UCLA goes down to Utah

[Gamecockfan77]

I don't think the sophmores made much of a jump on this year's UCLA team. They are just more highly rated so people are talking about them more and some are getting more playing time. Eye test wise and state wise they seem about the same to me to be completely honest. I was really high on UCLA early season (similar to last year) but now that we are at the end of January their shooting seems to have gotten worse and everything else is about the same so they aren't quite as impressive to me. But who knows theyll probably end up national champions after I've talked all this nonsense.

UCLA seemed better early than late last season as well.

 

[triaddukefan]

Could be. Utah with Kneepkens would definitely have been better. But overall team speed at Colorado is too slow to dominate Marquette and Creighton. Yes, Sherrod is very quick. But the rest of the team is not, and especially Miller and Vonleh. And they don't have the size to make up for it. That says to me these would be competitive games.

And come on, @triaddukefan, how is this not serious? I like Utah's chances against Marquette and Creighton just because they have pretty good team speed and Pili is really fierce -- Morrow-level fierce and a better perimeter shooter. I mention Morrow just to remind you that the Big East teams have played that sort of opponent and they weren't simply bowled over by her. What's more, Utah has no size advantage and Creighton and Marquette are very scrappy defensive teams. Karlen probably couldn't contain Pili. But she's a handful to defend in her own right. Viera is very quick, and they shoot the 3 really well. But so does Marquette. And this is even more true of Creighton.

The Pac12 teams tend to play pretty good offense, but defense is not a strength the further down the conference you go.

But I could have this all wrong. My only point is that other than Stanford and UCLA, the Pac12 teams would find the middle of the Big East pretty competitive. And other than Utah, I don't think any of them would have a chance at upsetting UConn.

NC just announced today that legalized sports betting starts on March 11th. If Colorado plays either Marquette or Creighton in the NCAA's..... I'm putting at least $100 on Colorado to win... depending on the money line. (actually not sure if WBB is a betting option, but if it is). Vonleh and Miller would combine for at least 40 and 20. I'm probably alone in this thinking, but I think Colorado would give UConn a competitive game. I would take Colorado and the points. (subject to change) Personally I would rank them Colorado, Utah USC, Creighton, Marquette.

I'm not sure how we got on topic about the Pac 12 vs the Big East, but hey....

 

[Plebe]

NC just announced today that legalized sports betting starts on March 11th. If Colorado plays either Marquette or Creighton in the NCAA's..... I'm putting at least $100 on Colorado to win... depending on the money line.

Lol.

I'm not foolhardy enough to argue Marquette and Creighton are better teams than Colorado, but it's really too bad gambling in NC wasn't already legal in 2022 when Creighton stunned Iowa and Iowa State much to your shock and dismay. Would've been fun to add the financial flop to the cause for celebration

 

[triaddukefan]

Lol.

I'm not foolhardy enough to argue Marquette and Creighton are better teams than Colorado, but it's really too bad gambling in NC wasn't already legal in 2022 when Creighton stunned Iowa and Iowa State much to your shock and dismay. Would've been fun to add the financial flop to the cause for celebration


View attachment 95599

Come on now,,,, you know I wouldn't be putting any money on any teams from Iowa ( no offense to any fans from the fine state of Iowa)

 

[Plebe]

Come on now,,,, you know I wouldn't be putting any money on any teams from Iowa ( no offense to any fans from the fine state of Iowa)

But you would have put money on Colorado?

Creighton 84-74 Colorado (Mar 18, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Creighton Bluejays vs. Colorado Buffaloes NCAAW game, final score 84-74, from March 18, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[triaddukefan]

But you would have put money on Colorado?

Creighton 84-74 Colorado (Mar 18, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Creighton Bluejays vs. Colorado Buffaloes NCAAW game, final score 84-74, from March 18, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

Welp... think I'm done here. Lemme log off and go to Publix

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yeah, Colorado is so slow they couldn't possibly match up with a team like LSU. What a minute...

 

[LoTrader]

I try to avoid weighing on this team vs that team. So I won't until we get to the NCAA Tournament games.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Yeah, Colorado is so slow they couldn't possibly match up with a team like LSU. What a minute...

Is LSU fast? They are a pretty slow team themselves. Flaujae is really the only starter with speed.

 

[Lorcan]

But you would have put money on Colorado?

Creighton 84-74 Colorado (Mar 18, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Creighton Bluejays vs. Colorado Buffaloes NCAAW game, final score 84-74, from March 18, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

I'd say that Colorado is a very different team from last year. Maddie Nolan has made a huge impact as to where you can't just guard Frida Formann and sag off anyone else who thinks of shooting it from downtown. I'd also venture that Creighton is a team that can get hot in a tournament and start hitting their offense on all cylinders -- regardless of the defense that's playing against them.

 

[nwhoopfan]

That Creighton-Colorado game was nearly 2 years ago. How is that relevant to this season?

 

[Plebe]

That Creighton-Colorado game was nearly 2 years ago. How is that relevant to this season?

Please. Kelsey Plum graduated like 7 years ago and you're still bringing her up at least once a week.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So...is Georgetown better than Colorado? Cuz they are giving Creighton more than they wanted at this point.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Please. Kelsey Plum graduated like 7 years ago and you're still bringing her up at least once a week.

Prove it. I haven't mentioned her for quite a while.

 

[Plebe]

Prove it. I haven't mentioned her for quite a while.

Does 6 days count as "quite a while"?

Caitlin Clark Scoring Record Watch

I’m more interested in how many butts she puts in Big Ten opponents seats this year. The total attendance record for a year is gonna fall ( not home attendance)

the-boneyard.com

 

[nwhoopfan]

Does 6 days count as "quite a while"?

Caitlin Clark Scoring Record Watch

I’m more interested in how many butts she puts in Big Ten opponents seats this year. The total attendance record for a year is gonna fall ( not home attendance)

the-boneyard.com

Dang it. Well if I can't remember stuff, it makes it seem like a lot more time went by. Oh well. In my defense that was germane to that thread and not completely out of left field anyway.

 

[Plebe]

So...is Georgetown better than Colorado? Cuz they are giving Creighton more than they wanted at this point.

Is Arizona State better than Washington?

 

[nwhoopfan]

Is Arizona State better than Washington?

I already said Washington is dead to me, so I refuse to answer this question.

 

[Bone Dog]

That Creighton-Colorado game was nearly 2 years ago. How is that relevant to this season?

Because Creighton has almost entirely the same core roster. Has Colorado gotten that much better? Vonleh replaced Hollingshed, an active big replaced by a slow-footed one. And Maddie Nolan for Peanut Tuitele?

And the point isn’t to show that Colorado is worlds better or worse, merely that it would be a competitive matchup. That looks pretty obvious to me. If Creighton got hot from 3 they could win it on the basis of that and their aggressive, ball hawking defense. Same could be said for Colorado, minus the ball hawking defense.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Because Creighton has almost entirely the same core roster. Has Colorado gotten that much better? Vonleh replaced Hollingshed, and active big replaced by a slow-footed one. And Maddie Nolan for Peanut Tuitele?

I would say yes, Colorado has gotten better. I thought they would take a step back last year without Hollingshed, and in fact they did the opposite. 4 game improvement in conference, won 3 more games total and advanced to the Sweet 16 instead of getting knocked out in the 1st Round. And they are on pace to have a better record this year than last year.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Has Creighton improved since then? What is their best win this year, Michigan St. or Nebraska? They have wins over some solid mid majors and a couple middle of the road Big 10 teams, decent but nothing really approaching a signature win thus far. And the shellacking at the hands of UConn didn't inspire confidence.

 

[Bone Dog]

Has Creighton improved since then? What is their best win this year, Michigan St. or Nebraska? They have wins over some solid mid majors and a couple middle of the road Big 10 teams, decent but nothing really approaching a signature win thus far. And the shellacking at the hands of UConn didn't inspire confidence.

They haven't declined any. The team that beat Colorado two years ago took 6 losses in conference. They outshot Colorado, especially from 3, and out rebounded them. That's a classic Creighton win.

Again, the point is only to show that they're competitive. The fact that Creighton took 6 losses in conference and still made it to the Elite Eight also says something about the Big East.

 

[DefenseBB]

I have to say, I enjoyed reading this thread and some of the very strong even if unsupported opinions. As I have stated a few times, with Sling I get the PAC12 network and watch as many of those games on Friday and Sunday as possible and that conference is way, way, way better than any other conference (conversely, the refereeing and tv announcing is way, way worse). Colorado, UCLA are on par with UConn, Stanford and Utah are better than either Creighton or Marquette and slightly lower than CT, UT and CO. USC is on par with the two BE schools as is Oregon State.

UCLA has depth this year but unfortunately, they still have Cori Close on the clipboard who struggles with in-game adjustments and performance improvement during the year. She's a great recruiter and WCBB ambassador but there is a reason she hits the Sweet 16 ceiling and has never won a PAC12 title-regular season or Tournament title. The consolation prize of winning the WNIT title in 2015 was nice but it didn't spring board her or her team to greater heights as expected. So color me skeptical on this teams success this year in either PAC12 Tournament or NCAAT. I am in full agreement with @TheFarmFan on her assessment. My eyes also tell me that with the 3 losses in conference play already, this is NOT the same team that beat us in November nor are we the same team that they beat but I am also not naive enough to think we could easily beat them now, we couldn't but we could give them a more representative game and I would be fine being place on the same side of the bracket with UCLA.

I also want to throw out support to @triaddukefan who seems to get brought into dialogues even when his team is NOT mentioned. Of course my support is conditional that as soon as Duke is mentioned, my ears are attuned and ready for snark.

 

[Vowelguy]

Saturday nite ND at UConn. This game could get ugly fast for ND. They have not played well when pressed and their bigs are slow. The biggest factor could be NDs bigs guarding Paige and Ash. Both are quicker and good pull up jumpers.

Spot on as usual

 

[bbsamjj]

I have to say, I enjoyed reading this thread and some of the very strong even if unsupported opinions. As I have stated a few times, with Sling I get the PAC12 network and watch as many of those games on Friday and Sunday as possible and that conference is way, way, way better than any other conference (conversely, the refereeing and tv announcing is way, way worse). Colorado, UCLA are on par with UConn, Stanford and Utah are better than either Creighton or Marquette and slightly lower than CT, UT and CO. USC is on par with the two BE schools as is Oregon State.

UCLA has depth this year but unfortunately, they still have Cori Close on the clipboard who struggles with in-game adjustments and performance improvement during the year. She's a great recruiter and WCBB ambassador but there is a reason she hits the Sweet 16 ceiling and has never won a PAC12 title-regular season or Tournament title. The consolation prize of winning the WNIT title in 2015 was nice but it didn't spring board her or her team to greater heights as expected. So color me skeptical on this teams success this year in either PAC12 Tournament or NCAAT. I am in full agreement with @TheFarmFan on her assessment. My eyes also tell me that with the 3 losses in conference play already, this is NOT the same team that beat us in November nor are we the same team that they beat but I am also not naive enough to think we could easily beat them now, we couldn't but we could give them a more representative game and I would be fine being place on the same side of the bracket with UCLA.

I also want to throw out support to @triaddukefan who seems to get brought into dialogues even when his team is NOT mentioned. Of course my support is conditional that as soon as Duke is mentioned, my ears are attuned and ready for snark.

UCLA actually only has two conference losses (at USC, at Utah).

I am not an expert on PAC 12 basketball like some on this board, but my outsider view is this is probably the first year in Cori Close's tenure where UCLA has arguably the most talent in the Pac 12 [although it should be noted, Utah was selected as PAc 12 preseason favorites, which was obviously before injury]. Stanford fans might disagree on this point, which I wouldn't argue, but I think this is the year with by far the biggest expectations on the program.