Week 3 - Nov 18 to 24

[Stagnant]

I don’t totally believe in Oregon. They do look better than they looked last year though.

Every single game has been at home this season. Let’s see if they can beat South Dakota State in Hawaii.

 

[Floridaduck]

Oregon escapes a close one against Auburn. 70-68 final score.

The game was not as close as the final indicates. Oregon led by 7-9 points through the 2nd through 4th Q’s. Auburn’s Scott was radar and hit 3 consecutive 3’s in the last 90 second to tighten the score. Auburn never had the ball with a chance to lead.

 

[maple]

I watched a lot of the second half. I was pretty high on Oregon as far as their freshman and what they did in the transfer portal. They have played ok to start the season. I'm still not quite sure who their best 5 is, if I completely trust Deja to be efficient and if Graves is doing the right thing by not playing their freshman much. But I do still like their overall collection of talent and PK is starting to get healthy. Their occ schedule is pretty good.

On another note, can Arizona's loss be attributed to no Jada Williams or are they just not very good this year.

I appreciate the recap, I was unable to watch the game, just kept an eye on the ESPN play-by-play. Does it seem like Oregon has a good shot of making it into MM? Or too soon to tell?

 

[Darwin]

I'm of the same opinion, though I think Kentucky and Tennessee have the potential to join Alabama and Ole Miss in that second tier. Auburn recently has been towards the bottom of the tier two or top of tier three teams in the SEC. I don't pay close attention to that team, so I am not quite sure who left the team and who they brought in this year. Generally speaking they are competitive against most competition. If they beat Oregon or lose a close game, I think that means they'll be right where they have been in the SEC pecking order (#7-10 team in conference / tournament bubble team).

Tenn has a chance to place anywhere from 3rd to 6th in the SEC this year, I would place them at 4 right now from what I have seen, but we need to see what happens with that system they are playing when they play the good teams. Ky will be in that second tier I believe, but they lack any quality depth. Auburn always plays hard for their coach and they are not a fun team to play with their defense, but not enough offense to move up much more than last season imo. Bama will be real solid again.

Texas and OK coming into the conference this year will shake things up, both have really good teams. I predict the SEC will have 8 tourney teams: SC, TX, OK, LSU, UT, OM, Bama and prob KY. Aub might make it.

 

[12au]

I appreciate the recap, I was unable to watch the game, just kept an eye on the ESPN play-by-play. Does it seem like Oregon has a good shot of making it into MM? Or too soon to tell?

I would definitely bet on them making it. Their defense is better, and 3-pt shooting is back to Oregon norms

 

[nwhoopfan]

Following their disaster against Montana, Washington barely beat a really bad Cal St. Fullerton team (0-4 on the year against a weak schedule, got totally beat down by Sacramento St.). I'm just about to start up the fire Langley chants again. This is year 4 and she seems to be going backward again. Upcoming games against Illinois and LSU are going to be really telling. I'm sorry, but I just don't think she's got it in her to get UW to the next level.

 

[Stagnant]

Arkansas needs to make another comeback to avoid a bad loss to Oral Roberts. (Who deserves to win btw. they have led the whole way.)

 

[Vowelguy]

Syracuse lost to Albany last night and Felicia L-J called out fans for lack of support and her team for sleep walking and not coming to play. She was fiery.

 

[triaddukefan]

Hey Buckeyes... THAT's how you stomp on a mid-major from Nashville's neck and don't let up (figuratively speaking)

Blue Devils 79 Belmont Bruins 47 .... game shouldn't have been that close.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I watched a lot of the second half. I was pretty high on Oregon as far as their freshman and what they did in the transfer portal. They have played ok to start the season. I'm still not quite sure who their best 5 is, if I completely trust Deja to be efficient and if Graves is doing the right thing by not playing their freshman much. But I do still like their overall collection of talent and PK is starting to get healthy. Their occ schedule is pretty good.

On another note, can Arizona's loss be attributed to no Jada Williams or are they just not very good this year.

Arizona is very talented. They are also very foul prone in the post, don't value the ball, and - a new phrase from Adia - are not disciplined. I know she has been unhappy with their play at times and I have not been impressed at times, either - but before the NAU game she told the team that they would lose by 20 if they played the way they were acting. She only missed by 3 points.

In my opinion, Adia is too much of a players coach. She is virtually never visibly harsh with the players. I saw several instances in home game wins that the team did not do the play called - you could see it on Adia's face; also times that the players made an obvious misstep that shouldn't have happened. Last year it should never have taken as along as it did to let Kailyn Gilbert go.

If she rights the ship, it should be a very good season. If the team continues to play the way it has been, it isn't that they will necessarily lose that many upsets, but they may lose some and in general make games closer than they ought to be.

And yes, Jada Williams is key, although long term Paris and Swann are great prospects.

 

[packwrap]

Hey Buckeyes... THAT's how you stomp on a mid-major from Nashville's neck and don't let up (figuratively speaking)

Blue Devils 79 Belmont Bruins 47 .... game shouldn't have been that close.

View attachment 104922

Fournier 25 points in 25 min.

6 rebounds 67%fg

If she can be even 15/5 in league games as a frosh, that's huge for your Blue Devils.

 

[YoDore]

Hey Buckeyes... THAT's how you stomp on a mid-major from Nashville's neck and don't let up (figuratively speaking)

Blue Devils 79 Belmont Bruins 47 .... game shouldn't have been that close.

View attachment 104922

I'm a Belmont fan. They are pretty much always at a physical disadvantage when they play a P4 opponent, but it is rare for them to get physically dominated the way they were against Duke.

 

[ISUnorth]

Earlier this season I took a peek at Iowa State on a game that was airing on ESPN+ and I was left wondering why they were ranked #8 because they didn't look like a top 10 team in athleticism, speed or size. Every shot by Crooks looked like she was tossing the ball at the basket without any technique. I didn't think they would lose to a team like NIU but I had a feeling they'd not last as a top 10 team and probably not last as a top 25 team either.

That top ten ranking, like a lot of early ranks, was based a whole lot on "What you did last year" and projections on who improves etc. It took Stanford going OT to keep the Cyclones out of the Sweet Sixteen last year. They return all of their best players and added some pieces via the portal. An early ranking around #16 might have been fair but maybe closer to #20 would have been more accurate. Once you get outside the top five or so the first 3-4 polls are sort of crap.

Would disagree they don't have size although they are traditionally a four guard team. When Harris is in the game they are all 6-foot or better. Totally agree with you that they are not athletic nor are they fast or quick. As to Crooks play, I can see your impression as she has looked sort of bored and disengaged against some of the cupcakes and was obviously frustrated in the UNI game the other night. They are what they always are, a three point shooting finesse team. Will find out soon enough if they can play like they did at Stanford or not with upcoming games with South Carolina, UConn and Iowa. All of those away from the friendly confines of Hilton in Ames. They will have to play better or they will take a beating in those games.

 

[azfan]

Top 25 games this week, along with some friends. Note that there are some TBD games this coming weekend that I'll update if ranked teams are in those slots. One top 25 match up on both Saturday and Sunday. (note - if any errors, apologies, as I had to redo the chart as ESPN's updates of rankings hadn't tricked down to the schedule page. Ugh)

View attachment 104850

Tonight's game between Oklahoma and UNLV will stream on the Mountain West Network.

One of the reasons I've developed an interest in the league is this is a no monetary cost streaming service which allows fans to really get to know the league the teams and the players.

Mountain West Conference

The Official Site of the Mountain West, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of the Mountain West with highlights, live games, game summaries, schedules and more.

themw.com

.

 

[Stagnant]

Good win for Creighton over Nebraska.

 

[triaddukefan]

In a battle of my #5 amd #6 teams... the mighty Catamounts of Western Carolina beat the brakes off of the Blue Hose of Presbyterian 71-41.

 

[donalddoowop]

Good win for Creighton over Nebraska.

Nebraska lost Natalie Potts for the season. She was last season's BIG FOY and averaging double figures this season.

 

[JellyBean]

Nebraska lost Natalie Potts for the season. She was last season's BIG FOY and averaging double figures this season.

Huge loss for Nebraska. Like you said, Natalie's FOY award and her resume heading into this season, a lot was expected from her. I hope she is able to recover well. She is a solid player with so much on the upside.

 

[BRS24]

GM sports fans! As of this morning, #8 Iowa State and #21 Nebraska have lost. To a few, the former was not a surprise, as the chatter was "UNI plays tough, no one wants to schedule them" and the latter, most likely to the loss of Potts. For today and tomorrow, we'll see at least two more top 25 teams lose, as we have the USC/ND game today, and the SC/UCLA game tomorrow.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Looks like Oregon St. kept things closer against Illinois yesterday than I thought they would. Losing by 18 or 19 is a whole lot better than losing by 40 or 50 or whatever it was against Minnesota. I seriously doubt the Gophers are 20+ points better than the Illini...so maybe OSU isn't quite as bad as I thought?

 

[visitingcock]

Looks like Oregon St. kept things closer against Illinois yesterday than I thought they would. Losing by 18 or 19 is a whole lot better than losing by 40 or 50 or whatever it was against Minnesota. I seriously doubt the Gophers are 20+ points better than the Illini...so maybe OSU isn't quite as bad as I thought?

I refuse to call them “ bad.”

Substitute the word “screwed” whenever you think the word “bad.”

 

[Stagnant]

Not a super impressive win for Wisconsin today. Looks like they will be battling Northwestern for last place in the big 10 imo.

 

[Stagnant]

Did anyone know about this Kennedy Smith injury? Or is this a surprise?

 

[cancontent]

Not a super impressive win for Wisconsin today. Looks like they will be battling Northwestern for last place in the big 10 imo.

With a player like Serah Williams on this roster, I would have thought Wisconsin would have been able to attract players to compliment her. Really don't understand what's holding them back.

 

[packwrap]

I refuse to call them “ bad.”

Substitute the word “screwed” whenever you think the word “bad.”

Rueck earned a lot of points for me by sticking around. He must love Corvallis!

(or waiting on a WNBA offer)