We are Spoiled

[Plebe]

I do know how algorithms work and you are completely missing my point.
And I never said anything about rigging the numbers.
I give up.

You claimed that the algorithms are tainted by the bias of humans who “decide” a priori which conferences are the strongest. This is tantamount to saying that an algorithm-based ranking system is inherently rigged in favor of teams from conferences perceived as strong.

If this claim is based on your knowledge of how algorithms work, I'd like to hear an explanation of how. How are human beings’ a priori assumptions of conference strength pre-programmed into the algorithm's functioning? I keep hearing you espouse this belief and this is your opportunity to substantiate it.

 

[Centerstream]

I keep hearing you espouse this belief and this is your opportunity to substantiate it.

I decline

 

[HuskyNan]

Sorry to see that you missed the greatest upset in WCBB history that involved Sarah Strong's mother, Allison Feaster.

1998 Harvard vs. Stanford women's basketball game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

For your viewing pleasure.

I would like to add the OP never said a lower level team can beat anyone; they said every team is beatable by another, highly ranked or not

 

[Skeets]

For your viewing pleasure.

I would like to add the OP never said a lower level team can beat anyone; they said every team is beatable by another, highly ranked or not

If you hang around long enough, sooner or later you will see something incredible...

 

[HuskyNan]

The question in average vs top team is 'how do you define average'. When Harvard beat Stanford it was Ivy League champ beating Stanford with injured star.

Harvard was a #16 seed. Stanford should have been able to win with their bench

 

[BBallF]

Huh? What are you trying to convey? Let’s clarify a few items -NET is an NCAA created tool that WarrenNolan references and this NET is listed on the NCAA home page as well as WarrenNolan. Again, it is a “tool” that humans would use, similar to a carpenter selecting a hammer. To rank the teams (or build a house) you dont just use a hammer. The algorithm Uses multiple inputs, home/road game, recent stat components of points per game, defensive points allowed and then the recent relative school ranking for Quad rankings along with many other derived inputs. It becomes complex without CONFERENCE or SCHOOL bias. To assert bias in the algorithm is just poor logic. How humans use that day can certainly be construed as poor or biased but the NET tool itself is not biased. It also is just one input of data that the humans utilize. It is NOT an all encompassing stat as too many posters on this forum think it is.
Please stop with the “conspiracy theories” as they only show ignorance. UConn is in as strong a position to win an NcAAT as we have been since 2017.

The team needs to show consistent effort and improved front court play.
The rankings of a 1 or 2 seed really won’t matter.

It matters in the Elite 8 game and in the Sweet Sixteen game. If you are a 2 seed you may in a bracket with a 1 seed that you do not match up well with in the Elite 8. If you are a 1 seed then you are playing at worst the number 5 ranked overall team if you are the number 4 overall ranked team and if they match up the teams by pure seedings. In the Sweet 16 game, 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. It should be an easier game against the 4 seed and conservation of energy is of vital importance.

 

[maple]

Just for the sake of argument, I consider Louisville beating Baylor in the tournament to be an average team beating a great team. It does happen. Louisville was a five seed with a 27 and 8 record and Baylor was the overall number one. Louisville 82-81 Baylor (Mar 31, 2013) Game Recap - ESPN

What a game that was. Still my favorite non-UConn tourney game ever, personally. Louisville was putting on a clinic with all those 3s. And Shoni with that one circus shot over Griner was absolutely highlight worthy.

 

[mainerhuski]

Sorry to see that you missed the greatest upset in WCBB history that involved Sarah Strong's mother, Allison Feaster.

1998 Harvard vs. Stanford women's basketball game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wasn’t that the year that Stanford did not disclose the injury to a critical player until after the NCAA tournament schedule had been released? Stanford would prob have been a 2 or 3, so the Harvard win still would have been a tremendous upset!

 

[dabears17]

Wasn’t that the year that Stanford did not disclose the injury to a critical player until after the NCAA tournament schedule had been released? Stanford would prob have been a 2 or 3, so the Harvard win still would have been a tremendous upset!

Vanessa Nygaard tore her ACL the last game of the regular season. Kristin Folkl tore her ACL during practice a few days before the Harvard game, so Stanford was down a starter and their 6th man. Kristin was a 2nd team All-American.

 

[boontonbomber]

The BB rating system uses" very good" , "pretty good", " average", "awful", and "you can't be serious". Using that rating system UConn is very good.

 

[HuskyNan]

What a game that was. Still my favorite non-UConn tourney game ever, personally. Louisville was putting on a clinic with all those 3s. And Shoni with that one circus shot over Griner was absolutely highlight worthy.

There was a lot of crying from one Baylor fan who complained about Louisville’s physicality. Baylor would have hated to play in the old Big East

 

[HuskyNan]

Wasn’t that the year that Stanford did not disclose the injury to a critical player until after the NCAA tournament schedule had been released? Stanford would prob have been a 2 or 3, so the Harvard win still would have been a tremendous upset!

Correct. Someone in the athletic department wanted the #1 seed

Be careful what you wish for

 

[Bone Dog]

Our win @ SC has opened a lot of eyes. I feel the media and some fans felt that UConn wasn't what they were and is beatable. Well they were until the SC game where UConn showed, on the road, what a healthy UConn team can do.

I sympathize with your point, that UConn is regularly judged according to an unrealistic standard, even by UConn fans. But this one remark just set me off: "... what a healthy UConn team can do." You're primarily thinking of getting Azzi and Aubrey back, and I'm right there with you in this thought. But we don't have Ayanna or Caroline, and we likely won't have Ice back until the tournament itself, if then, and there's no timetable for Morgan's return.

The fact is, when I think about our hopes and expectations from the summer, this team is not healthy, not even close to healthy. Our front court has again been hollowed out by injury. We're hoping a freshmen big at the beginning of a steep learning curve can carry a huge load. And we're watching as Geno once again prepares to pursue an NC mostly running a small lineup. We know from last season that he can work wonders with limited resources. If anyone wonders why even fans turn such a critical eye on UConn, this is why.

The SC game should give us all cause for optimism. The small lineup can work wonders and it may even carry the team to an NC. And Jana has a lot of courage, and that also can carry us some of the way. And Sarah and Aubrey can shore up a thin front court. What we do have is the best freshman in the country and the best back court in D1. Paige and Azzi can't guarantee an NC, but we also shouldn't count them out.

And when I think about the players we're still missing, I imagine a standard that makes sense. I compare the UConn we see on the court now to the one that could have been: Jana backed up by Ice and Ayanna, Sarah free to focus on blocking shots because other bigs are focusing on rebounds, a front court that isn't at risk of foul trouble, a front court that doesn't need Paige to play power forward. I have no interest in exaggerating the strengths of other teams -- ND, UCLA, USC, SC -- and imagining how they'd deal with us in the tournament as if we were playing as we did in December.