UConn and its bracket - the first two rounds at Gampel | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn and its bracket - the first two rounds at Gampel

oldude said:
We got to see that last season as Crooks put up a very respectable 22 points against the Huskies at the Mohegan Sun. Unfortunately for Iowa State, the Huskies shredded the Cyclones zone defense, winning the game by 33. I expect more of the same this year, particularly since Iowa State has really struggled at the end of the season. Of course before that matchup happens, Iowa State has to get by Syracuse.
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This years version of Audi Crooks is much different than last years version as she has shed 45 lbs from her frame. She will still struggle with UConn's pace. She'll probably get her 20-25 points and still lose by 25+ pts
 
U OF A (rizona) beat Auburn in that play-in game at Gampel two seasons ago-- Gampel was almost EMPTY-- maybe 25-30 of us ? spectators....I believe I was quite lucky to see that game was scheduled...., and don't recall where....
Syracuse, with Dyaisha Fair's over 30 points, then edged U of A, which had a 5-pt (?) lead with 3 min to go,...and lost....
UConn then beat the Orange in a great game......One Orange starter was out injured, but two Orange, I believe both Aussies, shot great from "3" to keep them close, with Fair held to the low 20's....
I was glad to get Raquel Nurse's autograph after the game- I then didn't even know that her daughter was on the Orange, and am not sure if she played... Raquel, Kia Nurse's aunt, looked like she could still play, which she did well vs UConn....I asked her whom Kia was rooting for that night at Gampel....🙃....don't think she replied.....
 
HuskyNan said:
Have you guys forgotten last year already? I’m pondering paying big bucks to fly up from Florida just to watch Audi chase Blanca for 20 minutes. In case the print is too small - it says UConn 101, Iowa State 68, and that was an early season game before the defense improved. Azzi didn’t play in that game, either

View attachment 118218
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And that UConn team played at a far-more Audi friendly pace.
 
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It's always fun going up to catch a game at the G. But parking being more expensive than a ticket? Tough on a single driver. :-(
 
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Sluconn Husky said:
Iowa State was 16-4 when Addi Brown played, 6-5 when she didn't.

Really shouldn't be a 2nd round matchup for UConn.
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Iowa State was ranked 10th in the nation on the last ranking of the prior calendar year 29 December. They lost to Baylor by two points on 4 January, which dropped them one spot in the AP to 11th. On 31 December 2025 they were ranked number 14 in Massey. An AP ranking of 10 or 11 is a solid three seed, a ranking of 14 would be a four seed. Eddie Brown was on the team to that point and then was injured.

The Baylor loss was the first of a five-game losing streak, but four of those losses occurred when Addy Brown was out injured. One of those losses was against West Virginia which they might have lost anyway, but one of those losses was against number 100 Cincinnati which almost certainly would never occurred were Addy Brown healthy.

The five-game losing streak cause them to plummet in both Massey and the AP rankings and they dropped out of the top 25. Understandable, given those losses. I don't recall whether the voters knew that Brown was likely to return but I don't think they would or should make adjustments to the rankings until such time as she returned.

She is back, and they are doing much better, with the notable exception of loss in the conference tournament to Arizona State because Addy Brown apparently was healthy, This is a loss to a team by 9 points they beat by 26 on 18 February.

It appears that Iowa State was solidly in the 3/4 seed range before Addy Brown's injury. She has returned and they are doing much better although maybe not quite 3/4, but arguably much better than an eight seed.

I get that no one's going to shed any tears if UConn has to face a team in the second round that probably deserves to be a third round opponent, But while UConn is likely to be favored in every game they play, but if you play somebody with a 15% chance of winning versus the 6% chance of winning over and over again it may catch up to you.
 
HuskyNan said:
Interesting. The eye test worked in UConn’s favor

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I remember John Fanta totally flabbergasted by UCONN's relentless style during the Big East championship. He just kept repeating, "Can you believe this team??"
that was a prime example of UCONN passing the eye test!
HuskyNan said:
Interesting. The eye test worked in UConn’s favor

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I remember John Fanta totally flabbergasted by UCONN's relentless, dominant performance during the Big East championship. He kept repeating, "Can you believe this team??"
That was a prime example of UCONN passing the eye test. The ultimate "observable component".
 
Cornell Lt said:
This years version of Audi Crooks is much different than last years version as she has shed 45 lbs from her frame. She will still struggle with UConn's pace. She'll probably get her 20-25 points and still lose by 25+ pts
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Beyond Crooks, Iowa St has taken a step backwards. They will struggle mightily with UConn’s pressure and there’s a lot of holes in their zone for shooters to spot up and knock down shots.
 
Geno Re:Vanderbilt

The Commodores were a 1-seed in the first bracket reveal back in February but suffered a bad loss at Georgia, then got blown out by Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament. Since two top-four seeds from the same conference can’t occupy the same region, Vanderbilt had to be placed with either UConn or UCLA. The Commodores ultimately slipped behind LSU, which sent them to the Huskies’ quadrant.

That’s the official explanation, at least. Auriemma isn’t quite so convinced.

“I haven't looked at it close enough, but the way it was explained to me, that would be like they are the number eight team in the country. I find that hard to believe. I find that hard to believe,” he said. “Hopefully they were put there because that's where they deserve to be, not because of some ulterior motive… That would be disrespectful to Vanderbilt and to Shea.”




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Two things that I have noticed in this bracket:

1. There are more high scorers (Audi Crooks - 25.5 points, Hannah Hidalgo - 25.2, Jaloni Cambridge - 22.8, Mikayla Blakes - 27) compared to other 3 brackets. If I am not mistaken, they are top 5 scorers. Uconn will have a handful with these players if they meet. Fortunately, Uconn already played against 2 of them in the regular season.

2. Uconn potentially meet Maryland, which has 2 former Huskies, Lir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger. It would be interesting.
 
Fastbreak said:
Geno Re:Vanderbilt

The Commodores were a 1-seed in the first bracket reveal back in February but suffered a bad loss at Georgia, then got blown out by Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament. Since two top-four seeds from the same conference can’t occupy the same region, Vanderbilt had to be placed with either UConn or UCLA. The Commodores ultimately slipped behind LSU, which sent them to the Huskies’ quadrant.

That’s the official explanation, at least. Auriemma isn’t quite so convinced.

“I haven't looked at it close enough, but the way it was explained to me, that would be like they are the number eight team in the country. I find that hard to believe. I find that hard to believe,” he said. “Hopefully they were put there because that's where they deserve to be, not because of some ulterior motive… That would be disrespectful to Vanderbilt and to Shea.”




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It sounds like Geno is having a senior moment. He knows the seeding rules.
 
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Using Massey's rating system, the top 6 opponents for the #1 seeds in their quarters have an average rating of:


UConn: 15.5

Texas: 16.8

UCLA: 17.7

South Carolina: 20.2
 
Gus Mahler said:
Thanks to you and @packwrap. I never knew where TCU was located, but it should've clicked.
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It's funny, when you know where it is, their athletic success makes sense. SMU is right next to them in their sister city, Dallas. Good old Dallas/Fort Worth. Not big enough to be a Triangle, just a Line Segment. 😁
 
Mike72fl said:
Two things that I have noticed in this bracket:

1. There are more high scorers (Audi Crooks - 25.5 points, Hannah Hidalgo - 25.2, Jaloni Cambridge - 22.8, Mikayla Blakes - 27) compared to other 3 brackets. If I am not mistaken, they are top 5 scorers. Uconn will have a handful with these players if they meet. Fortunately, Uconn already played against 2 of them in the regular season.

2. Uconn potentially meet Maryland, which has 2 former Huskies, Lir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger. It would be interesting.
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If you don't stay a season are you a former Husky? I know we were hurting some, but I always felt activating Saylor was a mistake. She could have been so fine.
 
oldude said:
We got to see that last season as Crooks put up a very respectable 22 points against the Huskies at the Mohegan Sun. Unfortunately for Iowa State, the Huskies shredded the Cyclones zone defense, winning the game by 33. I expect more of the same this year, particularly since Iowa State has really struggled at the end of the season. Of course before that matchup happens, Iowa State has to get by Syracuse.
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You just proved my point. Yes, she scored 22, UCONN wins by 33. 5 will beat 1......EVERY SINGLE TIME.
 
Horsebrnhil said:
You just proved my point. Yes, she scored 22, UCONN wins by 33. 5 will beat 1......EVERY SINGLE TIME.
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I think of it more as 5 on 4. If Iowa state plays man defense, Audi will not be able to keep up with UConn’s transition offense. Either she lingers on the defensive end or she focuses on offense. And if they play zone, that undoubtedly means drop coverage in the paint which will allow Azzi and Sarah to do what Paige did to Oklahoma last year.

Game within the game: Jada Williams and KK know each other from AAU play, where they were rivals. It could be interesting.
 
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