UCONN Drops To # 9 in latest ESPN Power Rankings

[Carnac]

I'm always interested in what my fellow boneyarders are thinking. I know what I think, what do YOU think? Given our play the last 10 days, how far do you feel that our team will go in the NCAA Tournament?

Yes or no.......do we win our first 3 games and make it to the "elite 8"? Explain please. I'm reading a lot of optimism and pessimism in these threads. We can't depend on our past success going into THIS tournament. What do you THINK will happen, not what you WANT to happen. We all WANT the same thing.....to win the last 6 games.

This team has already broken several long-standing records due to injuries to key players. Two of our five losses have been to unranked teams. Keep in mind that we struggled with unranked 15-15 DePaul while committing 18 turnovers. Are we still in contention that final weekend?

 

[wingsfan055]

My guess is the Committee will not want to put UConn & SC in the same region. It would be bad for many reasons..Some of which are the same reasons Tenn. never was put in UConn's region during Pat's last few years.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I'm always interested in what my fellow boneyarders are thinking. I know what I think, what do YOU think? Given our play the last 10 days, how far do you feel that our team will go? Yes or no.......do we win our first 3 games and make it to the "elite 8"? We can't depend on our past success going into THIS tournament. This team has already broken several long-standing records due to injuries to key players. Keep in mind that we struggled with unranked 15-15 DePaul while committing 18 turnovers.

The last ten games don’t matter much to me. The team hasn’t been practicing- choosing instead to rest players and start recovery according to Nika and Geno. After today they’ll have 3 weeks of normal practices again and I expect to see a much different team, with or without Fudd.

 

[visitingcock]

My guess is the Committee will not want to put UConn & SC in the same region. It would be bad for many reasons..Some of which are the same reasons Tenn. never was put in UConn's region during Pat's last few years.

Don't think "regions" anymore. With only 2 regions, shift your mind to "brackets."

 

[HuskyNan]

UConn will be the 2 seed (if they win out) no one wants in their bracket

 

[msf22b]

Massey (the most reliable ranking in my view) has Connecticut 4th; none of the top four moved despite losses by Indiana, Stanford, and Connecticut.

Let's see what they look like tonight

Just doesn't pass the smell test to me 4,5,6,7,8
whatever...Who wants to play Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, even Notre Dame right now..Enough problems upcoming with Villanova and I wouldn't even be enthused about a matchup with a riled up DePaul right now.

They've won some, lost some, everything is a struggle...
they appear beat-up, for whatever reason
Still playing too few, too many minutes

We have the potential to be a much better team if shooters return and are in form.

Let's make note of tonight and the Big East tourney
Some first-class wins and we can start belly-aching of our seeding.

 

[bbsamjj]

Unless Iowa wins the B10 tournament (which would include beating MD and IND); I'm getting the sense that the committee is gearing up for a UConn/Iowa Sweet 16 matchup (one as last #2, one as top #3).

 

[Rowdy831]

UCONN has looked pretty average since the SC game and the ranking show that out. One issue they have is the people who make the decisions on placement are seeing a UCONN team that has done nothing to develop players so their starters get short breaks within the game. Did AE even come out of the game on Saturday?

I have been a huge Geno fan since he was a youngster but you would have to be a total homer to think he has done a decent job developing a rotation this year with his bench. They absolutely will need to play at least 8 players to make a deep run whether Azzi returns or not.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

UCONN has looked pretty average since the SC game and the ranking show that out. One issue they have is the people who make the decisions on placement are seeing a UCONN team that has done nothing to develop players so their starters get short breaks within the game. Did AE even come out of the game on Saturday?

I have been a huge Geno fan since he was a youngster but you would have to be a total homer to think he has done a decent job developing a rotation this year with his bench. They absolutely will need to play at least 8 players to make a deep run whether Azzi returns or not.

Nothing to develop players?? From Aaliyah to Nika to Aubrey player development at UConn has been incredible this year. When 4 players who could be starters and are key rotational players get injured you lose any real chance at depth. Just facts.

 

[Topsail]

Let's see what they look like tonight

Just doesn't pass the smell test to me 4,5,6,7,8
whatever...Who wants to play Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, even Notre Dame right now..Enough problems upcoming with Villanova and I wouldn't even be enthused about a matchup with a riled up DePaul right now.

They've won some, lost some, everything is a struggle...
they appear beat-up, for whatever reason
Still playing too few, too many minutes

We have the potential to be a much better team if shooters return and are in form.

Let's make note of tonight and the Big East tourney
Some first-class wins and we can start belly-aching of our seeding.

Notre Dame could be in trouble.. Miles went down with knee injury… Ivey is awaiting test results..

 

[VA Huskie]

I feel like there won’t be an easy bracket for anyone except South Carolina. If this holds, it’d be a tough route to the Final Four, but with Azzi back, I think this team has the chance to look how they did in the early season games against Texas, NC State, Iowa, etc.

I’d certainly like to see us like the earlier season version of the Huskies. But a big question will be how Azzi performs, should she come back. She’s missed a lot of time.

 

[darrell]

I’d certainly like to see us like the earlier season version of the Huskies. But a big question will be how Azzi performs, should she come back. She’s missed a lot of time.

Hopefully things won’t get too competitive until, at least, the Sweet 16. If she slowly works her way back, she should be ready to go by then.

 

[HuskyNan]

Nothing to develop players?? From Aaliyah to Nika to Aubrey player development at UConn has been incredible this year. When 4 players who could be starters and are key rotational players get injured you lose any real chance at depth. Just facts.

People forget Nika was the 10th best point guard (by HoopGurlz) and Aaliyah #23 out of high school and now they’re in the discussion for national honors. Aubrey was #33 out of high school is is, IMO, an All Conference player

 

[SLY63]

UConn will be the 2 seed (if they win out) no one wants in their bracket

I agree, and if we don't win the BET, it is hard to see us above a 3 seed, unless there are major upsets..

 

[faithfulfan]

Pointless now, but likely close to reality without Azzi,
with Azzi healthy, more likely #2!
Remember UCONN played the toughest schedule in Women's BBall this year, and they did it hurt, but some of those players are coming back!
Cue the Undertakers entrance music if Azzi comes back healthy! lololololololol
Next year, undefeated #1, so the haters better get ready for a long year next year!

 

[faithfulfan]

People forget Nika was the 10th best point guard (by HoopGurlz) and Aaliyah #23 out of high school and now they’re in the discussion for national honors. Aubrey was #33 out of high school is is, IMO, an All Conference player

Exactly, when you look back at this season, the injuries, the poor officiating, UCONN is 25-5, a great job by Geno and his staff, I think he should be up for Coach of the Year!

 

[faithfulfan]

I agree, and if we don't win the BET, it is hard to see us above a 3 seed, unless there are major upsets..

There will be upsets, and half the teams currently ahead of UCONN will lose in their tournaments, so they'll be a #1 seed again if they win the Big East and Azzi returns!

 

[faithfulfan]

Over the past month, we have shown that we can lose to or play a tight game against any top 50 team. The ranking of 9 reflects some good wins months ago. We need our mojo back. If we can find it, this could be a Final Four team. If we get the Fuddster back, we could be a NC team. Without both, I’m not sure we can win a game in Seattle or Greenville. Tonight is an opportunity to find our mojo! Go Huskies! I hope Gampel is full and loud!

Agree to a point, but UCONN only lost 1 game in the last 3 weeks!
And the week before that UCONN gave SC their toughest game without Azzi, and with the refs giving SC 11 more foul shots!

 

[Jokerman619]

UCONN has looked pretty average since the SC game and the ranking show that out. One issue they have is the people who make the decisions on placement are seeing a UCONN team that has done nothing to develop players so their starters get short breaks within the game. Did AE even come out of the game on Saturday?

I have been a huge Geno fan since he was a youngster but you would have to be a total homer to think he has done a decent job developing a rotation this year with his bench. They absolutely will need to play at least 8 players to make a deep run whether Azzi returns or not.

The will be fine. And no one here can even contend with Genos thinking. He absolutely knows what he is doing. So I don't second guess him. And the young woman also have a say on how they play. Uconn can always find a way to the top. GO HUSKIES

 

[Dognusty]

Hopefully things won’t get too competitive until, at least, the Sweet 16. If she slowly works her way back, she should be ready to go by then.

Do you realize how high that is compared to all the players that come out of high school. That is like 90th percentile lol

 

[Dognusty]

Agree to a point, but UCONN only lost 1 game in the last 3 weeks!
And the week before that UCONN gave SC their toughest game without Azzi, and with the refs giving SC 11 more foul shots!

10 came when uconn was intentionally fouling. And they missed a bunch. I said before SC didn't really playna good game and they were up by almost 10 points when Uconn started to foul. They missed a ton of free throws. 4 points ok but I would say the biggest scares for SC were Ole Miss and Stanford. Uconn they had that win with almost 2 mins left in the game. Just being a realist on this board

 

[Forego]

Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but the one statistic that cannot be denied is that UConn has scored more than 70 points only once in February, on some occasions struggled to score 60. Yes, injuries, fatigue and disgraceful officiating have contributed to the problem, but four days off will not solve these problems. It is unknown if Azzi will return and it is not known by how much her return will increase the scoring average.

 

[JellyBean]

I'm always interested in what my fellow boneyarders are thinking. I know what I think, what do YOU think? Given our play the last 10 days, how far do you feel that our team will go in the NCAA Tournament?

Yes or no.......do we win our first 3 games and make it to the "elite 8"? Explain please. I'm reading a lot of optimism and pessimism in these threads. We can't depend on our past success going into THIS tournament. What do you THINK will happen, not what you WANT to happen. We all WANT the same thing.....to win the last 6 games.

This team has already broken several long-standing records due to injuries to key players. Two of our five losses have been to unranked teams. Keep in mind that we struggled with unranked 15-15 DePaul while committing 18 turnovers. Are we still in contention that final weekend?

Great question! I can see UConn making it past the Sweet Sixteen. Getting past the Elite 8, my gut is telling me, No. Just going on what we have now with the current rotation and subbing patterns. There is going to be a matchup where a program is going to bring pressure for 40 minutes and given our lack of usage of the bench over the season and the miles the starters have logged, it is going to end badly for us. So, to answer your question, I can see us making it to the Sweet Sixteen and then after that, it is going to come down to some serious luck. But my gut is telling me, we bow out after the Sweet Sixteen.

 

[Dognusty]

This Uconn team is a really good team. Are they great. no but they are really good. Can they be beat yes. We have to stop comparing what is now to the days of yesterday. As I've said previously those days are over. Next year on paper Uconn is the team to beat. The next year not so sure. It is what Women's Basketball is going forward.

 

[Carnac]

Pay close attention to the teams that do well in their respective tournaments. That will give you a clue who is trending and peaking right now. Any team can have a hiccup.

Remember, South Carolina lost its conference final to Kentucky last year. That was a wake up call for the Gamecocks. They haven’t lost a game since.

Strange things can happen during those 3 weekends. If you like college basketball, this is by far the most wonderful time of the year. The 2023 D1 Women’s College Basketball March Madness bracket reveal selection show will be aired Sunday night March 12 at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN. The field will feature 68 teams.