Week 9 - Dec 30 to Jan 5

[BRS24]

@BRS24 , thanks as always for doing this list. One slight correction. The Kentucky-Vanderbilt game Sunday is at Vanderbilt.

Thanks. I just do a copy/paste from the espn schedule pages so whatever it says there, I go with it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I thought maybe my powers were failing. Nope. As soon as I typed the previous post, Arizona hit 3 3's to finally get moving.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Swann is red hot for Arizona but nobody else bothered to show up for the Cats. Career high tying 22 w/ 1:26 left. 67-46 Utes.

 

[Stagnant]

Arizona state showed more fight against Utah.

 

[azfan]

UTAH loves the Arizona schools. They laid 102 on the Natasha Adair 20 loss squad, then stormed McKale and humiliated the kitties as no one, with the exception of Swann showed up for Barnes. I mean the Utes schooled the kitties holding the gentle kitties to under 50 points as Cunningham fouls out after 1 - 8 from the floor. The dirty t is awash in shame for, while the Utes are a solid squad, Adia Barnes "team" made them look like South Carolina. The kitties were abused far more than the inept Sun Devils who did score 82 in Utah. The kitties get destroyed on the boards as the "effort" this afternoon in the dirty t was embarrassing.

 

[azfan]

Arizona state showed more fight against Utah.

You are correct sir, for while the 20 loss Sun Devil squad refused to play defense in giving up 102 to the Utes, they did score 82 and made an effort on the boards. Wow, the kitties today could have been wearing the maroon and gold.

 

[TheFarmFan]

So does this put the "Fire Langley!" demonstrations on ice for at least a few days?

At least until @nwhoopfan calls for her contract renewal, at which point the Huskies will promptly tank and lose every subsequent game by 30 points...

 

[nwhoopfan]

At least until @nwhoopfan calls for her contract renewal, at which point the Huskies will promptly tank and lose every subsequent game by 30 points...

hey now!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Anyone know why Northwestern is wearing Michigan's uniforms? Those unis look like black and yellow to me (yeah, I know Michigan is allegedly "blue," but that's gotta be the darkest shade of blue known to man). Not seeing any purple and white.

Regardless, they are getting hammered on their home court by Oregon, after getting hammered on their home court by Washington. The crowd of a few dozen is probably not entertained.

 

[YoDore]

Thanks. I just do a copy/paste from the espn schedule pages so whatever it says there, I go with it.

I noticed when the SEC Network announcers talked about the game Sunday, they also said it was at Kentucky, so I guess now I know where they got it.

Should be a good game, but I can't be worried about it yet. I'm in the middle of my Georgia anxiety. The Bulldogs have struggled at times, but they had a couple of injuries and now appear to be back fully healthy. I'm preparing for their sneak attack.

 

[stwainfan]

Anyone know why Northwestern is wearing Michigan's uniforms? Those unis look like black and yellow to me (yeah, I know Michigan is allegedly "blue," but that's gotta be the darkest shade of blue known to man). Not seeing any purple and white.

Regardless, they are getting hammered on their home court by Oregon, after getting hammered on their home court by Washington. The crowd of a few dozen is probably not entertained.

Maybe they are supporting the Michigan football team. Who just beat Alabama

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

UTAH loves the Arizona schools. They laid 102 on the Natasha Adair 20 loss squad, then stormed McKale and humiliated the kitties as no one, with the exception of Swann showed up for Barnes. I mean the Utes schooled the kitties holding the gentle kitties to under 50 points as Cunningham fouls out after 1 - 8 from the floor. The dirty t is awash in shame for, while the Utes are a solid squad, Adia Barnes "team" made them look like South Carolina. The kitties were abused far more than the inept Sun Devils who did score 82 in Utah. The kitties get destroyed on the boards as the "effort" this afternoon in the dirty t was embarrassing.

Utah didn't have much to do with the lack of Arizona scoring. That is 100% on Adia and her team. NO ONE wanted to shoot besides Swann and Jada Williams (and maybe Jah); Cunningham simply has not grown regarding not fouling and you will never win a game when you throw up random shots late in the shot clock.

Of the many knocks you can make, one is absolutely that Adia simply doesn't field a team. She fields a bunch of players of various talent levels who are simply not used consistently with their talents. Williams was unhappy other players didn't make the proper moves, one of the European players is apparently unhappy with playing time (she is very talented), she keeps playing Paris who doesn't contribute because she continues to be unwilling to take shots, and I swear Adia looked unhappy with Swann's success because based on history Adia doesn't want Swann to take minutes from the players she favors until next year. Plus there was a photo op after the game and one of the players told our friends she hates it in Tucson with no "seasons". Yikes.

 

[azfan]

Utah didn't have much to do with the lack of Arizona scoring. That is 100% on Adia and her team. NO ONE wanted to shoot besides Swann and Jada Williams (and maybe Jah); Cunningham simply has not grown regarding not fouling and you will never win a game when you throw up random shots late in the shot clock.

Of the many knocks you can make, one is absolutely that Adia simply doesn't field a team. She fields a bunch of players of various talent levels who are simply not used consistently with their talents. Williams was unhappy other players didn't make the proper moves, one of the European players is apparently unhappy with playing time (she is very talented), she keeps playing Paris who doesn't contribute because she continues to be unwilling to take shots, and I swear Adia looked unhappy with Swann's success because based on history Adia doesn't want Swann to take minutes from the players she favors until next year. Plus there was a photo op after the game and one of the players told our friends she hates it in Tucson with no "seasons". Yikes.

Yes, coaching is tough. Yes, coaching is increasingly tough. Yes, Barnes is a flawed coach.

As the seasons go by Barnes' flaws becoming increasingly apparent.

Utah did have a great deal to do with exposing both the kitties and Barnes coaching flaws. The kitties tend to have a Kim Mulkey schedule which is catnip to the kitties coach and goes a great distance in disguising or hiding Barnes' flaws. And Barnes can run but she can't hide because the Big 12 schedule will reveal what is now well known in the dirty t.

You do a nice job of beginning an itemization and analysis of the kittie coach and her many flaws.

Is she a superior coach to Natasha Adair? Well that's a pathetically low bar and after thinking for a moment the answer would be yes.

Long-term in the Big 12 would the kitties be better off with a different (better)coach? The answer would be yes.

Do the kitty fans down in the dirty t deserve a different (better) coach? The answer would be absolutely yes.

In the state of Arizona by far the best coach without a doubt is Molly Miller. Her colleague Loree Payne is an outstanding coach as well. Then there's a huge huge huge gap before we get to the dirty t and the kitty coach.

And finally a coach who is way way way way over her head leading her program to a third consecutive 20 loss season is the nice coach from Delaware currently completing the obliteration of the women's program at Tempe. The jubilation by Adair in edging an ivy League school speaks volumes. Why a big 12 program would think it's wonderful to trail an ivy School for 32 minutes before eking out a win speaks volumes about that program.

4:00 p.m. mountain standard time Adair leads her squad against Texas Tech in Tempe. For fans interested in a comparison and contrast of average versus abominable 15 minutes on ESPN Plus would be illustrative although you would need a strong stomach. I fear my stomach has had enough after watching the Devils eek out their win over the Quakers at Mullet arena the hockey facility on the Tempe campus. Wondering if ASU gunner Ice Brown will be in uniform as she didn't play or was in the hockey arena against Penn. ASU post Parkinson will need to duplicate her Ivy dominant performance going against the guard heavy Tech for ASU to stay in the game

Both of Tech losses have come on the road and Tech was only able to beat Houston by 16 at home. Tech is a double-digit favorite over Natasha Adair's squad.

 

[Stagnant]

I am watching Iowa and Penn State and I feel like the commentators just don’t know their stuff.

They have hinted at Lucy Olsen being a 3 point specialist multiple times.

 

[cancontent]

I am watching Iowa and Penn State and I feel like the commentators just don’t know their stuff.

They have hinted at Lucy Olsen being a 3 point specialist multiple times.

I hear you, but these BIG10+ broadcasts are done by students who are studying sports media. They're cutting their teeth and won't be as polished as a professional crew. If it was the BTN crew, then it would be a different matter but they're covering Nebraska vs USC and Michigan vs UCLA today

 

[cancontent]

 

[nwhoopfan]

I hear you, but these BIG10+ broadcasts are done by students who are studying sports media. They're cutting their teeth and won't be as polished as a professional crew. If it was the BTN crew, then it would be a different matter but they're covering Nebraska vs USC and Michigan vs UCLA today

Sometimes the supposed professionals sometimes don't have any idea what they are talking about...

 

[azfan]

Sometimes the supposed professionals sometimes don't have any idea what they are talking about...

Natasha Adair?

 

[cancontent]

Sometimes the supposed professionals sometimes don't have any idea what they are talking about...

Fair, but in the case of the Iowa-Penn State game, it's a school production today. For all we know it could have been someone doing their first call and they blanked out due to nerves.

 

[cancontent]

Nebraska-USC game lost a referee to an injury. Non-contact and had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair. How unfortunate

 

[nwhoopfan]

Well I don't think I've ever seen that before--one of the officials went down with a non contact injury during USC-Nebraska game. Down for a while, slow to get up, had to be wheeled off the court in a wheelchair.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Massive meltdown by BYU @ Cincinnati. Had the game in hand. Outscored 24-3 in Q4. Gibb went ice cold after a good first half.

edit--make that 26-6 in the final frame; lost by 9

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Yes, coaching is tough. Yes, coaching is increasingly tough. Yes, Barnes is a flawed coach.

As the seasons go by Barnes' flaws becoming increasingly apparent.

Utah did have a great deal to do with exposing both the kitties and Barnes coaching flaws. The kitties tend to have a Kim Mulkey schedule which is catnip to the kitties coach and goes a great distance in disguising or hiding Barnes' flaws. And Barnes can run but she can't hide because the Big 12 schedule will reveal what is now well known in the dirty t.

You do a nice job of beginning an itemization and analysis of the kittie coach and her many flaws.

I would still say you are a bit harsh. Every coach has flaws. Adia's have seemed throughout her tenure to be how she handles players. She does play favorites (and so do many coaches). She "can" get a team on one page on the court, only to have off court issues interfere. The defense has been excellent, over all, and was against Utah. But for some reason, the offense - even against the weak OOC schedule - is disjointed. It resembles the CVS Rutgers offense we watched for 15 years in person. The background issues are different, I think, but the result - wild shot late in the shot clock - is exactly the same. Too much dribbling vs. too much passing. Afraid of shooting because Vivian would be mad you took a bad shot vs. afraid to shoot and miss and not look good.

And Kia Vaughn who went on to a long career in the WNBA had some of Cunningham's issues, but she improved faster.

Adia isn't fooled by the results of the weak schedule. I personally don't agree with this year's scheduling (and neither did the team's beat writer) but it was ultimately to get wins (and it didn't work so well as a plan, exactly what the beat writer worried about). She argued that playing a tougher schedule doesn't necessary reward you.

Oh well, I still think (like Rutgers in the day) that Arizona will pull out some unexpected wins. We will see.

 

[MilfordHusky]

And she’s really good! 19 at the half against #1 UCLA.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Oklahoma St. beat Baylor by 23 in Waco. Did we expect that? OSU started off well last year in OOC but faded in the Big 12. Maybe this year will be different.

edit--as a side note it seems like Stailee Heard gets a bit of buzz, but Anna Gret Asi is a player who should be talked about more