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Message: [QUOTE="ocoandasoc, post: 2585767, member: 3032"] Missouri is a good team that plays far better than their talent would indicate. (Posts on the Volnation board note that Missouri has only one player that was an ESPN Top 100 -- Cunningham, a #28 -- while Tenn has eight, including four or five Top 12 selections.) Both offensively and defensively Missouri is coached to play very similarly to UConn, but we don't have the talent or athleticism. (The movement and shooting is solid, but the passing and cutting is not as crisp and the rebounding is not as physical.) But, like the Huskies, the Tigers are taught how to make decisions on the fly and they often take significant leads early while the opponent adjusts. (We were up 15 against Tenn yesterday before Nared decided she wouldn't wait for Holly to figure things out and successfully started to do her Diamond DeShields impersonation!) They have a great coach in Pingeton... normally I'd be worried that she'd be hired away, but her Missouri roots are pretty deep so we Mizzou alumni have our fingers crossed. I started attending UConn games religiously in '89 and watched Geno build his program. Robin is following that blueprint to a tee. Her biggest issue now is recruiting. She's getting the Missouri kids, but needs to broaden her success. (Some might remember that Collier had Mizzou in her top five, and while no one in MO blames her for choosing UConn we can't help but wonder where the Tigers would be today if she had come to Columbia. Knocking on the Final Four door perhaps!) The crowd yesterday was over 11,000 -- an all-time record. (I can remember Geno having a post game celebration the first time UConn attendance broke 1,000!) Getting a #3 or #4 seed in the Tourney this year and playing two rounds in front of a home crowd would be a big step for the program, and it seems within reach. Missouri plays better at home, the same as a lot of teams. We beat South Carolina and Tennessee at home, and came within a whisker of beating Mississippi State. Our defense is good enough to slow down the pace, we allow few fast break points, and when we're hitting our threes we can give almost anyone a good game. Almost. We lost to LSU when Sophie couldn't play, and lost on the road to a very physical Georgia team when they shot well above their average. Missouri's weaknesses have been patched up a bit this year. (Transfer Lauren Aldridge was a HUGE add!) But a good press still gives us big problems. And while our defensive game plans can usually allow us to take away one or two aspects of our opponents offense, we can't take 'em all away. (We stopped Tenn's/Holly's "feed the ball to Russell" and the LV's wound up shooting the threes better than they have all year.) But depending on our game plan against UConn, either Gabby or KLS would shred us. So I doubt there's much to worry about, Husky fans. This year, anyway, LOL. Anything less than a sweet 16 for Mizzou will probably be considered a minor disappointment. (Matchups will be key!) Making the Final Eight would be a huge achievement. And the only way we'd face UConn is in a game to make the Final 8 or Final Four, so I'd be good with that. [/QUOTE]

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