Uh...

[Replicant]

Miss Bentley is just trying to convince herself everything will be alright. It's like whistling while walking through a graveyard. Panic will set in when Geno pulls Kelly and Tiff to the side and Miss Bentley overhears Maximus Auriemma instruct "At my signal... unleash Hell"!

 

[ChicagoGG]

Oh, my!

Miss Bentley may not have studied the classics....

To quote (IIRC) Nemesis, "whom the gods would destroy, they first make proud.."

or the movies...from Wyatt Earp.. "and Hell is coming with me..."

It will be fun times in Little Rhody this Sunday!

 

[Icebear]

Showed the statement to some of the locals at the local coffee and breakfast spot. The reaction of each upon reading it was the same, shaking their head and saying, "Unbelievable." They recognized it as a reckless move when they saw it even in Nittany Lion territory.

 

[DobbsRover2]

So was the Light Brigade at Balaclava. Let's hope it turns out the same way.

But the Light Brigade was only facing cannon balls and musket shots. PSU is going up against UConn's D.

 

[huskybill]

As usual HuskyBill as a different perspective than the sycophantic fanatics who populate the board. UConn has lost 4 games this year and 3 of them are to high scoring teams. So her thinking is at least in the right direction.

 

[ChicagoGG]

As usual, Husky Bill is trying to make the rest of us go BLIND....LOL, Bill!

 

[Husky7882]

She may have looked only at the score part of UConn's schedule and didn't realize which teams the Huskies had played.

Either that, or she's been listening to too many tin men

 

[Biff]

As usual HuskyBill as a different perspective than the sycophantic fanatics who populate the board. UConn has lost 4 games this year and 3 of them are to high scoring teams. So her thinking is at least in the right direction.

I also noticed a strong statistical correlation that in each of the 4 losses, the opposing team scored more points that UConn.

 

[Icebear]

I also noticed a strong statistical correlation that in each of the 4 losses, the opposing team scored more points that UConn.

You are right about three, Biff, but in the one UConn scored less than the opponent.

 

[DobbsRover2]

As usual HuskyBill as a different perspective than the sycophantic fanatics who populate the board. UConn has lost 4 games this year and 3 of them are to high scoring teams. So her thinking is at least in the right direction.

Yeah but it still places her with a screwed up compass a few steps from the North Pole when she's seeking the Amazon. Baylor and ND are also in the top 10 in defense, and SJU is at least in the top 50. But even as a total UConn suck-up, I can agree that going against UConn with a high-scoring poor-defending team is better than coming in with a low-scoring poor-defending team. And UConn was still 4-3 against the top 20 offensive teams.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

After reading the quote, I was reminded of this comment from RHOA:

"She kept saying she 'think' I owe her an apology. Good thing she don't get paid for thinking."

 

[DobbsRover2]

To put things into perspective about PSU, the average defensive scoring rating for their opponents in their 32 games is 61.2. That is the total of all those teams' defensive ppg for the year divided by 32. If those opponents were considered one team, they would have been #163 among the 340 teams (same as Seton Hall) in the defensive ppg rating. In the Big 10, Michigan was the highest ranked team at #100, while UConn is of course #1.

So it's like PSU has been playing against SHU all season, and now they go play UConn, who gives up 16 ppg less than Seton Hall. And the scoring trend for UConn opponents in the last three games is downward, from 57 to 47 to 26 to ...... maybe -5 if Kelly can scare the Lions into shooting at the wrong basket.

 

[Tonyc]

Coach Washingon knows what theyre in for and so does Lucas.. Lucas knows she will be sufficated. With Bentleys confidence she is going to be demoralized pretty quickly. UConns defense dosnt let up. It stomps you and stomps you and stomps you and thats why UConn will be the last team standing. I dont think Bentley has any idea what UConn will bring. When she realizes it, it will be too late.

PS is going to try and run plays to get Maggie open. They are also going to try and run. This isnt LSU and LSU wouldnt score 80 pts againest UConn. I expect PS to score less then 50 againest UConn and depending on how PS handles UConn pressure mentally, UConn could score over 80 againest PS. This could get ugly pretty quickly, especially if the treys arent falling.

 

[bruinbball]

poor kid. So innocent, so delusional.. Can you imagine how Kelly and Caroline will react when they see that quote?

I'm not sure if you know the history between Bentley and Faris (or lack thereof). Bentley's HS team Ben Davis won the "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP" in 2009. The year Faris' HC team finished #4. The schools are roughly 15 miles apart, and from pure rumor and speculation, the Ben Davis team would not schedule HC in 2009. I watched Ben Davis beat Skylar's #2 Nationally ranked (and undefeated at the time) SBW team by 2 and beat Bolingbrook pretty handily very early in the season. I truly think HC would have given Ben Davis all they could handle. Unfortunately, the game never happened.

Had HC beaten Ben Davis it would have been a very muddled Top 5 in 2009, with Ben Davis and SBW beating Bolingbrook, Bolingbrook beating HC, Ben Davis beating SBW and HC beating Ben Davis. It was an absolute treat of HS basketball that season and I am sure it will be a while before Indiana has that much success on a national level again.

 

[MilfordHusky]

She may have looked only at the score part of UConn's schedule and didn't realize which teams the Huskies had played.

Stanford scoring average - 76.7, vs UConn 58
Baylor scoring average - 78.8, vs UConn 66
ND scoring average - 79.2, vs UConn 74, 72, 54
Duke scoring average - 75.4, vs UConn 45

So, elite teams averaging 78.1 got only 61.5 vs the Huskies. We shall see how PSU does.

Nice work, Nan. If one excludes the bogus free throws and the first 2 ND games, the differential is much larger--ranging from 13 to 30 points below their average.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm not sure if you know the history between Bentley and Faris (or lack thereof). Bentlet's HS tam Ben Davis won the "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP" in 2009. The year Faris' HC tam finished #4. The schools are roughly 15 miles apart, and from pure rumor and speculation, the Ben Davis team would not schedule HC in 2009. I watched Ben Davis beat Skylar's #2 Nationally ranked (and undefeated at the time) SBW team by 2 and beat Bolingbrook pretty handily very early in the season. I truly think HC would have given Ben Davis all they could handle. Unfortunately, the game never happened.

Had HC beat Ben Davis it would have been a very muddled Top 5 in 2009, with Ben Davis and SBW beating Bolingbrook, Bolingbrook beating HC, Ben Davis beating SBW and HC beating Ben Davis. It was an absolute treat of HS basketball that season and I am sure it will be a while before Indiana has that much success on a national level again.

Thanks, Bruin. I looked up some things on Bentley last week and saw that she had played at Ben Davis. I knew they were a monster team back when she was there.

 

[Icebear]

So we have Bentley/Faris and Maggie/CD' matchups in this game. This could be REALLY motivating. Just what UConn needs more motivation. Let us hope emotions don't get out of control and everyone keeps their heads about them.

 

[meyers7]

But the Light Brigade was only facing cannon balls and musket shots. PSU is going up against UConn's D.

They rode into the Valley of Death. eh same thing.

 

[pinotbear]

They rode into the Valley of Death. eh same thing.

Happy Valley to the Valley of Death. That'll be a shock to the system.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Happy Valley to the Valley of Death. That'll be a shock to the system.

The Greek philosopher Solon told a famous king who considered himself the happiest man in the world, "Count no man happy until he be dead," because bad things could be lurking down the road for you if you were still alive. Not sure if the same advice goes for the women, but the two valleys may have a connection for unsuspecting Kingston visitors. And if Morgan and Ashley were still playing for UConn, I could go off on another tangent.

 

[Vowelguy]

...the Huskies might have some competition in that category this weekend. At least that's the gameplan, if you listen to Penn State junior guard Alex Bentley.
"We're a scoring team. I don't think they've played against a real, true scoring team," she said. "That's what we do. That's what we do best. They're pretty much going to have to pick their poison. They're going to have to figure out how to keep us from scoring."

Well that WAS tough. They scored a whopping 33% more than the average UConn opponent -- 59 points.

Of course it was also 20% below Penn St's season average.

 

[Bestiarius]

she said. "That's what we do. That's what we do best. They're pretty much going to have to pick their poison.

Here's the post game quote: "Yes, they picked their poison, and fed it to us at our pre-game meal."