When did you know?

[aburks41]

After the Iowa State game for me, going into the year even the most optimistic people were thinking the Sweet 16 was a good goal

View attachment 88673

Ahem I was the only one saying this team was championship level good before the season started and took a ton of flack for it on this board.

 

[Chin Diesel]

After non-conference schedule was over and UConn beat every opponent by double digits.

The metrics were insanely good. Beginning of BE season had me hemming and hawing but we also knew it was a perfect storm of bad luck. As UConn went on its redemption tour of blasting the teams which had beat it earlier in the BE sked I had confidence. By the time the tourney brackets were announced I had a good feeling.

 

[Umami Zen]

After Seton Hall L.. Path was clear.. Too much talent to not grab the NC.. Amiright @August_West ??

 

[B1GEast]

I was convinced after watching the Phil Knight Invitational. They were solid. I knew that they would loose some games in the BE, but not as many as they did.

I was confident that UConn would do well in the tourney and after Kansas went down it was theirs to loose.

The team had everything, leadership, depth, length and coaching. PG was the only real weakness, but the style of play didn't really affect that weakness.

We're truly a spoiled bunch. UConn makes it look easy, but just getting to a final four is huge.

 

[zls44]

When Alabama and Houston lost on Friday night in the S16, I knew they could.

Once we started to really pile on Gonzaga and made them quit, I knew we would.

 

[EZPass]

We're good

We're good at basketball.

the-boneyard.com

 

[Mister P]

I thought Final Four team in November and then when we pasted Arkansas I didn’t think there was a team that would beat us.

I gotta say, I was the most calm, un nerved with no butterflies during this tourney run than any other championship run we had. The eye test all year must have made me realize that we were not going to lose.
That or I’m spoiled and arrogant.

 

[Dean Wormer]

I recently made a comment a bit tongue in cheek about nobody thought before the season that a title was realistic. I heard a lot of S16, some E8 predictions and some 2nd round exit expectations. Now once the season started it didnt take long for this team to show that it was a legit title contender but then they went into that horrible January slump and things looked pretty dicey for awhile. I must admit i lost faith in the dream of a title during that time and was simply hoping we could win a game or two which would at least be progress. But the moment that sticks out for me where i said to myself this team is cutting down the nets and there isnt a damn thing any team in this tournament can do about it was the opening of th second half of the Gonzaga blow out. I completely believed then and there it was over not only for the Zags but for everyone else in the tournament. Sure the Zags werent the Zags of previous seasons but that was a really good team that was in the top 10 most of the season and could score with anybody and they were shut down to 59 points. I had the same feeling in 2011 when we beat Arizona and in 2014 when we beat MSU.

I had that "feeling" in November, but finally stuck my neck out here:

Dean Wormer​

• Dec 4, 2022
• Add bookmark
• #62

One for the thumb!
That’s my theme for this season. We’re gonna get better and better, and we are winning it all."


You're welcome!

 

[ZenConn]

When we went undefeated in non-conference play after being unranked preseason. Had a few wavering moments during conference play.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I was extremely confident after we blasted Arkansas. When we were in the process of pasting Gonzaga and the guy next to me at the bar who put a ton of money on the Zags turned to me and said he had no idea how good we were and walked out it felt pretty damn good. Didn't know for certain but I didn't really feel any nerves for the final 4 games like I normally do...

The only other times I felt like that were in 2004 after getting through Duke (I've never been that nervous for a game in my entire life and I had every emotion from despair to ecstacy during that game.) That was the title game and there was no way we were losing to Georgia Tech again. I felt that same way in 2014 when we easily beat Florida in the semis. Had zero nerves playing Kentucky and treated the Florida win like it was the national championship

Ah yes the Harrison twin massacre. Most satisfying win over UK/Squid of the two in the tourney. Watching their hyped backcourt absolutely terrorized by Bazz and Boat was beautiful.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I think a bunch are you are mistaken.

In January I responded a few times in a thread which was predicting disaster after our losing streak. My point was the Kemba team had a similar rough period and that it was way too early to give up on the team.

Boy did I catch hell for my posts, most saying no one is like Kemba and this year’s team is flawed. I recall only 1 or 2 other posters agreeing with my position.

I bring this up not to brag, but to remind many that they in fact lost faith in January.

That said I do realize no one ever makes mistakes on an anonymous internet board.

 

[AreBee1969]

A WVU buddy asked me what I thought about their chances after selection Sunday and I told him, “They could win it all or they could lose to Iona.” After the Gonzaga beat down, I didn’t think there was a team that could stay with them…except Creighton. When Creighton lost, I knew.

 

[Austin316]

During the winning streak I was thinking, damn we’re good… but after the rough mid-season stretch and BET I took it game by game.

I was happy with a tournament win heading into the season. Still shocked we won it in such dominant fashion.

This is the exact moment I knew we would win it:

 

[Hunt for 7]

For me it was twice. After the first 14 games, I was sure they were a contender. So I thought definite FF team then. After we beat Gonzaga I was pretty confident we would have two fairly easy games to get chip 5. I will be honest Gonzaga worried me. Cold sweats remembering 1999…and they are so good offensively. We made them look almost mid major like. At that point I knew it was ours.

 

[Scoe]

When I made a point of getting Miller Lites I knew.

 

[Scoe]

Lol the best part of that realization is that you can't actually say it out loud. You just kind of think it to yourself. [Holy sh.it, we could win this whole thing!]

Being in the moment is always a feeling you can never describe.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I think a bunch are you are mistaken.

In January I responded a few times in a thread which was predicting disaster after our losing streak. My point was the Kemba team had a similar rough period and that it was way too early to give up on the team.

Boy did I catch hell for my posts, most saying no one is like Kemba and this year’s team is flawed. I recall only 1 or 2 other posters agreeing with my position.

I bring this up not to brag, but to remind many that they in fact lost faith in January.

That said I do realize no one ever makes mistakes on an anonymous internet board.

You’re not wrong. The good vibes from the last two months have erased what was a pretty miserable season on this board, right up through halftime of the Iona game. A lot of people are kidding themselves with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[SouleMan]

Pre season I told all within earshot that team could win it all.

Could. But the question is when did you know?

 

[SouleMan]

When I saw this thread at halftime of the Iona game...

Official Fire Hurley Thread

More realistically I felt pretty confident after that first weekend - no Kansas, Creighton, or Marquette - along with the PK85 team showing itself again outside the Big East.

 

[Fishy]

Yup. I was terrified of Iona and St Mary’s because I felt like Hurley just had to get the monkey off his back. Once we got past them and blasted Arkansas I knew we were going all the way

A little bit of this.

Once Creighton got eliminated

A little bit of this.

Yes. About ten minutes into the Arkansas game I was convinced nobody would stop us.

By the end of the Gonzaga game I was afraid we'd break the damned tournament.

And a lot of this.

I’m very superstitious and I’m a Viking fan who has seen hope turn into horror in an instant, so I don’t think in terms of ‘we’re going to win the whole thing’, but after Arkansas, I really had trouble finding a team that I thought could beat us.

After Gonzaga, I felt like it was over, but I caught myself whenever I thought it. I was still panicky during the SDSU game…I watched it on my phone pacing around a parking lot on Florida. My inlaws were visiting us and I just could not watch the game with people who would be talking.

So I walked four miles in the parking lot. It was hot so I got a drink of water at halftime and then paced the rest of the game.

 

[gsmooth]

A WVU buddy asked me what I thought about their chances after selection Sunday and I told him, “They could win it all or they could lose to Iona.” After the Gonzaga beat down, I didn’t think there was a team that could stay with them…except Creighton. When Creighton lost, I knew.

And even then, I think UConn would've beaten Creighton in the finals. In fact they should've beaten Creighton in Omaha for the season sweep.

 

[Scot-e]

PK classic. I thought there was not a single team better than us. Just had to get back to form.

 

[Captbluefin]

After the Gonzaga game.. I said to my daughter “ He we go. Your going to see something special “

 

[M.S.G.]

I think I knew we were capable when we went out west in November, but the comeback against G'Town was the clincher for me.

 

[temery]

Wasn't sure it wasn't a dream until I got an alert telling me the boneyard crashed.