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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 3844020, member: 5798"] [B]I respectfully disagree also. THIS game WAS NOT just another game.[/B] Here's why: with the cancelation of the Mississippi State, Louisville and Baylor games, this game became the BIGGEST and most noteworthy game on our schedule. It was against a top 5 team. UConn had no other top 5 teams left on their schedule. SC was number 1 when the ball tipped, but they were top 5 at the beginning of the season. THIS GAME, more than any other game on our schedule (we all had it circled) would be used to measure UConn's growth and development to this point in the season, and a barometer (some will disagree I know) of how they may fair in the tournament against other top 10 teams. It's impossible to measure your readiness for March against BIG East teams. DePaul and Marquette are the closest teams we have to an elite top 10 team. UConn handled them both pretty good. If we make it to the final four, we will have to get by 1-2 top ten teams. Probably a 2 seed (unless they get knocked off) in the regional championship round. Had we gotten blown out, the critics and naysayers in the Boneyard would have had a field day, and their readiness would be in doubt. How would you feel if UConn had lost by 20? It would have been difficult to go into the tournament having your butt handed to you by the only top 10 team you played this season. But they won. It took a herculean effort by Paige (Miss Magic) Bueckers to do it, but they did it! We won!! I didn't think SC looked that tough or intimidating. Arkansas looked tougher and gave us a better game than SC did. The win left me happy and very optimistic about our chances in the tournament. There are always dark horses in the tournament field (Arkansas) looming in the shadows waiting to strike. You can't take any team for granted. It's happened in the men's and women's tournament. A 16 seed has knocked off a 1 seed. It's no longer "unthinkable." :eek: As far as a rivalry goes, in my opinion, there are two types of rivalries, friendly and heated. Tennessee was/is heated. The fan bases don't like each other period! Notre Dame is somewhat heated only because Muffet McGraw fanned the fames with rancor type remarks made during several tournaments. There is no love lost between these two fan bases either. I consider Baylor and South Carolina "friendly" rivalries. The coaches exchange Christmas cards, and the fan bases don't hate each other. I hope our current home and home series with ND, Baylor and SC continues going forward. I'd also like to see [B]Louisville, Arkansas [/B]and [B]Texas[/B] added to their yearly OOC lineup. Great games for all, and a good recruiting tool as well. I think all of these coaches would welcome a preseason game with UConn. I don't believe any of these coaches would duck us. :) [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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