Week 7 - Dec 18 to 24

[BRS24]

Here is the slate of games for top 25 teams this week. Two top 25 matchups. The earliest a top 25 team plays in week 8 is Texas on Dec 27th, and then a plethora of unranked teams on the 28th, however the week 8 ranking may change things a little. Note that UConn's game on 12/20 vs Toronto Met is not listed.

 

[triaddukefan]

Just two words. Boomer Sooner.

 

[LoTrader]

Looking forward to watching the AZ vs Gonzaga game.

 

[LETTERL]

Florida Atlantic nailed 10 THREEs and hit a walk-off FT with 0.4 seconds left to hand UCF its first defeat of the season, 59-58.

 

[GamecockFam]

Looking forward to watching the AZ vs Gonzaga game.

That one stuck out to me too along with:

UCLA/Ohio St.
North Carolina/Oklahoma
Baylor/South Florida
SD State/Creighton

The rest look like snooze fears but I bet there will be some nail biters where we least expect it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'm definitely looking forward to the UCLA-Ohio St. game, but the big one for me this week is Washington @ Louisville. I wasn't expecting UW to beat Washington St. on the road, but they did. Can they do it again?

 

[Bone Dog]

tOSU-UCLA looks interesting to me. The press by itself might not be enough to defeat UCLA, who ought to win this game by >10 pts. But if tOSU can turn the game into a track meet -- and they have the guards to do it -- they can effectively take Betts out of the game. The challenge for them is that Jaquez is a very similar player to McMahon.

Sheldon, Taylor, Thierry and Harris (backed up by McMahon) are capable of running with anyone for entire games. They'll have to do what they did to Tennessee. Can Osborne, Rice and Jones run with them? I suspect they can, but it's worth seeing them do it.

 

[Plebe]

I'm definitely looking forward to the UCLA-Ohio St. game, but the big one for me this week is Washington @ Louisville. I wasn't expecting UW to beat Washington St. on the road, but they did. Can they do it again?

If Louisville loses this game, then the ACC needs to just go the way of the Pac-12 and disband.

 

[nwhoopfan]

If Louisville loses this game, then the ACC needs to just go the way of the Pac-12 and disband.

That seems a bit drastic. Louisville has been up and down this year, clearly not one of their better teams in recent years. Washington actually played them close 2 years ago in Seattle. The Cards were much better that year than now, and the Dawgs were worse. Not saying UW will win, but it's not completely out of the question.

 

[Darwin]

tOSU-UCLA looks interesting to me. The press by itself might not be enough to defeat UCLA, who ought to win this game by >10 pts. But if tOSU can turn the game into a track meet -- and they have the guards to do it -- they can effectively take Betts out of the game. The challenge for them is that Jaquez is a very similar player to McMahon.

Sheldon, Taylor, Thierry and Harris (backed up by McMahon) are capable of running with anyone for entire games. They'll have to do what they did to Tennessee. Can Osborne, Rice and Jones run with them? I suspect they can, but it's worth seeing them do it.

OSU cannot get a good look in the paint, they will need to be good outside shooters to beat UCLA tonight, UCLA dominating the paint so far.

 

[Darwin]

tOSU-UCLA looks interesting to me. The press by itself might not be enough to defeat UCLA, who ought to win this game by >10 pts. But if tOSU can turn the game into a track meet -- and they have the guards to do it -- they can effectively take Betts out of the game. The challenge for them is that Jaquez is a very similar player to McMahon.

Sheldon, Taylor, Thierry and Harris (backed up by McMahon) are capable of running with anyone for entire games. They'll have to do what they did to Tennessee. Can Osborne, Rice and Jones run with them? I suspect they can, but it's worth seeing them do it.

This looks like a hard game for OSU so far, they will need half time adjustments, UCLA has their way offensively and defensively in the paint. OSU are gamers, and athletic, but tough way to win. They will need to shoot really well from outside if this continues.

 

[nwhoopfan]

If UCLA could buy a 3, this game would be a laugher. 0-12 now. Most of them were good looks that rattled out.

 

[LETTERL]

Undefeated Cal Baptist trails 1-9 Louisiana Tech, 35-16, at halftime.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Undefeated Cal Baptist trails 1-9 Louisiana Tech, 35-16, at halftime.

I didn't figure they would remain undefeated for much longer, but I didn't have this game circled as the one where it would happen.

 

[bballnut90]

If UCLA could buy a 3, this game would be a laugher. 0-12 now. Most of them were good looks that rattled out.

They've gone 3-6 since and have blown the game open to a 19 point. UCLA looks solid. Tara sitting out Betts pretty much all of last year has to be one of the worst coaching decisions she's made. The combo of her and Brink would've been unreal. Betts is basically another Kamilla Cardoso with better touch around the rim.

 

[TheFarmFan]

They've gone 3-6 since and have blown the game open to a 19 point. UCLA looks solid. Tara sitting out Betts pretty much all of last year has to be one of the worst coaching decisions she's made. The combo of her and Brink would've been unreal. Betts is basically another Kamilla Cardoso with better touch around the rim.

Did you watch Betts last season? Honestly, most of the time she was a step slow, pretty tentative on offense, and got the ball stripped from her under the basket with surprising frequency. And here's the thing: she was in a post lineup behind a 6'4" Brink, 6'5" Prechtel, and 6'2" Belibi, all of whom were key cogs in our national championship run. Plus 6'3" Iriafen, who's much faster down the court, and a 6'1" Jones, who often played the 4 and was tied as our leading rebounder with Brink. I think it just wasn't a good fit for the roster we had, and not anyone's fault. But that said, I agree she's playing much more like a #1 recruit this season than she did last year.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Really impressed by Sheldon. Nice game for Thierry too. The rest of the Buckeyes were pretty much M.I.A. Brutal game for McMahon.

 

[nwhoopfan]

UCLA handled the pressure really well during the middle of the game. Not so much at the beginning and the end.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Did you watch Betts last season? Honestly, most of the time she was a step slow, pretty tentative on offense, and got the ball stripped from her under the basket with surprising frequency. And here's the thing: she was in a post lineup behind a 6'4" Brink, 6'5" Prechtel, and 6'2" Belibi, all of whom were key cogs in our national championship run. Plus 6'3" Iriafen, who's much faster down the court, and a 6'1" Jones, who often played the 4 and was tied as our leading rebounder with Brink. I think it just wasn't a good fit for the roster we had, and not anyone's fault. But that said, I agree she's playing much more like a #1 recruit this season than she did last year.

That's what I thought most of the season, there were just too many players and a pretty much unmanageable rotation.

 

[Plebe]

This has gotta be Cori's best team ever. Really a nice balance of speed and size, and of stars (Rice, Betts, Osborne) and role players. Right now I am sensing UCLA as the Pac-12 favorite just ahead of Stanford, Utah and USC. But that's a really strong top 4.

OSU drew some blood early with the press and took a 10-2 lead. Then it was all UCLA for about 30 minutes. Nothing seemed to be work well for the Buckeyes, but they scrapped and showed heart to close the gap in 4Q. Got it down to 4 points in the final minute but ran out of time.

It's gonna take me a while to wrap my brain around the fact that these two teams will be in the same conference in 9 months.

 

[LoTrader]

Ohio State is scary when they press. UCLA was breaking the press with ease and then the last 5 minutes Ohio State just ate them alive. UCLA barely escaped after dominating most of the game. Sheldon is a fantastic player. Some WNBA team is going to draft a real winner.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think I was getting Fairfield mixed up with Marist, was thinking of a mid major from the Northeast that used to be a powerhouse. Fairfield is about to improve to 9-1. The one loss was by 3 to Vandy. Beat St. John's by 5. Nothing else noteworthy on their schedule. Oh wait, beat Rutgers by 24, I wasn't even counting that, shows how far RU has fallen! Anyway they might be interesting to keep an eye on this year.

Davidson keeps rolling along too, they upped their record to 10-1 tonight.

Syracuse has their hands full with Cornell.

 

[Vowelguy]

And then there were 12 unbeatens. With WV barely escaping over Wright St
5 B12 / 4 PAC / SEC - ACC - BgE

 

[YoDore]

I think I was getting Fairfield mixed up with Marist, was thinking of a mid major from the Northeast that used to be a powerhouse. Fairfield is about to improve to 9-1. The one loss was by 3 to Vandy. Beat St. John's by 5. Nothing else noteworthy on their schedule. Oh wait, beat Rutgers by 24, I wasn't even counting that, shows how far RU has fallen! Anyway they might be interesting to keep an eye on this year.

Davidson keeps rolling along too, they upped their record to 10-1 tonight.

Syracuse has their hands full with Cornell.

I watched the Fairfield-Manhattan game tonight, and Fairfield blew it open in the second half to win by 26. I really enjoy watching them since they played at Vandy early in the season. Vandy had them down big in the second half, but they just kept working and eventually only lost by three. Coach Ralph was full of praise for them after the game, pointing to their discipline and consistency as something she is trying to instill in her own team.

They have a freshman, Meghan Anderson, who is a really nice player.

 

[bballnut90]

Did you watch Betts last season? Honestly, most of the time she was a step slow, pretty tentative on offense, and got the ball stripped from her under the basket with surprising frequency. And here's the thing: she was in a post lineup behind a 6'4" Brink, 6'5" Prechtel, and 6'2" Belibi, all of whom were key cogs in our national championship run. Plus 6'3" Iriafen, who's much faster down the court, and a 6'1" Jones, who often played the 4 and was tied as our leading rebounder with Brink. I think it just wasn't a good fit for the roster we had, and not anyone's fault. But that said, I agree she's playing much more like a #1 recruit this season than she did last year.

I did watch several games last year--the main game I remember was vs. Arizona and she was excellent. Overall she started getting more minutes as the season unfolded and produced well. I agree she looks quicker this year but I thought she was contributing at a high level when given an opportunity at Stanford. Almost any time she hit double digit minutes, she scored 10+ points, was efficient, avoided foul trouble and had few turnovers. She was also a strong shot blocker. FWIW I thought she was more impactful than either Fran/Prechtel last year. I'm not sure what happened to cause Tara to reduce her minutes down the last stretch of the season, but it understandably put a sour taste in Betts mouth and likely contributed to her transferring. I agree the fit probably wasn't the best with how deep Stanford's front court was, but regardless I stand by my statement that it was a poor coaching choice to not utilize her more.