"UCONN belongs in a tougher conference"

[oldhusky]

Over the years, Uconn has often compensated for a weak conference schedule by taking on quite a few of the top schools out of conference. This year we lost a couple of those and added Arkansas back in, so we had fewer legitimate challenges.

For the best teams in the Power 5 conferences, their out of conference schedule is more like training camp with many easy opponents as they get the new players ready for the real season for them, the conference schedule and tournament.

Our conference results barely move the needle, our ranking year in and year out is based more on our big out of conference games. In the old Big East we had big in conference games, not so much now. But still the BE is overall better than the AAC, but thus far it has resulted in slightly more competitive blowouts than new real challenges.

Perhaps with Uconn in, programs like DePaul and Marquette will be able to step up their recruiting and competition a bit in the future.

 

[huskyd]

I agree. the fact that the AAC never got better is due to the reality that it was a bastardized football league, and wcbb was very low on their list. Even though we put the hurt on Marquette last night, I think that was just us playing up to our potential as the number 1 team, not that they were bad. I thought the Golden Eagles showed a ton of potential and Duffy is a good coach, I suspect one we are going to grow to hate as her teams continue to improve! Let's give the NBE a few years and see if recruiting picks up for the other teams before we give up on the conference.
I also think we'd roll in whatever conference we're in. When they showed the stats going back to 1993, that included all the years of Rutgers, LV, ND, Nova and BC in our conference and being national powers and we still rolled for the most part.

Let's give the NBE a few years

[Hey. Some of us don't have a few years to give . . .]

In writing about teams and leagues, we're ignoring the real question: what makes teams better? How, for example, did UConn emerge from mediocrity to become not only a powerhouse but a perennial one? Was it that better recruits such as Rebecca Lobo started to show interest? Was it Geno's evolution into a bb mastermind? Right now you can cite a decent/good player from most BE schools. Are they enough? Is there a lack of coaching skills in the BE? Can one or two players really elevate a team to something special? Is that what Paige has done? Would Buckets have chosen a school that didn't have a "genius" at its helm? What would the Huskies' record be w/out Slim?
A few BE schools have winning records, and most of us recognize the quality of Coach Duffy. Perhaps it's really only in the blend of competent players and innovative coaches that winners emerge.

 

[ConnMotors]

ConnMotors: How many seasonal losses would you predict if UConn belonged to such a conference as above?

Even great teams loose on occasion. And, UConn has had many of those teams. But all good/great teams can get beat on any given nights. I'm not saying 2, 3 or 4 times a year. However, the possibility of a loss against stronger tiered teams can happen whenever.

 

[Alydar]

This is a problem which appears unique to Women's basketball. There is not enough talent to go around, and all the best players want to play together. I can't really blame them.

One solution I suggested before, is for UConn Women to have an independent schedule, similar to Notre Dame football used to be. Of course, this will never happen.

Second, set up a system like English Premier Soccer. The top fifteen teams play each other twice, that's 28games. The rest of the teams have their own tournament, with the top four teams moving up, replacing the bottom four Premier teams. The Premier teams can have their own 8 team end of season tournament. Of course, this would be super exciting, but it's never going to happen. Just a fun idea.

Had the same general idea. It's time to admit that there isn't enough talent for 350 D1 teams, not even 150. So if colleges want to monetize wcbb like the mens game it needs to concentrate the available talent into a much smaller number.
Hope about the NCAA start a real pre-season NIT type 4 day event right after 1st Semester exams, inviting the previous years FF and 4 other invitees. Play 3 games in 4 days. Call it the early season E8. The games might draw more interest on TV than say High Point at Tenn or S W.. Tex Bible College at Baylor. But too many coaches, especially in the P-5 are more concerned with wins and keeping their job than they are to building the popularity of the game.

 

[triaddukefan]

Had the same general idea. It's time to admit that there isn't enough talent for 350 D1 teams, not even 150. So if colleges want to monetize wcbb like the mens game it needs to concentrate the available talent into a much smaller number.
Hope about the NCAA start a real pre-season NIT type 4 day event right after 1st Semester exams, inviting the previous years FF and 4 other invitees. Play 3 games in 4 days. Call it the early season E8. The games might draw more interest on TV than say High Point at Tenn or S W.. Tex Bible College at Baylor. But too many coaches, especially in the P-5 are more concerned with wins and keeping their job than they are to building the popularity of the game.

Why you bringing High Point into this discussion ?

 

[chrissaran]

UConn and Geno have tried the ACC and Big Ten. Nobody wants to face them twice each year. Sometimes three times a year.

 

[Alydar]

Why you bringing High Point into this discussion ?

Sorry. It's a name that only comes up in the 1st 2 weeks of the season.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Totally respect Eric's post and Eric's opinion

I mentioned this subject in the Marquette post game thread under this post.

Marquette Postgame Thread

I know UConn doesn’t cut the nets until the National Championship but the Big East could’ve added some confetti or balloons. This just looks like the ending after a regular game. There was plenty of confetti when the trophy came out and the pictures were taken.

the-boneyard.com

I only listed the results from the past "Championship Games". Nearly every one a blow out, closest game was 14 vs USF, with an average winning margin, in the "Championship" game of 26+ points.

Over the past 8 seasons, that UConn has been in the AAC and now back in the BE, the other Power 5 conferences have had much closer margins of victory, overall, in the "Championship" game. Not the first round, Qtrs or Semis that some have listed. Also, different teams have won it, see below. The AAC and BE, this year, has had one team win it, UConn

Big 12
Only Baylor has a record close to UConns, for wins in the Championship game over that period, going 6-1(note the Big 12 Tournament was cancelled last year so I did not include it) Baylors average winning margin over that period was 14. If you take out one giant blowout over Iowa State it would be 11, nowhere near the 26 #of UConns.

Big Ten
Has had 4 different winners of the past 8 years, Md 4, Iowa, tOSU, and Nebraska, one each. So there is competition in that conference. The average winning margin in the 8 Championship games is 9

ACC
Has had 3 different teams win, 2 NC St. 5 Notre Dame and 1 Louisville, again competition
The average winning margin in the Championship game is 11
SEC
Has had 3 different teams win, SCarolina, Miss St, and Tenn, again competition
The average winning margin in the championship game is 12

Pac 12
Has had 4 teams win over the past 8 years, 4 Stanford, 2 Oregon, and one each for Oregon State and USC.
Competition, again.
The average winning margin in the Championship game is 13

Now some have said that the other teams in the AAC or BE will have to step up and be competitive, as they did in the old BE times. Different times and different cast of characters, including recruiting levels. Other than USF, nobody ever stepped up to be competitive in the AAC, over the past 7 years. UCF was physical/dirty, but in the end couldnt play with UConn, and yes there was one game vs Tulane that scared the sh_t out of BY fans. Otherwise nothing ever improved, competition wise.

I still think UConn needs a tougher conference to play in. Is it UConns fault that the others in their conference are not more competitive, NO. Will it happen, most likely not.

 

[triaddukefan]

Sorry. It's a name that only comes up in the 1st 2 weeks of the season.

Better put some respeck on our name..... we are heavily favored to earn a bid to the NCAA's for the first time in program history. #fearthepaw

 

[Alydar]

The answer is for the BE schools to up their wbb budgets and use top coaches to attract players. They do it for the men. And recruit talented 20-something assistant coaches and pay them enough to keep and promote the good ones like Duffy.
The coach is probably the No 1 factor for top level recruits in picking a school.

 

[cferraro04]

I believe and thereby predict that by the time Azzi Fudd leaves college for the WNBA that the Big East will be one of the top three Women's basketball conferences with regards to the number of schools that get into the Big
Dance.

 

[Alydar]

Totally respect Eric's post and Eric's opinion

I mentioned this subject in the Marquette post game thread under this post.

Marquette Postgame Thread

I know UConn doesn’t cut the nets until the National Championship but the Big East could’ve added some confetti or balloons. This just looks like the ending after a regular game. There was plenty of confetti when the trophy came out and the pictures were taken.

the-boneyard.com

I only listed the results from the past "Championship Games". Nearly every one a blow out, closest game was 14 vs USF, with an average winning margin, in the "Championship" game of 26+ points.

Over the past 8 seasons, that UConn has been in the AAC and now back in the BE, the other Power 5 conferences have had much closer margins of victory, overall, in the "Championship" game. Not the first round, Qtrs or Semis that some have listed. Also, different teams have won it, see below. The AAC and BE, this year, has had one team win it, UConn

Big 12
Only Baylor has a record close to UConns, for wins in the Championship game over that period, going 6-1(note the Big 12 Tournament was cancelled last year so I did not include it) Baylors average winning margin over that period was 14. If you take out one giant blowout over Iowa State it would be 11, nowhere near the 26 #of UConns.

Big Ten
Has had 4 different winners of the past 8 years, Md 4, Iowa, tOSU, and Nebraska, one each. So there is competition in that conference. The average winning margin in the 8 Championship games is 9

ACC
Has had 3 different teams win, 2 NC St. 5 Notre Dame and 1 Louisville, again competition
The average winning margin in the Championship game is 11
SEC
Has had 3 different teams win, SCarolina, Miss St, and Tenn, again competition
The average winning margin in the championship game is 12

Pac 12
Has had 4 teams win over the past 8 years, 4 Stanford, 2 Oregon, and one each for Oregon State and USC.
Competition, again.
The average winning margin in the Championship game is 13

Now some have said that the other teams in the AAC or BE will have to step up and be competitive, as they did in the old BE times. Different times and different cast of characters, including recruiting levels. Other than USF, nobody ever stepped up to be competitive in the AAC, over the past 7 years. UCF was physical/dirty, but in the end couldnt play with UConn, and yes there was one game vs Tulane that scared the sh_t out of BY fans. Otherwise nothing ever improved, competition wise.

I still think UConn needs a tougher conference to play in. Is it UConns fault that the others in their conference are not more competitive, NO. Will it happen, most likely not.

Nice post. But I want to point out that in 2013, when the BE had 3 of the FF teams fans of a few P5 schools still said their conference was equal at the top and superior below that. Then N Dame went to the supposedly powerful ACC, and went undefeated for the first 2 years they played there? Where was all the great competition P-5 fans always talk about? ND made the ACC look like the BE does vs UConn now. So maybe the BE isn't as bad as UConn has made them appear this season?

 

[cferraro04]

Nice post. But I want to point out that in 2013, when the BE had 3 of the FF teams fans of a few P5 schools still said their conference was equal at the top and superior below that. Then N Dame went to the supposedly powerful ACC, and went undefeated for the first 2 years they played there? Where was all the great competition P-5 fans always talk about? ND made the ACC look like the BE does vs UConn now. So maybe the BE isn't as bad as UConn has made them appear this season?

Alydar...good points...as I earlier pointed out we not only had 3 of the 4 teams in the final four but it was an all Big East final. And, many people objected to the Big East getting 8 teams in that year...we probably should have gotten 9 teams in.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Nice post. But I want to point out that in 2013, when the BE had 3 of the FF teams fans of a few P5 schools still said their conference was equal at the top and superior below that. Then N Dame went to the supposedly powerful ACC, and went undefeated for the first 2 years they played there? Where was all the great competition P-5 fans always talk about? ND made the ACC look like the BE does vs UConn now. So maybe the BE isn't as bad as UConn has made them appear this season?

The schools in the ACC can compete on recruiting that the teams in the BE, other than UConn arent close.

By the way, your post changes the subject to who made the FF in 2013, to mine that the individual P5 conferences are much more competitive, when it comes to the Championship game. Every power 5 conference has had more competitive Championship games than the conferences that UConn has been, in the past 8 years.
Maybe if UConn had a competitive football team this would be moot?

 

[Tonyc]

UConn doesnt need a stronger conference if they continue to play a tuff OOC schedule. Depaul is in the NCAAs and a regular in the top 25 until the past couple of weeks. Seton Hall Marquette and Creighton have been competitive. The SEC is tuff this season and was less tuff a few years ago as was the PAC 12. Conferences have their ups and downs. UConn doesnt. UConns downs are not winning a NC. How many more games would UConn loose playing in the SEC or Pac 12? We dont know. Let me say this and many of you are already thinking it. Paige deserves NPOY and NFOY this season. Azzi it has been said is better then Paige. If thats so will Azzi be NPOY and NFOy next season and if so how good will UCOnn be with Caroline, Saylor Amari and Azzi?????? It wont matter what conference their in. There are alot of "Ifs" on both sides. Bottom line UConn has won more NCs then any other team and it dosnt matter what conference their in. Just think about all the top teams UConn has beaten over the years to win those NC's and the ones they didnt win how many did they loose at the buzzer???????????? Enough said. IMO it doesnt matter. UConn is the GREATEST Team in all Sports and theyve got records that may never be broken.

 

[huskeynut]

ERIC; Good post.

I posted this in the realignment section a while back because of Covid. If we could have our own way and do as we wished UConn could be a part of a Conference with 12 Division I schools all within the Northeast region.

Boston College
Connecticut
Syracuse
Temple
Rutgers
Pittsburgh
Penn State
Maryland
Army
Navy
Buffalo
Massachusetts.

All of these schools are a bus ride away. And, it could be a football conference as well.

Sadly, this is only a dream. UConn is stuck in the Big East. They would have to pay a ton of bucks to get out.

Geno would win no matter of what conference that the team plays in. Championships would still be hung from the rafters. The only thing that would be different is how many wins and losses that he may have.

Connmotors - what makes your "dream conference" any better than the BE?

The only 2 or 3 teams that would give UConn a game are Maryland and the Cuse and maybe Rutgers. The rest are terrible teams. Forget football. None of those P5 teams would ever leave for your proposed conference.

UConn is where it belongs - in the Big East.

 

[Florida Fan]

@Plebe I have spend the last 15 minutes transfixed with joy starring at the Muffet. ?

ND will not be in need of oxygen too much longer. Case in point, High-school transfer Oliva Miles, ripping through college defenses, just the beginning of competitive graduate transfers and college transfers who will qualify as " in need" of the golden dome ambiance. When Miles starts to pass more, losing her Ogumicke predilections, ND will become more of a threat to all comers. In the meantime, continue to enjoy the Irish miscues, many coming late in tight contests. The ACC tournament should tell the tale.

 

[Florida Fan]

ND will not be in need of oxygen too much longer. Case in point, High-school transfer Oliva Miles, ripping through college defenses, just the beginning of competitive graduate transfers and college transfers who will qualify as " in need" of the golden dome ambiance. When Miles starts to pass more, losing her Ogumicke predilections, ND will become more of a threat to all comers. In the meantime, continue to enjoy the Irish miscues, many coming late in tight contests. The ACC tournament should tell the tale.

Olivia Miles; my error.

 

[Alydar]

The schools in the ACC can compete on recruiting that the teams in the BE, other than UConn arent close.

By the way, your post changes the subject to who made the FF in 2013, to mine that the individual P5 conferences are much more competitive, when it comes to the Championship game. Every power 5 conference has had more competitive Championship games than the conferences that UConn has been, in the past 8 years.
Maybe if UConn had a competitive football team this would be moot?

And there are probably a dozen mid-majors with competitive tournaments. I wish the BE women's tournament was as exciting as the Men's. MSG rocks for those games. The best basketball I ever witnessed. But you dance with the one you came with. But the BE can compete if their willing to pay top coaches (and assistant coaches) as they do for the men. After doing that they can point out to elite players that at XXX basketball is the prime sport. At (P-5) it's football football football".
I think the point being made was that in several years UConn's conference may not only deep but the top of the BE was clearly above any of the P-5 conferences. There were years when if the rankings were an honest comparison then UConn would have been No 1 and the next team would have been listed No 3. That's when threads about conference strength sprout up on boards like crabgrass pushing through a sidewalk.
Sorry to rant but I've been listening to how much better conference XXX is than the BE/AAC for 25 years. It always coincides with the apparent rise of the UConn program over the rest of the country.

Marquette was the AP 26 and Massey 30 and UConn beat them as bad as they beat No 200+ SMU the last 7 years. I say look out for UConn.

 

[LoboDays]

ERIC; Good post.

I posted this in the realignment section a while back because of Covid. If we could have our own way and do as we wished UConn could be a part of a Conference with 12 Division I schools all within the Northeast region.

Boston College
Connecticut
Syracuse
Temple
Rutgers
Pittsburgh
Penn State
Maryland
Army
Navy
Buffalo
Massachusetts.

All of these schools are a bus ride away. And, it could be a football conference as well.

Sadly, this is only a dream. UConn is stuck in the Big East. They would have to pay a ton of bucks to get out.

Geno would win no matter of what conference that the team plays in. Championships would still be hung from the rafters. The only thing that would be different is how many wins and losses that he may have.

You want Penn St football to play that schedule? They would go undefeated and still miss the playoffs.

 

[Monte]

It is what it is.

 

[Steve UConn72]

Bottom line - this is IT for UCONN.

Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreamin' each night of his charms
That won't get you into... a new conference.

Ooooh. Nice use of a sultry Dusty Springfield reference. Well done!

 

[iri10]

The thing that annoys me about the BE is not their average strength / challenge level. It's actually the size of the schedule. In an ordinary season that's 20 conference games. No conference should have 20 games on the schedule in basketball. Outside of a modest number of conference rivals that any good team has, it's the good OOC matchups that generate interest. Having that many cuts into our ability to strengthen our schedule to make up for the conference's weakness. The latter is obviously less of a problem on the men's side where the average level in the BE is higher than on the women's side, but even there I don't think they need 20.

We simply do not need to play every team in this rather middling group twice. And no other team in this middling group needs it either.

 

[CL82]

Maybe we should consider allowing Stanford to upgrade their schedule by joining the Big East. Just sayin......

As long a California doesn't allow them to play home games, it works for me.

 

[CL82]

In order for UConn to make it to a P5 conference, they have to have a P5 football team. That boat has sailed.