Why Oregon State, not UConn, should be the No. 1 women's college basketball team

[Carnac]

An article from ESPN.com this morning. Don’t shoot the messenger. I'm posting this for perusal purposes only, because it states an alternative point of view.

Oregon was No. 1 for a month. Stanford reigned women's college basketball for three weeks. And now UConn takes over the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Huskies elevated to No. 1 after unranked Texas upset Stanford. UConn is 10-0 and has spent more time at No. 1 than any other women's team.

UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey isn't sure the Huskies deserve it quite yet. "I don't know that we're the No.1 team in the country," Dailey told the AP earlier this week. "I haven't seen enough of a lot of people. But I've known our team when we have been No. 1. This team isn't there yet."

[Article]

 

[WestCoast]

I was both amused and happily entertained by the article. Thanks for posting. As an outsider, I didn't dare post that link on a UConn message Board. We all have already seen the carnage that similar sentiments have been meet with on this board.

 

[EricSD]

My thought about the article is "meh". I will say this. I totally disagree that Oregon State should be #1. UCONN started preseason 5/4 in the rankings and OSU 7/6. Both teams have taken on all comers and won. Teams ahead of them have faltered. OSU has not beaten Stanford, Oregon, UCONN, Maryland, aTm, SC etc etc. Neither has UCONN.

But my point is, how can you justify jumping OSU over UCONN to be #1 in the rankings when UCONN has done nothing but win, and OSU's best wins are against DePaul at home (UCONN beat them at DePaul by less), and then ranked Miami who fell out of the top 25 and now is back at #23.

I do NOT believe, like Chris and Geno have said, that UCONN is the best team in the nation. I do think Oregon on paper is the best, but this is about the rankings.

So... UCONN totally deserves their #1 ranking. BTW all the "experts" whining about OSU's wins over 2 ranked teams seem to conveniently forget that they have played the likes of UC Irvine, Pacific, Southern Utah, Liberty, Hawaii, Utah State, Northern Arizona and BYU. They did beat a feisty Missouri State, but Mo State beat Oklahoma by 6, a team UCONN pummeled by a ton. And by the way, OSU was down 4 at the half to Mo State.

Oh and let's not forget they were down 5 to a 7-6 Liberty team and had to rally to win by 13. So no, I don't think ORST's resume is better than UCONN's, and it's not really even close to argue they should be the #1 team. They may very well be "better" than UCONN, but they aren't #1 and don't "deserve" to be at this time... UCONN has earned that honor...

 

[Carnac]

I was both amused and happily entertained by the article. Thanks for posting. As an outsider, I didn't dare post that link on a UConn message Board. We all have already seen the carnage that similar sentiments have been meet with on this board.

That's why I clearly posted a disclaimer with it!! Hey, it's just something to read and perhaps debate on a Friday morning that is completely devoid of anything WCBB.

 

[BobbyJ]

I don't require media stat nerds to tell me who the best team in the country is. I'll know them when I see them. And that will probably be in mid to late March. But whether that team will win the tournament I don't know.

 

[Stoli]

For anyone claiming Oregon St is best please note in their 11-0 record they have played 7 home games and 2 away games. (UConn 3 home 6 away). The Massey rating of the worse team UConn has played is Dayton at 102. OSU has 8 of 11games against teams worse. Neither team has played a game the they should have lost. I suspect, but do not know, but point spread for both teams has been over 10 except UConn DePaul where it was 9. So the perfect records should come as no surprise.
until Either team plays against an elite team It is hard to say who should be number 1.

 

[Alydar]

Just ESPN click bait. Neither writer supports their POV with hard facts. Go to any rating site and UConn is No 1 and has a higher SOS. OSU having a tougher resume of games is laughable. When supporting it they point to OSU's games against their best opponents. I'll wager that come March Charlie will be ignoring UConn's top games, telling us that their weak conference games are why they don't deserve a 1 seed.

Further down the article they discuss under and over performing teams and neither lists UConn. Wasn't CT a 2 seed in their preseason crystal ball? I'd say that moving from 5th or 6th to 1st is a huge jump.
Their "disappointing team? Maryland, but they have a "gut feeling" Maryland will be at the FF?

 

[Plebe]

For anyone claiming Oregon St is best please note in their 11-0 record they have played 7 home games and 2 away games. (UConn 3 home 6 away). The Massey rating of the worse team UConn has played is Dayton at 102. OSU has 8 of 11games against teams worse. Neither team has played a game the they should have lost. I suspect, but do not know, but point spread for both teams has been over 10 except UConn DePaul where it was 9. So the perfect records should come as no surprise.
until Either team plays against an elite team It is hard to say who should be number 1.

Actually, for the record, they've played 1 true road game (at Miami) and 3 neutral-court games, including the Liberty game where they trailed by 5 at halftime

 

[Sonny44]

My thought about the article is "meh". I will say this. I totally disagree that Oregon State should be #1. UCONN started preseason 5/4 in the rankings and OSU 7/6. Both teams have taken on all comers and won. Teams ahead of them have faltered. OSU has not beaten Stanford, Oregon, UCONN, Maryland, aTm, SC etc etc. Neither has UCONN.

But my point is, how can you justify jumping OSU over UCONN to be #1 in the rankings when UCONN has done nothing but win, and OSU's best wins are against DePaul at home (UCONN beat them at DePaul by less), and then ranked Miami who fell out of the top 25 and now is back at #23.

I do NOT believe, like Chris and Geno have said, that UCONN is the best team in the nation. I do think Oregon on paper is the best, but this is about the rankings.

So... UCONN totally deserves their #1 ranking. BTW all the "experts" whining about OSU's wins over 2 ranked teams seem to conveniently forget that they have played the likes of UC Irvine, Pacific, Southern Utah, Liberty, Hawaii, Utah State, Northern Arizona and BYU. They did beat a feisty Missouri State, but Mo State beat Oklahoma by 6, a team UCONN pummeled by a ton. And by the way, OSU was down 4 at the half to Mo State.

Oh and let's not forget they were down 5 to a 7-6 Liberty team and had to rally to in by 13. So no, I don't think ORST's resume is better than UCONN's, and it's not really even close to argue they should be the #1 team. They may very well be "better" than UCONN, but they aren't #1 and don't "deserve" to be at this time... UCONN has earned that honor...

That's a lot of meh.

 

[Bama fan]

I was both amused and happily entertained by the article. Thanks for posting. As an outsider, I didn't dare post that link on a UConn message Board. We all have already seen the carnage that similar sentiments have been meet with on this board.

I think carnage is too strong a word for the reaction you expect. Whining, kvetching, vituperation perhaps. Almost assuredly there would be aspersions cast upon your character. But looking at the demographics of the BY, we are mostly too old for carnage. That is a younger crowd's game!

 

[Alydar]

I look at this article and the preseason predictions another way. That ESPN triumvirate has seen what's coming next year and are touting other programs while they are able.

 

[huskeynut]

First, not surprised Oregon State got some 1st place votes. This season is going to be wide open as to who is #1.

As to the article, no big deal. Am I convinced UConn is the best team in the country - no. One of the best - yes. The writers and coaches set the parameters with the pre-season poll. So by their own voting, UConn is now #1.

 

[LoTrader]

 

[boontonbomber]

why does anyone waste time looking at polls? in fact, why even have polls?

 

[MilfordHusky]

At this time of the season, it's not a big deal, as both Geno and CD said. For Oregon State, they may be pleased to get a #1 ranking. For the Huskies, it's rather ho-hum.

 

[HuskyNan]

If UConn fans didn’t react so predictably to articles that don’t revere the Huskies, those types of articles would probably disappear. But, inevitably the outrage machine cranks up, fans rush to the site to get fodder for their emails to ESPN, who can then charge their advertisers more per click.

 

[Steelerone]

Right now it doesn't matter if the "Little Sisters Of The Poor" are ranked #1. It will, however, in April.

 

[BroadwayVa]

An article from ESPN.com this morning. I'm posting this for your amusement only.

Oregon was No. 1 for a month. Stanford reigned women's college basketball for three weeks. And now UConn takes over the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Huskies elevated to No. 1 after unranked Texas upset Stanford. UConn is 10-0 and has spent more time at No. 1 than any other women's team.

UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey isn't sure the Huskies deserve it quite yet. "I don't know that we're the No.1 team in the country," Dailey told the AP earlier this week. "I haven't seen enough of a lot of people. But I've known our team when we have been No. 1. This team isn't there yet."

[Article]

I shall never disagree with Christine Dailey and mostly I agree with what you post. So, I won't disagree with this of yours.
I thought the 2 rating of Uconn was an "over-reach". Then I started looking at those who were ranked higher. Oregon is truly good. Stanford has a well drilled team which can drill the 3's. I haven't seen Baylor. My current, and revised, opinion is: Uconn can take them (Baylor is still a question).

 

[cohenzone]

Rankings are mostly just bs at least until late Jan. Until then, it’s websites looking for clicks.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

"Their "disappointing team? Maryland, but they have a "gut feeling" Maryland will be at the FF?"
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I almost choked when I read that crap about Maryland!

 

[Husky pride]

I was both amused and happily entertained by the article. Thanks for posting. As an outsider, I didn't dare post that link on a UConn message Board. We all have already seen the carnage that similar sentiments have been meet with on this board.

Carnage?? I admit to being totally prejudice..but, I submit that posts on this board, for the most part, are both thoughtful and fair. ( Suggest you take a minute and post something negative on the Lady Vols board).

 

[tomcat]

I think that those who say this is a clickbait article are seriously overstating their point.

You can make a case for UConn being #1, or Oregon or (less seriously, in my view) OSU. Before we're through, I'm betting Stanford will be back in the running, and probably Baylor, especially if they beat UConn, which they certainly could. As I've said elsewhere, all these teams have flaws, and all those flaws can be exposed on any given day.

The coaching squadron for these top teams is, let's see, Auriemma, Vanderveer, Graves, Rueck and Mulkey. Oh, and just for giggles and to make it an even half-dozen, let's add in Louisville, with Walz.

Is there any BY'er who thinks these folks -- superior coaches all -- cannot detect the flaws in the other teams' games and come up with at least a couple of ways to exploit those flaws? Now, I believe that if you put Auriemma up against any one of them, he'll usually (not always, but usually) come up with more ways to defeat his opponent than the opponent's coach will come up with ways to defeat UConn. But it's a chess game of sorts, and at this point in the season, it's not unreasonable to claim that Oregon, or UConn or even OSU deserves the top spot.

And let's face it: What really matters is #1 at the end, anyway. So let the games continue....

 

[WestCoast]

Carnage?? I admit to being totally prejudice..but, I submit that posts on this board, for the most part, are both thoughtful and fair. ( Suggest you take a minute and post something negative on the Lady Vols board).

I agree. Most posts here are thoughtful and fair. But....like most message boards, a few supporters of their beloved teams don't like it when others share their hope or belief that their favorite team could possibly beat the board's favorite team. I have seen it on boards across America in all sports. This board is no different in that regard.

I have read many posts on the Lady Vols WBB board. It is one of the more subjective and biased message boards that one can find.

 

[FanHam]

I sure don't care about ratings, but I do care about accuracy. I've seen every top team except Oregon State play at least once this year, and while a few teams could keep up with UConn if they're hitting some threes and UConn is struggling, I haven't seen a team that can stay on the floor with this UConn team when it's hitting on all cylinders. Not even close.

 

[HopJim]

There are statistical based ratings, then there are eye test ratings. Based on what I have seen so far, there are 5-6+ teams that could end up #1. Too soon in season to make this more than a guess.

 

[Dokey]

There are several teams which could be number one on any given night but Oregon State might, repeat might, not be one of them. Let’s see where they are half way thru PAC-12 season.

 

[Blue Huskie]

It's all hot air anyway. The only #1 that means anything is the one that wins the Final Four.

 

[willtalk]

Preseason rankings are based primarily on who teams have coming back from the season before. They are purely speculative guesses. At this point in time basically what they go on is a combination of last season returnees combined with won-lost records figuring in SOS. Any undefeated team with a decent SOS record should be considered as first in the rankings at this point in time. Again it is speculative. I don't think it over the top for either Uconn or Oregon St to be rated #1 based on their records and teams played. It would depend on what sort of criteria one used.

Comparative scores do not often work either because teams change throughout the season. Would anyone say that a win against Texas early in the season had the same value as a win against them would now? People tend to cherry-pick stats to suit their own perspectives.

 

[mbr33ct]

"Why Oregon State, not UConn, should be the No. 1 women's college basketball team"

Shouldn't Oregon St have a "beef" with #2 Oregon?

 

[WestCoast]

There are several teams which could be number one on any given night but Oregon State might, repeat might, not be one of them. Let’s see where they are half way thru PAC-12 season.

Oregon State did not look good on offense during its 19-point win over Cal State-Bakersfield yesterday. The Beavs continue to shoot well, but turn the ball over too frequently against lesser competition.

Starting the PAC-12 season at home against Utah and Colorado this coming weekend will hopefully allow for the two starting freshmen to ease into what will be expected offensively going forward.