UMass

[nelsonmuntz]

With their win over Clemson, they have beaten 4 major conference programs plus New Mexico. They are going to be ranked most likely this week.

I don't think UMass is a Final Four contender, but this team is not bad. Good guard play, and the big guy is athletic and runs the court well.

 

[Kitaman]

UMess? They could do some damage, its cyclical for them. Like every 25 years, so I guess its their year in Amherst.

 

[GlastonTim]

I'm surprised Goodman doesn't have them as the best team in New England.

 

[Vuce]

I think they will win the A 10 this year. VCU is nowhere near as good as their #10. St. Louis will contend with them. Other than that there aren't a lot of great teams left there. Williams and Lalanne are legit.

 

[Waquoit]

UMass still can't lose enough to suit me. I hope they crash and burn.

 

[Yonick]

I'm sure this thread will bring Clothy out of the woodwork.

 

[mauconnfan]

UMass still can't lose enough to suit me. I hope they crash and burn.

I have to say despite Calipari's past history and Clothy I find their success to be good for New England......not too much mind you but Kellogg's a local dude from where I sit so not a bad story!

 

[Waquoit]

I have to say despite Calipari's past history and Clothy I find their success to be good for New England

Who the hell cares about "New England"? How does that help UConn?

 

[B1GEast]

cbs ranks their rpi number 1

 

[ZenConn]

UMess? They could do some damage, its cyclical for them. Like every 25 years, so I guess its their year in Amherst.

Which also means a championship isn't too far away in Storrs

 

[IMind]

Who the hell cares about "New England"? How does that help UConn?

Exactly... This isn't football where I think regional rivalries would help drive interest and we're not trying to establish ourselves.

 

[Ts5034]

I was watching their game last night vs Clemson. I was shocked to see they were undefeated. What was the reason we stopped playing them?

 

[Vuce]

I was watching their game last night vs Clemson. I was shocked to see they were undefeated. What was the reason we stopped playing them?

No reason in particular. What was the reason they stopped playing us? How many programs do we "owe" games to? We have played URI as much or more than anyone. Should we play them every year too? Uconn does what is best for Uconn and I am fine with that. Uconn will play Umass, URI, etc again at some point for sure.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I have no problem seeing them do OK and actually would love to see them become more popular than BC in MA. I'd like them in the AAC more than Tulsa next year, that is for damn sure.

 

[huskyharry]

I am happy that scheduling the last few years has continued to pay homage to our Yankee conference roots and encouraged traditional and local competition. I would much rather see a game against Vermont, New Hampshire, URI etc. than directional teams from distant states. It would be great to play UMass again, particularly since they seem to be on the way up again. My distaste for UMass was much more against the Squid than against the school

 

[Palatine]

I don't give a darn about UMess. And in general, I don't believe you need to blow out other candles to make your candle shine more brightly. But Umess doing well, just gives the haters another arrow in their quiver to shoot at the Huskies. So I wish them luck, but not too much luck.

 

[Yonick]

Bottom line regarding scheduling UMass is that 10 year U game did not excite many at the gate. The first 3-4 years UMass was considered a good team just after the Calipari/Camby era. UConn still won those games by a fairly large margin.
From years 4-10, of that series, UMass went straight downhill and attendance waned at all locations. It didn't help when the game was overpriced for the 1st 2-3 games.
All in all, UConn won 9 of those 10 games. Plus, UConn has won 29 of the last 30 games these two schools played. Not really much of a rivalry.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

We should Schedule Holy Cross, as they are the only New England team with a winning record against us.
That was a pretty good rivalry in the 50's
When we beat them in 1953 is was the biggest win in our history as they were 5 years removed from a NC.
The only other New England School besides us to win it all.




RIP AKHuskiePop's Kindle Fire

 

[seanmc94]

We should Schedule Holy Cross, as they are the only New England team with a winning record against us.
That was a pretty good rivalry in the 50's
When we beat them in 1953 is was the biggest win in our history as they were 5 years removed from a NC.
The only other New England School besides us to win it all.

Not true. PC won the NIT in 61 and 63; when it was considered the premiere tourney.

As far as playing Umass; Calhoun stopped playing them under calipari bc he dudnt care for what was going on up there.


RIP AKHuskiePop's Kindle Fire

 

[tzznandrew]

Not true. PC won the NIT in 61 and 63; when it was considered the premiere tourney.

You've said this before, and you're still not really right. I know the recieved wisdom is that the NIT was more presigious for a while (and it was), but by the early 1960s that had already started its decline, since conference winners were forced to accept NCAA bids starting in 1950.

In 1961, Cincinnati beat a Jerry Lucas led Ohio State for the championship. In the final AP poll before the NCAAs, Ohio State and Cincy were #1 and #2. None of the NIT teams were ranked.*

Similarly, in 1963, Loyola (Chicago) (in one of the most important tournaments ever) beat Cincy for the NCAAs, while PC beat Canicius. Cincinnati, Duke, Loyola (Final Four teams), Illinois, Mississippi State, NYU, Colorado were all ranked by the AP. None of the NIT teams were.*

*To be fair, the AP only ranked 10 teams from 1961-1968; however, the fact that a preponderance of teams considered Top 10 competed in the NCAAs shows that, by the time that PC won its two NITs, despite that tournament still being well regarded (and it would be for a little while longer), it was clearly beneath the NCAAs.

Also, looking at who the AP ranked and who missed the NCAA, you would have expected some better teams in the NIT--but by this point they seemed to be picking Northestern or Catholic teams over the likes of Duke and UNC (in 1961--both ranked in the Top 10).

 

[Yonick]

Not true regarding the NIT being the dominant tourney in the 60's. In the 40's and to the mid 50's the NIT was the big tourney. Once the point shaving scandal hit NYC in the early 50's it pretty much killed eastern hoops until the Big East was formed.
CCNY & NYU had big time programs until that scandal. The NIT carried far more prestige in the early 60's than today. But it wasn't the big tourney.
Holy Cross dominated New England hoops from the post war era to the late 50's. PC dominated from the late 50's to the mid 70's.
Nobody really dominated from the late 70's to 1990. Since 1990 UConn has been most dominant.
For anyone that remembers PC's accomplishments in the early 60's they would need to be over 60. For those who remember the ErnieD, Marvin Barnes era then those folks are in their mid 50's or older.

 

[Waquoit]

PC dominated from the late 50's to the mid 70's.

That's because they wouldn't play UConn. PC avoided the Huskies during that entire stretch. They never played at UConn until they were forced to by the Big East.

 

[mauconnfan]

From my memory (Walker was a bit early for me - diapers maybe) Ernie D, Stacom Barnes and crew right through Hassett, Eason, Campbell etc they were really good and pretty much were the team to beat in New England........Syracuse, St Johns and them were the Northeast teams during this time. UConn beat them in the ECAC's around 76-77 with Whelton, Carr, Abro, Lavigne and crew.............that was about when things began to even out a little more but until the late 80's they were usually stronger than the Huskies