UConn Not Unanimous #1 in Final Coaches Poll

[UConnCat]

Charlotte Smith (coach at Elon) voted Baylor #1.

"I don't know whether the stars aligned for them (Louisville) in the universe. But I feel that had (Baylor) gotten by Louisville, Baylor would've been national champions," Smith said.

Okay then.

Top 10:

1. UConn
2. ND
3. Louisville
4. Baylor
5. Cal
6. Duke
7. Stanford
8. Kentucky
9. Tennessee
10. Georgia

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...l-baylor-connecticut-charlotte-smith/2070465/

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Imagine where one can go with that logic...

 

[Adesmar123]

Charlotte Smith (coach at Elon) voted Baylor #1.

Well....maybe that's why she is stuck at Elon....

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Difficult for to believe that any coach sees games as played in the head and not on the floor.

 

[jdubct]

I would list the top four teams as Uconn, Baylor, ND and Louisville.

 

[vtcwbuff]

LMAO. If frogs had wings . . .

Who the hell is Elon and who is Charlotte Smith?

I Googled and found them. Ranked 178th by Sagarin. They claim a successful season finishing 4th (19-14) in a weak sister conference. Non basketball people like that shouldn't have a vote.

 

[UConnCat]

LMAO. If frogs had wings . . .

Who the hell is Elon and who is Charlotte Smith?

I Googled and found them. Ranked 178th by Sagarin. They claim a successful season finishing 4th (19-14) in a weak sister conference. Non basketball people like that shouldn't have a vote.

Charlotte Smith played for UNC and made the winning shot in the national championship game in 1994.

 

[DanDar]

People forget that in our game vs Baylor Stewie played 7 minutes and was scoreless. UConn has grown by leaps and bounds since that time. It would've been a close game but UConn would have won it. Doesn't really matter now. Baylor was exposed to have a crappy perimeter defense. It was their one major Achilles heel that bit them in the behind. UConn was a complete team that only got better come tourney time and it showed by the beat-down applied to Notre Dame.

 

[Icebear]

If you do not make it out of the Sweet Sixteen you do not deserve to be #1. Simple as that. The coaches ranked them pretty much how I would have ranked the Top 5.

After what UCONN did in the tournament I believe we would beat Baylor by 15 tomorrow.

 

[UConnChapette]

There is always one in every bunch...is she the Bonita Spence of coaching? You know...sees the game completely played in front of her differently than everyone else?

 

[Jackalope]

It was an easy way to get some reco and a national quote in USA Today. 'nuff said.

 

[JoePgh]

Knocking Baylor down to #4 for a 1-point loss in the Sweet Sixteen seems a bit excessive to me, but that is the consensus vote. Is the final ranking supposed to reflect their position in the very last week of the season, or is it supposed to reflect their body of work over the entire season? If it's the latter, then I think Baylor clearly should be #2, not #4.

I would still compare this year's Baylor team to the Soviet hockey team in 1980. I think if they played either UConn or ND (not to mention Louisville) in a 7-game series, they would probably (not certainly) win narrowly, even at this point in time.

 

[BlueDolphin]

The great thing about college basketball is these questions get settled on the court. Couldn't care less about polls.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Knocking Baylor down to #4 for a 1-point loss in the Sweet Sixteen seems a bit excessive to me, but that is the consensus vote. Is the final ranking supposed to reflect their position in the very last week of the season, or is it supposed to reflect their body of work over the entire season? If it's the latter, then I think Baylor clearly should be #2, not #4.

I would still compare this year's Baylor team to the Soviet hockey team in 1980. I think if they played either UConn or ND (not to mention Louisville) in a 7-game series, they would probably (not certainly) win narrowly, even at this point in time.

My opinion?

1. Baylor would easily sweep Louisville. I read that L'ville was a 75-1 underdog. That's about right and a great game plan and a 1 in 1,000 night shooting threes doesn't change that.

2. They would beat ND 4-1.

3. We would win in seven.

 

[Icebear]

It is the end of the year not a year long standard. In the last two weeks:

ND played UConn tougher than Louisville. Lousiville beat Baylor head to head in the last 10 days. Baylor played Louisville tougher than Cal.

Lastly if a #1 seed loses to a #5 seed and doesn't take care of business they drop and drop hard. To #1 or #2 you have to beat who you are supposed to beat head to head. As Geno says it is about one game not a series. It is not 2/3 or 3/5 or 4/7. It is one game and move on. What did you do in your one game head to head? That's how I rank them.

 

[Suebird10fan]

People forget that in our game vs Baylor Stewie played 7 minutes and was scoreless. UConn has grown by leaps and bounds since that time. It would've been a close game but UConn would have won it. Doesn't really matter now. Baylor was exposed to have a crappy perimeter defense. It was their one major Achilles heel that bit them in the behind. UConn was a complete team that only got better come tourney time and it showed by the beat-down applied to Notre Dame.

It was worse than that. Stewie was a clear liability in those seven minutes. And Bria didn't play especially well either. I'm not sure Baylor brought their A game either ... but, given that we were very competitive with Baylor last year and this year, and the team we put on the floor in the tournament was vastly superior, I think it's fair to think we would have won.

Would have been a helluva game, that's for sure!

 

[jplotinus]

Nothing like a slight to help motivate our gurlz going into next season. :-/

 

[Phil]

That's the first time Cal has ever ended the season ranked ahead of Stanford.

 

[alexrgct]

Well, I think UConn would have absolutely wiped the floor with A&M in 2011 had it not been for that pesky semifinals loss to Notre Dame. Can I claim that championship as ours?

 

[Icebear]

Well, I think UConn would have absolutely wiped the floor with A&M in 2011 had it not been for that pesky semifinals loss to Notre Dame. Can I claim that championship as ours?

Exactly the point. What did you do head to head.

 

[~*Jen*~]

Stupid. The polls aren't about what ifs. The polls are about what happened.

IF EDD hadn't gone back to Delaware, if Griner had gone to anywhere other than Baylor, if we had won the games at ND, if if if...

 

[pap49cba]

It's fine.... All it does is make her look like a total idiot.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

The trophy will reside at The University of Connecticut forever. Her opinion will live for one news cycle. I am cool with that.

 

[Outside Shot]

Does anyone have the link to see how coaches voted all season? I'm very curious to see Charlotte Smith's voting record. Thanks in advance.

 

[freescooter]

Well, I suppose you could also make the case that Louisville wasn't really the 4th best team in the country, either. In fact I don't think they were in the top 10. They had a perfect game against Baylor but ran into a buzzsaw last night and had zero chance of winning. for what its worth, I think UConn would have beatern Baylor the way they were playing, but of course we'll never know.