UConn not in Albany? Portland bracket here (merged) | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UConn not in Albany? Portland bracket here (merged)

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I believe her box-office attraction is the only reason UConn isn’t in Albany.

I think it was the consolation prize to the arena for moving UConn across the country.
 

Hoopcrazee

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They’d be a draw anywhere, but my point is that since they decided to put Iowa in Albany, they didn’t need to also put UConn there, too.
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I am genuinely pleased with our bracket. I was expecting the post-season to end somewhat early due to running into a post we just couldn’t compete with height wise. However, we avoided Cardoso of South Carolina, Brinks of Stanford, Beers of Oregon State, and Betts of UCLA until at least the F4. Marshall of USC is good — and 6’4 — but the biggest thing I saw derailing a potential run was a height disadvantage. That aside, I’d give our talent a fighting chance head for head against anyone else.
 
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The possibility of a tOSU game is interesting. I think we’re better positioned to face them this season since a small lineup could be effective against them. I like Aaliyah as a matchup against Mikulasikova, though I expect Rebecca won’t see a lot of minutes against us. I suspect McGuff will try to post McMahon up to get fouls on Aaliyah.

In the half court set, the real problem matchup for us will be Thierry. I like Paige on McMahon and Nika and KK on Sheldon. But I don’t know if Ash is big enough to contain Thierry. Could Q give us good defensive minutes on her?

In the transition game, I think we can handle the press, especially if we can press them for stretches. Maybe not a full court press, but a high hedge or a 3/4 press used judiciously. Last year, when they had better 3pt shooting, this was too risky. But this year, whenever Mikulasikova is not in the floor, the main perimeter shooters are Sheldon and Shumate.

But forcing tOSU into a half court offense depends on being able to score on our end and that depends on breaking their press. Azzi Lou Dorka and Aaliyah were not able to do that effectively. Can Paige Aaliyah Ash and Nika do this better this time? I think it all depends on how healthy the girls are and how sturdy their confidence is. Plus, I think Paige this year is a craftier offensive presence and a better defensive presence than Azzi or Lou were last season.
 
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I wonder if the committee sent UCONNWest so there wouldn't be another outcry about a #3 seed having the home court advantage vs. a #1& #2 seed.
NC State fans are still complaining about their 2022 loss in Connecticut!
 

oldude

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I wonder if the committee sent UCONNWest so there wouldn't be another outcry about a #3 seed having the home court advantage vs. a #1& #2 seed.
NC State fans are still complaining about their 2022 loss in Connecticut!
UConn was a #2 seed in 2022. The committee tries to keep #1 & #2 seeds close to home, if possible, to pump up attendance at regionals. After that, all bets are off.
 
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Just a reminder that it's not normal to just expect the committee to give in and put any team in their preferred regional only because of their school name. No other team in the country has those expectations and y'all got burned as a result.
They used to try to keep schools local for attendance reasons.
 
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As others have said this is a pretty good draw for us. Of teh 2 seeds, i think iOSU is teh weakest--the others are UCLA, Standford, and Notre Dame. Of the seeds (USC, the other USC, Texas and Iowa), ithink i would prefer Texas, and then Southern Cal, in part becuase SC does not have the experience of NCAAs the Iowa has. And of course, not hve to go through South Carolina is a blessing.
 

HuskyNan

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Do not use this board to sell your tickets. Use the board on the Boneyard set up for that purpose

 
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UConn was a #2 seed in 2022. The committee tries to keep #1 & #2 seeds close to home, if possible, to pump up attendance at regionals. After that, all bets are off.
Great point! I am just trying to make logic out of sending UCONN out West instead of keeping them close to home for ticket sales.
Not that I am complaining. I like our bracket!!;)
 
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They used to try to keep schools local for attendance reasons.
Exactly. It's not like I expected UConn in Albany just because they are super special or whatever.

Even watching the men's bracket discussion they did mention that they kept location in mind ...
 

Blueballer

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They used to try to keep schools local for attendance reasons.
Yes and since they've changed that attendance has not been great. The women's game can't ignore regional interest as much as people like Deb Antonelli have been clamoring for it. They might get away with it in Albany between the inclusion SC and and also Clark but UCLA fans are not going to have that many fans fly all away across the country. IMO the other regions are really going to have tons of empty seats with the exception of a few teams games.
 

oldude

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Yes and since they've changed that attendance has not been great. The women's game can't ignore regional interest as much as people like Deb Antonelli have been clamoring for it. They might get away with it in Albany between the inclusion SC and and also Clark but UCLA fans are not going to have that many fans fly all away across the country. IMO the other regions are really going to have tons of empty seats with the exception of a few teams games.
If the circus comes to Portland, OR the fans will show up in mass to see Paige and her teammates.
 

Blueballer

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If the circus comes to Portland, OR the fans will show up in mass to see Paige and her teammates.
I hope you're right. But even if our fans show up in respectable numbers it won't be enough to fill the arena. The other teams fans have to go as well.
 
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I was hoping to avoid 3 teams. South Carolina, LSU, and UCLA. Their size intimidates me. I’m happy our regional is free of those opponents.

Syracuse is no joke, they beat ND twice and have the potential to play really well. Ohio State is also scary with their press, but we have more ball handlers this year. That could be a tough matchup should both advance.

I’d love to see Juju vs Paige, but both teams will have some really big tests before that matchup is possible. I could see USC struggling vs either of Baylor or Virginia Tech.

Overall about as good as we could have hoped, minus the regional location. Just hope we don’t play at 12 pm Eastern in the sweet sixteen. That’s a tough adjustment for east coast teams.
 

oldude

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I hope you're right. But even if our fans show up in respectable numbers it won't be enough to fill the arena. The other teams fans have to go as well.
There will be thousands of young girls who worship Paige showing up, with their parents, hoping for an autograph and/or selfie. It happens everywhere she plays. She is a rockstar and every bit as much of a draw as Clark.
 

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