was kind of in the shadows while ASU was beating both of the Oregon schools and UA lost to both. Now Cats are in the spotlight w/ back to back wins against ASU and UCLA. This certainly solves their problem of no quality wins.

 

[Plebe]

Arizona hasn't beaten a Top 10 team since 2004.

UA was kind of in the shadows while ASU was beating both of the Oregon schools and UA lost to both. Now Cats are in the spotlight w/ back to back wins against ASU and UCLA. This certainly solves their problem of no quality wins.

UA is good enough to be vying for a hosting spot. Unfortunately, their horrible nonconference schedule might be the thing that precludes that. And sadly, Barnes doesn't seem to get that.

 

[nwhoopfan]

92-66 final

 

[triaddukefan]

 

[azfan]

UA is good enough to be vying for a hosting spot. Unfortunately, their horrible nonconference schedule might be the thing that precludes that. And sadly, Barnes doesn't seem to get that.

I agree regarding the VERY week preseason schedule.

I had thought top 16 schools host the first two rounds.

If not, I wonder if selection committee would weigh Tucson support (attendence) as a balance against weak non conference schedule, particularly of Cats finish 4th in conference?

 

[nwhoopfan]

I agree regarding the VERY week preseason schedule.

I had thought top 16 schools host the first two rounds.

If not, I wonder if selection committee would weigh Tucson support (attendence) as a balance against weak non conference schedule, particularly of Cats finish 4th in conference?

The rankings have nothing to do with it, it's up to the committee to seed the teams who will host.

 

[Plebe]

I agree regarding the VERY week preseason schedule.

I had thought top 16 schools host the first two rounds.

If not, I wonder if selection committee would weigh Tucson support (attendence) as a balance against weak non conference schedule, particularly of Cats finish 4th in conference?

No, the committee does not take fan support into account. It's top 16 according to the committee's evaluation of resumes.

Don't get me wrong. Arizona is very much in the mix for a top 16 spot. Some of the other teams in that mix have been faltering lately. We'll see what happens.

 

[Shades]

 

[Shades]

 

[Plebe]

Japreece Dean with a total nightmare game, 0 of 11 and only 1 assist.

Aari McDonald, by contrast, had one of her best games ever, 27 points on 10-15.

 

[Shades]

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

UA is good enough to be vying for a hosting spot. Unfortunately, their horrible nonconference schedule might be the thing that precludes that. And sadly, Barnes doesn't seem to get that.

Why do you say that?

Attended the Adia Barnes radio show in person. Quote (paraphrase) - "our schedule was terrible this year, teams we wanted to play and thought we would play dropped us when we won the WNIT" "We cannot succeed with an out of conference schedule as weak as this was. You will see a definite improvement in the games we schedule next year".

Also -

Spoke to difficulty in getting teams to come west to play, trying to team up with ASU to get teams to consider doing a double dip, but no one biting.

What she doesn't believe is that playing a whole bunch of top teams is a good idea, because there are so many potential losses in the PAC. And the truth is, from a NCAA tourney perspective, you do have to have the wins. There is a sweet spot, I am sure, I certainly don't know what it is. I would expect 2 or 3 decent games and the rest better than this year, but not necessarily great.

By the way, she was asked, and while she will play them if she has to, she has no desire to play her 2 former head coaches (McGuff or Neighbors) and she absolutely will not schedule a game to play Morgan Valley, who was an assistant here, apparently they agreed to it.

 

[Plebe]

Why do you say that?

Attended the Adia Barnes radio show in person. Quote (paraphrase) - "our schedule was terrible this year, teams we wanted to play and thought we would play dropped us when we won the WNIT" "We cannot succeed with an out of conference schedule as weak as this was. You will see a definite improvement in the games we schedule next year".

Also -

Spoke to difficulty in getting teams to come west to play, trying to team up with ASU to get teams to consider doing a double dip, but no one biting.

What she doesn't believe is that playing a whole bunch of top teams is a good idea, because there are so many potential losses in the PAC. And the truth is, from a NCAA tourney perspective, you do have to have the wins. There is a sweet spot, I am sure, I certainly don't know what it is. I would expect 2 or 3 decent games and the rest better than this year, but not necessarily great.

By the way, she was asked, and while she will play them if she has to, she has no desire to play her 2 former head coaches (McGuff or Neighbors) and she absolutely will not schedule a game to play Morgan Valley, who was an assistant here, apparently they agreed to it.

I read an article earlier this season where she said (paraphrasing) that she doesn't see the need for a strong OOC schedule because they get plenty of tough games in conference. This is what I mean by missing the point.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I read an article earlier this season where she said (paraphrasing) that she doesn't see the need for a strong OOC schedule because they get plenty of tough games in conference. This is what I mean by missing the point.

She said that, but she clarified to what I said.

Sadly, almost every team plays a weak OOC schedule, I can probably count on fingers and toes the number of teams scheduling more than 1 theoretically challenging game.

I don't think Adia is missing the point at all, but we will see.

 

[Plebe]

She said that, but she clarified to what I said.

Sadly, almost every team plays a weak OOC schedule, I can probably count on fingers and toes the number of teams scheduling more than 1 theoretically challenging game.

I don't think Adia is missing the point at all, but we will see.

She played the #333 nonconference schedule. Probably only Texas Tech played a weaker schedule among p5 schools. This is the biggest reason Arizona missed the tournament last year. If everyone in the Pac-12 played such a weak schedule, then the conference's RPIs would be so low that teams would literally miss the NCAA tournament because of it.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

She played the #333 nonconference schedule. Probably only Texas Tech played a weaker schedule among p5 schools. This is the biggest reason Arizona missed the tournament last year. If everyone in the Pac-12 played such a weak schedule, then the conference's RPIs would be so low that teams would literally miss the NCAA tournament because of it.

That is the point she made at the radio show. Again I quote "We cannot play a weak schedule like this again".

This year's schedule was a disgrace, and she takes constant heat over it. But she knows it. So I expect better next year.

 

[Plebe]

That is the point she made at the radio show. Again I quote "We cannot play a weak schedule like this again".

This year's schedule was a disgrace, and she takes constant heat over it. But she knows it. So I expect better next year.

Is that radio show available on archive?

 

[Wbbfan1]

Sure Arizona's OOC Schedule may improve slightly but I believed her when she said she won't schedule the UConn's of the World (paraphrase). She won't go out and schedule home/away series against a perennial Top 10 team. She might get a Top 10 Team as part of a Thanksgiving tournament in the Islands or Cancun. Arizona like so many will schedule 8-10 Cupcakes and then have one or two games against possible Top 75 RPI teams. It would help the PAC 12 Teams if they would participate in one or two Conference Challenges. Women's Basketball need a few more coaches like Geno and Muffet that will schedule games against anyone on an annual basis. Don't need more Kim Mulkey and Brenda Frese and that IMO is what Barnes is.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Is that radio show available on archive?

Those remarks were not on-air. She spoke extensively because one of the fans took her to task about the schedule. She named names - who refused to play Arizona. She named names - who is paying more than anyone else to entice lower tier teams to play games at their home. She named names - the discussion within the PAC 12 coaches about the ideal schedule. About the only thing she wouldn't say was her budget. I just don't feel that, though public, her remarks should be aired in a forum.

Vivian said a lot to the Rutgers fan club in the day and you didn't see me (or most other fans) airing those remarks either, even though they were "public".

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Sure Arizona's OOC Schedule may improve slightly but I believed her when she said she won't schedule the UConn's of the World (paraphrase). She won't go out and schedule home/away series against a perennial Top 10 team. She might get a Top 10 Team as part of a Thanksgiving tournament in the Islands or Cancun. Arizona like so many will schedule 8-10 Cupcakes and then have one or two games against possible Top 75 RPI teams. It would help the PAC 12 Teams if they would participate in one or two Conference Challenges. Women's Basketball need a few more coaches like Geno and Muffet that will schedule games against anyone on an annual basis. Don't need more Kim Mulkey and Brenda Frese and that IMO is what Barnes is.

I'm pretty sure it was "multiple games" against the UConn's of the world and I don't expect her to try to schedule one of the top few "elite" teams, at least as long as there is a perception that 2 or 3 of them are in the PAC - top ten is really meaningless. I expect her to schedule at least 2 teams that "could / should" be ranked - for example, Texas this year - it is upgrading the rest of the games that I think is important. Arizona (and Rutgers, for that matter) didn't only play cupcakes, they played some of the worst cupcakes. Yuck.

In spite of the worst OOC going, the RPI is sitting at 38. And to a degree, gaming the RPI is part of what every coach does.

Like it or not, Geno and Muffet are among a very few that schedule against almost anyone. Vivian used to.

 

[Plebe]

Those remarks were not on-air. She spoke extensively because one of the fans took her to task about the schedule. She named names - who refused to play Arizona. She named names - who is paying more than anyone else to entice lower tier teams to play games at their home. She named names - the discussion within the PAC 12 coaches about the ideal schedule. About the only thing she wouldn't say was her budget. I just don't feel that, though public, her remarks should be aired in a forum.

Vivian said a lot to the Rutgers fan club in the day and you didn't see me (or most other fans) airing those remarks either, even though they were "public".

Darn you and your scruples