Week 14 - Feb 3 to 9

[Blueballer]

Texas won that game making no threes. What a blessing to have impactful post players.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Sure. But TX's performance today is a huge plus for the resume.

No doubt, but I'm not sure who the odd one out will be.

 

[Vowelguy]

Polls gonna be interesting. If ND had an average weekend it would be a no brainer to keep SC as #2, but after what ND did ...
I'd still vote SC #2.

In terms of the committee, SC is still #2 easily.

 

[bballnut90]

Monster win this afternoon by Texas. The whole game it felt like Texas was going to win, though South Carolina made it close.

Texas really outplayed South Carolina in the paint. Taylor Jones was a warrior in the first half and played great, then Kyla Oldacre was dominant in the second on the glass and finishing inside. Madison Booker missed a lot of shots but really battled this game and seemed laser focused after a poor showing their first matchup.

For South Carolina, everything just felt a little flat. It's like everyone on the roster was playing at a 6.5 out of 10 and that's not going to get the job done on the road against a top 5 team. I think the lack of having an obvious go to player hurt them today, though their depth is usually their best asset. There were a lot of whistles in the first half, including a couple pretty bad calls that went against Feagin. I thought the reffing smoothed out in the 2nd half and both teams had moments of finding their rhythm.

Also, I wonder if this will re-invigorate the Dawn/Vic rivalry that dominated the SEC for a few years. Going down memory lane you had:

2017-their teams met in the title game. Dawn's team won for the 3rd time that year and won the title.
2018-Mississippi State won the regular season battle, Dawn's team upset them in the SEC Tournament and ruined their perfect season
2020-Mississippi State nearly upset South Carolina in Columbia in a fantastic game
2021-Vic's Cinderella Texas team got clobbered by South Carolina in the Elite 8

Today's a new chapter in the rivalry, as it's Vic's first win over Dawn since the 2019 season, and it's South Carolina's first SEC loss since 2021.

I think Texas should get a bump to the #1 line over USC. On the year now they have wins over South Carolina, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Still have upcoming games at Kentucky and vs. LSU at home.

South Carolina is safely on the 1 line, either as the #2 or #3 overall seed. I think they're fine--this was going to be a tough game to win for anybody, playing in front of a sold out crowd on the road. Home court advantage seems to be a massive thing this year, as almost every loss by a top 10 team has been in a neutral/road setting. The only exceptions being Notre Dame winning at USC, USC winning at UCONN, and South Carolina winning at TCU.

 

[packwrap]

I'd had some questions about how legit Texas is, but props to them for a huge win today.


I guess all streaks have to end eventually.

Note TX made only 1x 3 pointer in two combined games with SC. They do know who they are though and grind it out old school.

Booker was not 2-17 at halftime in this rematch.

Game pretty much dead even, TX had composure down the stretch.

 

[bballnut90]

No doubt, but I'm not sure who the odd one out will be.

I think at this juncture it has to be USC who is out of the 1 line. Texas has the better signature win (vs. South Carolina), understandable losses (OT at Notre Dame, at South Carolina) and a slew of other strong wins (Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt)

USC's best win is at UCONN, and their other big wins are against Ohio State, Maryland, Ole Miss, Michigan and Minnesota, while having an understandable loss (Notre Dame) and a bad loss (at Iowa).

I think overall Texas has the biggest win, better wins overall, and their losses aren't as bad as USC's.

There are a lot of big games left for both teams. USC has 2 matchups vs. UCLA coming up which if they win 1 could give them a strong case to jump Texas, and Texas has big games coming up at Kentucky and vs. LSU. A loss to either potentially bumps them down. Not to mention the conference tournament should be a battle in both the B1G and SEC.

 

[bballnut90]

Note TX made only 1x 3 pointer in two combined games with SC. They do know who they are though and grind it out old school.

Booker was not 2-17 at halftime in this rematch.

Game pretty much dead even, TX had composure down the stretch.

I'm kind of shocked at how anti-3 ball Texas is. Booker/Holle/Lee all have good jump shots and adding some perimeter shooting would help space the floor better. Vic's best team was his 2018 runner up team, and they were loaded with shooters on the perimeter which allowed for great spacing and dribble drive action to the basket. Seems like he's mostly changed his philosophy offensively.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think at this juncture it has to be USC who is out of the 1 line. Texas has the better signature win (vs. South Carolina), understandable losses (OT at Notre Dame, at South Carolina) and a slew of other strong wins (Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt)

USC's best win is at UCONN, and their other big wins are against Ohio State, Maryland, Ole Miss, Michigan and Minnesota, while having an understandable loss (Notre Dame) and a bad loss (at Iowa).

I think overall Texas has the biggest win, better wins overall, and their losses aren't as bad as USC's.

There are a lot of big games left for both teams. USC has 2 matchups vs. UCLA coming up which if they win 1 could give them a strong case to jump Texas, and Texas has big games coming up at Kentucky and vs. LSU. A loss to either potentially bumps them down. Not to mention the conference tournament should be a battle in both the B1G and SEC.

I realized LSU isn't even in the conversation at 24-1, which seems a little crazy. The resume is definitely lacking, although they have some chances to improve it. No rematch with South Carolina, but they are playing Tennessee for the second time right now and have Texas, Kentucky and Alabama coming up.

 

[bballnut90]

I realized LSU isn't even in the conversation at 24-1, which seems a little crazy. The resume is definitely lacking, although they have some chances to improve it. No rematch with South Carolina, but they are playing Tennessee for the second time right now and have Texas, Kentucky and Alabama coming up.

I think they're definitely in the conversation but behind Texas at the moment. Seems like there's a very clear top 6 right now and a huge gap after that.

 

[CajunHusk94]

Man SDW self sabotages LSU each week it seems. She really kills their team in every aspect. Sheppard/Jada off the bench for LSU look like much better players

 

[Vowelguy]

I think at this juncture it has to be USC who is out of the 1 line. Texas has the better signature win (vs. South Carolina), understandable losses (OT at Notre Dame, at South Carolina) and a slew of other strong wins (Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt)

USC's best win is at UCONN, and their other big wins are against Ohio State, Maryland, Ole Miss, Michigan and Minnesota, while having an understandable loss (Notre Dame) and a bad loss (at Iowa).

I think overall Texas has the biggest win, better wins overall, and their losses aren't as bad as USC's.

There are a lot of big games left for both teams. USC has 2 matchups vs. UCLA coming up which if they win 1 could give them a strong case to jump Texas, and Texas has big games coming up at Kentucky and vs. LSU. A loss to either potentially bumps them down. Not to mention the conference tournament should be a battle in both the B1G and SEC.

agreed.
we'll know where things stand in a week when the committee releases its rankings

 

[nwhoopfan]

Hmm. There were some raised eyebrows about JuJu playing late in the game as USC was pulling away from Ohio St. last night and cries of stat padding. Just read elsewhere Hidalgo played almost the entire 4th quarter as Notre Dame was destroying Cal and her scoring jumped from 15 to 24. Will we hear a similar protest for this one? Ohio St. was hanging around at 13 points down til about the 4 minute mark. ND was crushing Cal pretty much the whole way. Just sayin'.

 

[Zanzman]

Think we just heard the first protest

 

[Blueballer]

ND just swept the ACC Pacific by 88 points.

ND likes pounding people don't they? 3 starters with 30+ minutes in a huge blowout. And they had 3 bench players get a whopping 1 minute each. We were up handily and Sarah, Paige and Azzi all under 30 minutes. And people were wanting Paige out even sooner.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Think we just heard the first protest

There was a fair bit of whining last night. I'm wondering why not today? Is it an anti-JuJu thing? Or was nobody watching this game?

 

[FanInNC]

State starts the first week of February off perfect. Follows up mondays top 10 win against Duke with a road blowout of #22 FSU.

Dominated from start to finish, 97-74. Held FSU to their lowest point total since way back in November.

As good a start to a challenging month as you could ask for Wes Moores club.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Strange one brewing in Seattle. Washington jumps out to a double digit lead right out of the gate. Maryland storms back in Q2, lead by 8 at the break. Ballooned to 19 points near end of Q3. But then a big rally by Washington, have closed to within 6 but running out of time. Smikle going off w/ 36. Washington is taking turns, first it was Stines, then Ladine, then Sellers. Sayvia is outplaying Shyanne in the battle of the Sellers.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Oregon hung in there against UCLA, 62-52 final. Subpar games for Betts and Rice, but Jones picked up the slack w/ 21, 5-7 behind the arc.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Maryland wins 81-73. Outscored UW 25-9 in Q2, Dawgs just couldn't make up for that hairball of a quarter. This team is FRUSTRATING. Has come close several times, but just can't get it done.

 

[Bigboote]

There was a fair bit of whining last night. I'm wondering why not today? Is it an anti-JuJu thing? Or was nobody watching this game?

Notre Dame has, I think, 8 scholarship players available. Looks like some walk-ons did finally play.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Notre Dame has, I think, 8 scholarship players available. Looks like some walk-ons did finally play.

I was kinda waiting for this.

USC did play Heckel and Howell quite a bit off the bench (is that a Law Firm?), and Samuels finally got in at the tail end. They went 10 deep.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Well well well, Tennessee comes up just short again. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. But clearly top 4 in the SEC, don't pay attention to that 4-6 record.

 

[JeannoCT]

Well well well, Tennessee comes up just short again. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. But clearly top 4 in the SEC, don't pay attention to that 4-6 record.

It was the refs, of course.

 

[packwrap]

Man SDW self sabotages LSU each week it seems. She really kills their team in every aspect. Sheppard/Jada off the bench for LSU look like much better players

Someone always steps up for them though, and despite sabotage, they won again.

The 3 stars all had foul trouble and off nights together. The LSU bench stepped up to outscore the hockey line TN bench 36-6, to keep LSU in the game!

Also LSU completely blew up the 'press and 3' scheme. LSU won turnover and rebound battle. Held TN to only 18 attempts from 3 vs their goal of 30. This led to LSU getting more shots 73-61, instead of TN hitting their target of 20 extra shot attempts.

Hero was former AZ Kitty, Kailyn Gilbert with 22 points off the bench.

LSU still in the hunt. Their depth improving now with Gilbert, Richard, and Shepard joining Poa and Wolfenbarger as reliable pieces. LSU v TX and KY still looming.