Week 7 - Dec 16 to 22

[Plebe]

What was also painful was the positive spin the Utah announcers placed on the Delaware coach:

This is a teaching moment (Yah think?)

7 new transfers into Tempe (Why?, Why? Why can't she keep or develop players?)

Lots of improvement in the second half? (WTF - ASU gives up 48 in the first half and 54 in the second - IMPROVEMENT?!?!?!)

Just a matter of cleaning up some details (NO, ITS NOT)

There's a lot to like with this team. (If you are a masochist)

You have got to respect the effort. (Are they out of their minds?)

ASU fans have to be excited about this team. (Is it me or is this psychotic?)

ASU can hold their head up. (What?)

My favorite

ASU made some nice defensive adjustments in the second half. (OMG, OMG, OMG)

I needed this comic relief. Please stay

I'm always amazed at how no matter how bad a team is, the commentators can pull out all the stops to make it sound like they're just about to turn the corner and reach the Final Four.

 

[triaddukefan]

Boycott until the next meal?

That boycott didn't even last 3 hours

What next, a loss to DePaul?

I'd have to deactivate my account if that happened

 

[ISUnorth]

That was crazy, Okie St. played keep away for 20 seconds while Iowa St. was trying desperately to foul and stop the clock.


Oh by the way OSU Coach Hoyt had her first baby about a week and a half ago.

81-75 final.

That short sequence really illustrated our lack or speed and quickness in the guard court.

 

[triaddukefan]

I don't want to hear any excuses.

No excuses. Sometimes you take a bull by its horns and get gored in return. I look forward to their trip to Durham next year

I will say that I've never seen a player get 2 intentional fouls on the same possession... The resulting 4 SF free throws killed any Duke momentum.

USF came in ranked #8 in strength of schedule per NET, but yeah, only Quad 4 wins prior to today.

The losses to Louisville and MSU were the only truly close ones. They somehow kept the deficit respectable playing at SC, unlike TCU who got completely blown out by SC in Fort Worth.

In fairness to Duke, I give their coach credit for not hiding out at home and for going on the road to face non-cupcake non-p4 teams like South Dakota State and South Florida. Most coaches of the top p4 programs adamantly refuse to sign home-and-homes with such teams.

Home and homes vs South Florida, South Dakota State, Belmont, Liberty, Davidson, Richmond, Toledo, Dayton, FGCU, Columbia, Charleston Southern and a few others

 

[azfan]

Bottom of the Big 12 Houston or ASU

After the Cougs 15-point loss at Texas Tech we now have some data points to use to compare which of these two teams is the worst that is who will end up at the bottom.

I think a compelling case can be made for either team and while we will have more information after that January 4th game in Houston this much is clear.

After facing relatively comparable opponents in Utah and Texas tech it's clear that Houston has a much much much much less worse defense than Natasha Adair's squad. Houston gave up 74 points but the Cougs consistently played hard and a number of points were given up based on turnovers and run outs. These are breakdowns more of offense than defense.

The Sun Devils in giving up 102 points in their 20 point loss at Utah indicated a firm resolve to not play perimeter defense, not communicate as they were repeatedly burned on back door and give and goes and most importantly reject investing any energy in blocking out or rebounding.

Defense edge to the Cougs

Houston C- ASU D+

Offensively the Cougs really appear to be challenged. Texas Tech played solid defense but I think Houston helped them to look really good. ASU has two scorers in Ice Brown and Ty Skinner who when they put their mind to it will definitely get their shots.

Offense edge to the Devils

ASU C. Houston D

I'll refrain from repeating an analysis about coaching but suffice it to say Houston has the edge here.

I think at this point based upon defense and home court advantage Houston has a real chance in this game although ASU is favored slightly.

The highly anticipated January 4th matchup in Houston will definitely have both teams winless in the conference as ASU will lose to Texas Tech while Houston will lose to Kansas State. ASU does have a home game against 8 and 3 Penn at the end of Dec in which they are slightly favored. Based on their performance at Utah I think the Penn players and coaches are optimistic. Even if Ice, Ty, and Natasha stumble to victory against Penn they remain a lock for their third consecutive 20 loss season.

 

[WBBTakeover]

No excuses. Sometimes you take a bull by its horns and get gored in return. I look forward to their trip to Durham next year

I will say that I've never seen a player get 2 intentional fouls on the same possession... The resulting 4 SF free throws killed any Duke momentum.

Neither have I. That was bizarre!

But I do want to make it clear that I don't lay the blame solely (or even mostly) at the feet of the players.

 

[Plebe]

Bottom of the Big 12 Houston or ASU

After the Cougs 15-point loss at Texas Tech we now have some data points to use to compare which of these two teams is the worst that is who will end up at the bottom.

I think a compelling case can be made for either team and while we will have more information after that January 4th game in Houston this much is clear.

I've followed both teams this year, and I even (gasp) watched Houston lose to UTRGV in the season opener. And I'm convinced Houston is the worse team.

The early returns on the NET bear this out: Houston is #186, compared to ASU at #155. ASU is also 35 spots ahead of Houston in Massey.

That's not to say Houston can't win the game at home. I'm sure all 35 fans in attendance will be on the edge of their seats.

 

[JellyBean]

Shouts to Olivia Miles on another triple double! 18/11/10. She is getting some attention out there but on a bigger level, she should be getting so much more. A triple double in college basketball is hard. Congrats, Olivia!!

Cal and Coach Smith! Love it!! Folks wrote her off during the Covid year. Why? Who knows but she came back with an 11-win season. Then followed that with a 13-win season. Then a 19-win season! This season the Cal WBB team are doing some wondering things out there on the court. Good luck, Coach Smith. U got Championship DNA in you. Keep coaching and doing great things with your program.

 

[JellyBean]

I watched Arkansas/Troy game. Like I have said before, Coach Neighbors is in for a long season. Hang in there, Coach. Hopefully the recruiting improves for Arkansas.