Were We Overlooked in the AAC? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Were We Overlooked in the AAC?

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We're rated right where we should be. Until we aren't.

This.

I liked what I saw out of Memphis and Temple tonight. Both of those teams will win over 20.

UConn needs to get back over 20, and start pulling its weight in basketball. That's what a basketball school does.
 
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I really miss the slow passing around the perimeter in hopes of hoisting up a prayer 3 at the end of the shot clock.
 
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I disagree, but to each his own.

This year.

0 teams receiving votes in AP poll.
Best team in KenPom is #39.

For perspective, there are 9 ACC teams in top 38. Our best team would be the 10th best team in the ACC.
 

Waquoit

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This year.

0 teams receiving votes in AP poll.
Best team in KenPom is #39.

For perspective, there are 9 ACC teams in top 38. Our best team would be the 10th best team in the ACC.
I think we're all set on the perspective front, auror. Thanks.
 
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This year.

0 teams receiving votes in AP poll.
Best team in KenPom is #39.

For perspective, there are 9 ACC teams in top 38. Our best team would be the 10th best team in the ACC.
As of know. If we beat Cuse on thursday that all changes dramitically
 
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This year.

0 teams receiving votes in AP poll.
Best team in KenPom is #39.

For perspective, there are 9 ACC teams in top 38. Our best team would be the 10th best team in the ACC.

Why even play the games?
After the NCAA tournament, the AAC had 3 teams finish in the Top 25.
So, its the beginning of the second week, and they just reshuffled the cards. I know there were graduations (the league had 4 players drafted), but even at Wichita State, where there was a mass exodus, they still beat Providence.
I'm sure Fryers fans wish they got KenPom points in that game.
 
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This year.

0 teams receiving votes in AP poll.
Best team in KenPom is #39.

For perspective, there are 9 ACC teams in top 38. Our best team would be the 10th best team in the ACC.


I compare this year's AAC to the AAC in previous year's. I see a league getting slightly better every year. It takes time. This year UCONN will carry the torch for this league. Long overdue.
 
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Why even play the games?
After the NCAA tournament, the AAC had 3 teams finish in the Top 25.
So, its the beginning of the second week, and they just reshuffled the cards. I know there were graduations (the league had 4 players drafted), but even at Wichita State, where there was a mass exodus, they still beat Providence.
I'm sure Fryers fans wish they got KenPom points in that game.

I don't understand your point. The league is not bad because the league was good last year and everyone left? Wichita also lost to Louisiana Tech at home by double digits.

I compare this year's AAC to the AAC in previous year's. I see a league getting slightly better every year. It takes time. This year UCONN will carry the torch for this league. Long overdue.

Most teams have development cycles. This year we have more teams than usual that are still developing as opposed to being in the peak of their cycles. That happens when 10/13 best players in the league (including entire 1st team All Conference) leave and the freshman class last year and this were/are uninspiring thanks to mediocre recruiting.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

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Our performance in the AAC overall has been quite underwhelming. You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise.
I'm not into shame. Maybe you are. I just don't see the appeal, but it's clear that it has a lot of supporters.
Otherwise, I agree fully with what you've written.
 

Hankster

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2 games into the season seems a little rushed to make these type of threads
Agree to a point. Point is these two games has shown a completely different team than last year. First two games last year made me groan. This year is already exciting.
 

Hankster

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Yes.

Don’t be such chickens, who cares that we’ve only played two easy games? It’s not a crime to think your team is always better than they are before the season starts, and every once in a while you might just be right.

Everyone in the media agreed Hurley was an incredible coach and a great get for UConn. Everyone agreed UConn had the best player in the league. Maybe the two best players in the league. Everyone also agreed it was nuts to place high expectations on a team that looked so bad for most of last year, and had a lot of question marks.

Call it overlooked if you want. We deserved to be 5th or 6th in preseason. But if anyone didn’t see a version of this season where UConn rolls the AAC they were being silly.

I’ll bite my tongue when we’re 2-2 on Friday night
It's no so much they were easy games, It is how we played. Last year during our cupcakes I (speaking for myself) suffered through, blown assignments, errant passes, not holding on to the ball. I am sure others could name a few.
 

StepbackCity

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This.

I liked what I saw out of Memphis and Temple tonight. Both of those teams will win over 20.

UConn needs to get back over 20, and start pulling its weight in basketball. That's what a basketball school does.
Memphis’s defense is laughable compared to ours. They try to put pressure on defenders but instead of getting up into them like we do, they just mirror them up the court as a means to waste a little time instead of wreaking havoc.
Haven’t seen enough offense from either teams to determine, but Memphis is no match for us. Unfortunately, they have home court advantage against us this year so that will probably change the outcome of when we play them.
 

intlzncster

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One.

This is honestly possible this year, given the lack of quality in the AAC. Though, I can easily see a scenario where one team stands out, but another wins the auto bid. Then 2 would get in.

Who knows though, maybe teams outperform nationally.
 

Dream Jobbed 2.0

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This.

I liked what I saw out of Memphis and Temple tonight. Both of those teams will win over 20.

UConn needs to get back over 20, and start pulling its weight in basketball. That's what a basketball school does.
If you asked me five years ago, I would have said UConn, Memphis, and Temple would always be 3 of the top teams in the league. This has not been the case. At all.
 
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I compare this year's AAC to the AAC in previous year's. I see a league getting slightly better every year. It takes time. This year UCONN will carry the torch for this league. Long overdue.

This.
The conference finally has it's coaches aligned top-to-bottom. Yes, there were stars that moved on but each coach has done a nice job managing their rosters.
People focus on a program like Houston and say, well they lost Rob Gray... But fail to see that Sampson's recruiting has notched up every year. They just signed with Jordan Brand and open a new arena. Their recruiting may look mediocre to some, but that's a program built on development. Rob Gray wasn't a 5 star, and neither was Damyeon Dotson the year before.
Gregg Marshall has similarly ratcheted up his recruiting, while focusing on development. He also isn't getting the blues, yet, but like Sampson he's beating out power schools for kids now - which he wasn't doing so much in the Valley. Tyson Etienne is an example.
The AAC has benefited by experienced coaches like them, who can put together rosters in more ways than just by getting the best freshmen. So, while each year players may graduate and move on, we'll see players like Armoni Brooks and Corey Davis move into those starring roles, and we may also see solid transfers spread their wings after sitting out.
That's why UConn and Memphis becoming competitive again is the next step. Those are the recruiting giants of the AAC (every conference has their prime recruiting teams that steer the league... the AAC has been missing theirs).
We'll see how many bids come in this year. My guess is it will be in line with the average the conference has always gotten.
 
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willie99

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We're overlooked, PERIOD, but I'm OK with that. We're at our best when we're overlooked (and injury free :))
 
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This is honestly possible this year, given the lack of quality in the AAC. Though, I can easily see a scenario where one team stands out, but another wins the auto bid. Then 2 would get in.

Who knows though, maybe teams outperform nationally.

For anyone interested, Bart Torvik has a TourneyCast prediction.
TourneyCast - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank

Long story short, his odds say most likely outcome is 1 at-large and 1 auto bid (44%), followed by just the auto bid (27%), followed closely by 2 at-large and the autobid (23%).

Currently, we've got the 4th highest odds of making the tournament thanks to the 2nd highest odds of winning the conference tournament. We're higher in his T-Rank than KenPom for what it's worth (and closer to where I think we should be but probably not quite there yet considering Gilbert impact).
 

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