Who is the strongest opponent for the NC, South Carolina or Stanford?

[TeamFirst!]

I know it will be unconventional but I actually think Stanford is the stronger team right now. They have a huge advantage in 3 point shooting and are 10 deep in their rotation. Lots of ability for their bigs and Kiki Iriafin has been a solid pick up for them recently. South Carolina has size and strength enough to maybe win just on defense and rebounding, and skill in the post, of course. They have a lot of very strong role players and a very solid, quick guard in Henderson.

 

[CTBballfan243]

A South Carolina vs Stamford would be a really good National Championship game.

 

[saywho]

I agree that I think Stanford is a bit more solid now. They started with issues figuring out PG, but they seem to have found a solid rotation. They are just so deep with so many options. I also think they are incredibly good on defense. South Carolina may be a bit more athletic, but Stanford's ability to have 10 players that can go off on any given night really alleviates one star having a bad night. Each game they seem to look better, and I think it will likely continue.

That being said, neither team is unstoppable and either could be upset well before the finals.

 

[visitingcock]

NC State should not be left out of the conversation.

 

[JellyBean]

Between these two teams, I got South Carolina. Defense, guard play, length, they can go deep into their bench if needed, and motivation.

 

[Stymie]

Stanford is more balanced, more disciplined and better coached.
(IMHO)

 

[TeamFirst!]

SC plays a tougher schedule so it's difficult to really evaluate just from watching the games and reading the numbers. Strength of schedule is huge. I'm just seeing both of then "Hull's" having great years shooting the 3 now as well as others on Stanford when they started out stone cold. I'm seeing SC trend down with outside shooting. Rebounding is a key though. Stanford would have to shoot well from outside to beat SC.

 

[uconnever]

I watched Stanford vs Arizona this past weekend and they are balanced and some of the highly regarded freshman from last year are playing and contributing. Vangytenbeek was hitting DEEP threes like they were layups and she kept shooting them. In my honest opinion, we look terrible and totally out of sync. But if Paige comes back and we start to gel, I think we can beat anyone this year. We do have to be firing on all cylinders but after watching them, we definitely are still in the mix and should at least get to another final four unless our seeding dictates a matchup with Stanford or SC before then and we are not on our game. If we continue to play like we have, we will be upset by a second tier team in the middle rounds like an Indiana or Michigan.

 

[willtalk]

The problem UConn faces ( like in other years) is that they will no really know how well they are gelling until they face some top teams in the tournament due to the lack of competition in their league. This will be especially true this season since there are far more tier two teams capable of knocking off the tier one teams on any given night.

 

[The deacon]

SC plays a tougher schedule so it's difficult to really evaluate just from watching the games and reading the numbers. Strength of schedule is huge. I'm just seeing both of then "Hull's" having great years shooting the 3 now as well as others on Stanford when they started out stone cold. I'm seeing SC trend down with outside shooting. Rebounding is a key though. Stanford would have to shoot well from outside to beat SC.

Fully agreeing it would be a great matchup between SC and Stanford, I'd suggest the keys would be how well Lexie Hull shoots the trey - she's seemingly either on or off with little in between - and how often the refs call fouls on Boston and Brink. Both are uber-talented bigs yet, to this point, Aliyah's shoving and elbowing attract far fewer foul calls than Cameron's more visually apparent swats (think Liv).

And, yes, I believe a fully loaded Huskies squad could beat either, maybe would beat either, but...

 

[bballnut90]

I think South Carolina is the stronger team. Boston is just so dominant inside and every night you know what youre getting from her. They also have a really strong floor general in Henderson. They play tough defense, have solid depth and are extremely athletic at every position.


Stanford utilizes better ball movement and shooting. Brink/Jones are phenomenal when both are playing well, but they seem relatively hit or miss given on the night. The whole team is that way--on any given night someone can score 15+ but I think SC would win if they played for a title.

 

[TeamFirst!]

A big factor is how the game is called. If it’s Detroit Pistons mode SC wins hands down. If it’s called tight then maybe Stanford has the edge. One thing about Stanford is those kids are all extremely aware of what is on the line.

 

[hoopsfan22]

South Carolina. Plus you have to respect Coach Staley who isn't afraid to play UConn every year.

 

[BobbyJ]

A big factor is how the game is called. If it’s Detroit Pistons mode SC wins hands down. If it’s called tight then maybe Stanford has the edge. One thing about Stanford is those kids are all extremely aware of what is on the line.

And SC isn't?

 

[VA Huskie]

I picked SC, but I think they’re really vulnerable to a team that’s hot from the outside. And their outside shooting is pretty erratic. But I picked them because of Boston and their overall defense.
All that being said, we are certainly capable of beating them with a healthy squad. Particularly since in our first game we got little to nothing from Azzi and CD.

 

[oldhusky]

The problem UConn faces ( like in other years) is that they will no really know how well they are gelling until they face some top teams in the tournament due to the lack of competition in their league. This will be especially true this season since there are far more tier two teams capable of knocking off the tier one teams on any given night.

This is true, but far more this year than most. We are usually tested early with our out of conference schedule, then have a couple more tough out of conference games while coasting thru the Big East opponents, and then don't face serious competition again until the sweet sixteen or elite eight.

Our last statement game on the schedule is Tennessee and we presumably will not have all our pieces even then. For most of our early challenges we were handicapped. We have had only one big game with a relatively normal lineup, and that was our loss to South Carolina. So even if this group gets back together (minus Aubrey) for a few games near the end of the regular season we will be judging where we are at based on whether the margin of victory was more or less than expected, but our freshmen in particular will have almost no experience against top competition with the normal team intact.

We will be one of the biggest unknowns in the tournament as a result. The contenders from Power 5 conferences have been playing lots of top opponents. I think that experience is valuable, and it is a disadvantage for us, but it is what it is, it is the hand we have been dealt. We can hope for health, signs they are jelling late, and hope that when presented with a much tougher opponent they will respond well.

 

[Happydad745]

It doesn't matter which one is the toughest opponent, we can't beat anyone of them right now.

 

[ConwayGmck]

The last two games between the teams were decided by a combined 5 pts, so there is little margin for error between them. South Carolina has the better defense and better rebounding, while Stanford has the better offense. It is said that offense is for show, while defense is for dough. That offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Perhaps we'll see........