UConn renews series with ND
- Thread starter HuskyNan
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I agree. I will let you know how good they are when I see them play Louisville at the Barclay's Center on December 20th. I was impressed with them last year and they should only be better this year.
oldude
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I don’t know. They have Hidalgo. But the team has been decimated by transfers and graduation, and the players ND brought in are not at the same level we’ve all been used to. I think Coach Ivey has her work cut out for her this coming season.
RockyMTblue2
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I'm suppose to say, oh good, it is hard for us to book quality OOC opponents. Right. But what I want to add is I have an intense dislike for their culture. It is nasty and unsportsman like and, yes, worrisome.
I think we play So. Cal. on the road. Even without JuJu that team was solid in the tournament last season. They of course also had K9 depart to our club, but this year are adding another hotshot freshman.
oldude
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USC also lost a bunch of talented players to the transfer portal as well as graduation, in addition to JuJu’s injury. I think they are a mid-level Big 10 team at best.
Yes a lot of the teams we play are usually very good teams, not necessarily so this coming season. Of course no one could foresee most of it happening but they all are down except Tennessee. We need one more huge game, like UCLA or Texas. With the schedule as is, it’s very possible we can go undefeated without really being tested by the best teams out there, which can be scary.
oldude
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After February of this past season, UConn was on a steady diet of BE teams up until the tournament. Nobody is better at getting his team ready for the Big Dance than Geno & his staff.
I’m not worried about the lack of top tests next season. UConn will be every team’s nightmare come March.
I agree I believe they will be fine in the end, but it wasn’t just about when they had the tests this past season, I think that they had enough of them to understand what level they needed their game to be at to beat the very best. I think they learned lessons along the way last year playing against Southern California and Notre Dame, etc. they were elite. But too few of those games could be a problem. Because when they get to the elite eight or so, they haven’t played any teams ( maybe one) at the level of the teams they play that deep in the tournament. It’s all just a guess. Maybe those teams will be better than expected, who knows, but I want at least three of the big dogs throughout the season and it’s not looking like that’s the case.
HuskyNan
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People have been saying this since the old Big East broke up in 2010. The UConn women have been to 14 Final Fours and won 6 championships since then. Remember the AAC? Fans were moaning that the men’s and women’s teams would fall into obscurity. The teams won a combined four championships while in the AAC
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I have a feeling that we're underestimating the quality of Michigan as a likely opponent.
Yes but our schedule has never been this weak as the one this coming year looks. My thinking is like yours, but we’ve always played at least two teams a year that have a realistic chance at winning a title. I just don’t see that on our schedule and this is a first for me. That’s all I’m saying. Now some teams may be better than I think, what do I really know sitting on my couch? But I know you’re a big fan like me. And when you think of the teams next year that can win it all, we’re not playing any of them and I don’t like that. I dont think that’s ever happened to us before.
oldude
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Realistically, aside from UConn, there are only 2 teams capable of winning a title next season, imo. That would be SC & UCLA. So I agree that we are not playing either one, unfortunately.
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Depends what you mean by realistic. I mean, Caitlin carried Iowa two NC finals and that was definitely not ‘realistic.’ But it was pretty awesome.
Next season, I’d say UCLA and SC are the probable competition for UConn. But Texas and LSU are possible if less probable, and Duke Oklahoma and Tennessee are even less probable but still possible.
Looking back at last season, I’d say in hindsight that it was a surprise that UConn spanked SC and UCLA as if they were no better than Creighton. By that standard, Creighton would have had as realistic a shot at the title as any team other than UConn.
I just looked at the ND roster and its Hannah H. and zip. The Irish fan base has to be wondering what's going on. None of their incoming transfers have anything close to a top 100 quality background and to make matters worse, they only have ONE FR. They will need HH to score 40+ a game. Ivey has a big problem.
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I think that the 1995 team had the weakest schedule of any UConn women’s team to ever win a national championship. The only game against an actual title contender was the midseason game against Tennessee. The Big East was abominable then and the rest of the nonconference schedule wasn’t that great either. I think that mid season games against top teams are fun for the fans and are good for the game, but I don’t believe they have any bearing on who will win the championship. Teams either know what their weaknesses are, and do something to address them, or they don’t. But those things are learned in practices, not in games. You might argue that UConn came away from the Tennessee loss this year with a new focus, but those kinds of losses can just as easily happen against an unranked team
I think folks are disrespecting other teams just a little bit. How many OOC cupcakes are on the schedule and by cupcakes I mean teams like Hartford and Central Connecticut. The answer? None.
Consider that most of these games are booked a couple of years in advance and it's just bad luck to book big name schools that are likely to have a down year. And now it's even tougher with the portal to predict who is going to be good 2 years down the road.
Consider that most of these games are booked a couple of years in advance and it's just bad luck to book big name schools that are likely to have a down year. And now it's even tougher with the portal to predict who is going to be good 2 years down the road.
It is a great idea to schedule some of the top 4 teams in the country each year, allowing players to learn what it takes to beat those teams. Geno and his staff are very good at using those types of games to teach the team about areas they need to improve. We have a team that has many returning players, and they will set examples for the newbies. If we stay healthy, I predict number 14. Go Huskies!!!!
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You'll probably need to wait until they get #13 before predicting #14.
