You have got to be kidding me

[IWearShoes]

The fretting back then was whether we would win by 30 or 50. I mean we were winning national championship games by 30 back in those days.

Or 60...

 

[hoopsfan22]

Or 60...

Hey Morgan William returned the favor the following season.

 

[IWearShoes]

Hey Morgan William returned the favor the following season.

Nothing quite like a 60 point loss to focus the mind. Think Winston Churchill said that.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Nothing quite like a 60 point loss to focus the mind. Think Winston Churchill said that.

Yeah but I have to think that if you're the losing team do you even keep track once you're down more than 25-30? Compare that to what your team did to us a year later. We could practically taste that fifth consecutive championship and 113 game winning streak which would have led to a 149 game winning streak until we got Ogunbowaled last year. In a season after the big three had left town, all we had to do was get by the team we crushed the year prior by 60 to play a team we can beat by 20 with our eyes closed for the trophy. The bracket that year was playing out to UConn's favor like 2013. Everything seemed to be lining up for the Huskies until William's buzzer beater stole our post-season mojo.

 

[bbsamjj]

It's not so much anger at being a 2 seed, though it is disappointing, it's the reason that was given by the committee and the implications going forward. I wish people could see beyond the next three weekends. Essentially the committee is saying to UConn if you want a number one seed from now on you better go undefeated, because anyone in a P5 conference within two losses is going to leap frog you in seeding even if they have bad losses on their resume and you don't. We might as well play a weak OOC schedule, roll into the tourney 32-0 every year, and take our chances.

I don't think that's what they were saying at all. But I think they are saying if you want a guaranteed #1 seed, come with a better resume than having three wins total all year against the final AP top 25.

 

[uconnfan68]

Ah, the good old days, when there was no suspense or intrigue at all, when we all knew from the opening tip off of the season who would win the Title.

I loved it. No agita.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I don't think that's what they were saying at all. But I think they are saying if you want a guaranteed #1 seed, come with a better resume than having three wins total all year against the final AP top 25.

This is crap. You're talking about a team that bends over backwards to schedule everyone and anyone knowing full well that their conference, one that they would rather not be in by the way, isn't going to regularly test them. How many teams are stepping outside of their conference to play top 10 teams after New Year's? UConn played three such games, two of them on the road. UConn gets to play just seven games in Gampel and plays most of their games on the road. Some seasons the team goes nearly two months between home games. If the committee wants to ding a team that plays a chronically weak OOC schedule by never leaving their state, going on the road, or playing teams that will never ever make the top 25 in a million years, then I'm all for that, but UConn is not that team.

 

[PJCLaw]

reminder that this conference is ruining Uconn program unfortunately.

You have such a myopic view. Did the AAC “ruin” UCONN when they won the last THREE of FOUR NC in a row? Did the AAC ruin UCONN when they were the No. 1 OVERALL seed for the last FIVE years? No and No!! Let’s be honest, this was not as good of a schedule as in the past (due in part to how poorly many of the teams played for the year).

If tOSU, OK, DePaul, heck, even, USC, and others, had better seasons then this argument would be moot. UCONN is a transcendent school that really doesn’t need a conference affiliation (See ND football). The women’s basketball program stands on its own. That said, in this instance, being a 2 doesn’t make much of a difference, if any at all!

 

[MainefanSC]

All this ado about nothing. We all deal with the NCAA committee, not only with selection Monday but throughout the year(s). They do as they please and make no excuse. They are inconsistent on every front. Look at everything they are responsible for and the only constant and consistent outcomes are "WHAT??????????? Are you kidding me?"
As Geno has said and I paraphrase here, "who do we play next? Let's win that game".
All I have to say is, let's bring home #12!

 

[npignatjr]

You have such a myopic view. Did the AAC “ruin” UCONN when they won the last THREE of FOUR NC in a row? Did the AAC ruin UCONN when they were the No. 1 OVERALL seed for the last FIVE years? No and No!! Let’s be honest, this was not as good of a schedule as in the past (due in part to how poorly many of the teams played for the year).

If tOSU, OK, DePaul, heck, even, USC, and others, had better seasons then this argument would be moot. UCONN is a transcendent school that really doesn’t need a conference affiliation (See ND football). The women’s basketball program stands on its own. That said, in this instance, being a 2 doesn’t make much of a difference, if any at all!

I agree what would their record be in the Big East, undefeated, The Big Ten, undefeated, SEC, ACC, would they have lost to Missouri, North Carolina?

 

[IWearShoes]

I agree what would their record be in the Big East, undefeated, The Big Ten, undefeated, SEC, ACC, would they have lost to Missouri, North Carolina?

Do you want an honest answer or rah rah?

Honestly, if UConn played like they did at Oklahoma, they would have likely lost to a number of SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 or ACC teams on the road. Even great teams have bad nights. A weak conference means those nights basically never turn into losses. Not so in somewhat better leagues.

 

[Robin]

Haven't posted in a long time but enjoy reading the threads over here. Lifetime Irish fan but certainly respect the Huskies.

I know a lot has been said regarding ND losing to teams they shouldn't this year and understandably so. Miami and UCONN not really bad losses but the loss to UNC stung. I mean, they returned all but 1 starter from their NC team and replaced that starter with 3 year starter and 2 time (now 3) ACC defensive player of the year, Brianna Turner. They should have gone undefeated, right? On the other hand, when you play in the toughest conference and play over 20 top 25-50 teams and do not have a deep bench, it's not surprising to be tired or just have an off night. A player that was expected to be the 6th player injured her shoulder early in the year. The other freshmen just haven't been quite ready, other than Abby Prohaska. She is probably the least talented of this year's freshmen but she has it between the ears a little more than the others, except the girl who got hurt. She was doing very good before her injury. So once again the short bench is hurting them during the season but hopefully they'll have a similar turnaround as last year.

I'm excited for the tournament to start. I think this is a year that 6-7 teams could win. Even last year nobody, including this fan, thought ND had a chance. They were playing with only 6 players for more than half the season. Good luck to you all and hope to see you again in the FF. Seems to be the reunion these 2 teams enjoy the most.

 

[meyers7]

Has anyone seen a final ranking from the selection committee of where they put every team?

We know with the one seeds it went:

1. Baylor (goes closest to home, so SC)
2. ND (next closest, so Chicago)
3. Louisville (next closest, so Albany)
4. Miss St (next closest, so Portland)
(and then)
5. UConn
6. Oregon (?)
7. Stanford (?)
8. Iowa

I think the argument is not over whether UConn or Louisville should have been a #1 seed, but whether Miss St or UConn should have been a #1 seed. I think Baylor/ND/Louisville ahead of UConn was never going to change, and I think for all three of them that's justifiable (all have higher RPIs than UConn and better SOS, and two of them have wins over UConn).

I actually think UConn has a much better resume than Miss St, but that would mean UConn is sent out west, with Oregon almost certainly as their #2 in Portland. So here are the most likely options for the team:

Albany: #2 seed, with #1 Louisville
Portland: #1 seed, with #2 Oregon

I'm not a UConn fan, but not sure one seems that much better than the other.

Agree (posted something similar elsewhere). I think it basically came down to attendance to make UCONN #2 seed.

 

[Big Mick]

Who cares? I mean Towson, Rutgers and UCLA to E8 and then Louisville to the FF? Bring 'em on!

You mean townson Rutgers , Tennesseee *Giggles* then Oregon State?

Nice!!!! IF we could only have PENN in that queue as well, it would be perfect....

 

[hoopsfan22]

Here's the other question for you guys who want to throw our conference in our face, how many more losses would your favorite team have if they had to face UConn 2 or 3 times every single season? We already smoked ND on their home court this season, so we already know one team that might have a couple more losses if we were conference mates.

 

[river rat]

I am happy they are in Albany as a 2... Portland as a 1 would not be good.. Esp for my Albany tickets...

 

[Robin]

Here's the other question for you guys who want to throw our conference in our face, how many more losses would your favorite team have if they had to face UConn 2 or 3 times every single season? We already smoked ND on their home court this season, so we already know one team that might have a couple more losses if we were conference mates.

Yeah and UNC beat ND early in the season and ND smoked them the 2nd time. Don't think just because you won in December that it would happen every time. When ND comes to play, they are hard to beat. Do you think you would lose to Baylor or LVille every time just because they beat you this year? Y'all are very confident you'll beat them in the E8 this year. UCONN always beats ND in December but it's usually a toss up in March or April.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that ND or another top team should be moved to the AAC while UCONN is there. We are suggesting that if ND played in the AAC with no other top 10 opponents, they would likely win in a similar fashion as UCONN. Hell many years they have gone undefeated in the ACC. Putting ND in the AAC with UCONN would not be the same as UCONN in the AAC without any other top 10 teams. ND had to play 3 top 10 teams in the ACC this year (Lville twice) and Miami played like a top 10 school. UCONN didn't play any conference opponent inside the top 15.

 

[cabbie191]

It's annual rite of spring to complain about seedings. And while I too sometimes shake my head at how a particular team is placed, I try to put the whole process into perspective.

Personally, I despise the NCAA for a number of things: 1) taking no action against UNC for systemic cheating but punishing Wisconsin's football team because some of the kids got a price break on purchasing athletic shoes from a store in Madison (and we could all name many, many other incidents including those that involve UConn); 2) absolute inconsistency in enforcing rules governing whether or not transfers have to sit a year, and truly harming individual students in the process; 3) the general overall exploitation of students in major revenue generating sports that makes everyone wealthy except them; 4) name your own.

The creation of the brackets is not one of the areas where I get worked up. It is a Herculean task for the selection committee. There are so many competing factors to balance - SOS, RPI, geographic balance, realities of fan attendance, etc. Not to mention figuring out which teams are the last in and those who are last out.

Lord bless the selection committee for their efforts. The fact that they get so much right relative to what they get wrong is a pretty positive thing, I think.

 

[biobioprof]

Here's the other question for you guys who want to throw our conference in our face, how many more losses would your favorite team have if they had to face UConn 2 or 3 times every single season? We already smoked ND on their home court this season, so we already know one team that might have a couple more losses if we were conference mates.

2 or 3. How does that affect the "AAC is weak" argument? I think everyone agrees that UConn's SoS would be a lot stronger if UConn had to play itself 2 or 3 times.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Yeah and UNC beat ND early in the season and ND smoked them the 2nd time. Don't think just because you won in December that it would happen every time. When ND comes to play, they are hard to beat. Do you think you would lose to Baylor or LVille every time just because they beat you this year? Y'all are very confident you'll beat them in the E8 this year. UCONN always beats ND in December but it's usually a toss up in March or April.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that ND or another top team should be moved to the AAC while UCONN is there. We are suggesting that if ND played in the AAC with no other top 10 opponents, they would likely win in a similar fashion as UCONN. Hell many years they have gone undefeated in the ACC. Putting ND in the AAC with UCONN would not be the same as UCONN in the AAC without any other top 10 teams. ND had to play 3 top 10 teams in the ACC this year (Lville twice) and Miami played like a top 10 school. UCONN didn't play any conference opponent inside the top 15.

The point is I can speculate too, just like you guys, but what's the point since it's all hypothetical? Like we already know our league sucks, thanks, we would have never knew this without you guys pointing it out every day. Ironically it's the schools of which y'alls (is that how you say it?) are fans that helped put us here. The only evidence of how UConn would do in a real conference is our record in the Big East.

 

[Robin]

2 or 3. How does that affect the "AAC is weak" argument? I think everyone agrees that UConn's SoS would be a lot stronger if UConn had to play itself 2 or 3 times.

This is a good point. If UCONN had to play a team like them several times a season, in their conference, it would be much more difficult to go undefeated. LVille would have been undefeated this year because their only loses were to ACC opponents. I don't

The point is I can speculate too, just like you guys, but what's the point since it's all hypothetical? Like we already know our league sucks, thanks, we would have never knew this without you guys pointing it out every day. Ironically it's the schools of which y'alls (is that how you say it?) are fans that helped put us here. The only evidence of how UConn would do in a real conference is our record in the Big East.

We only bring up the conference thing because UCONN fans bring up ND and LVille' losses as a reason UCONN should be ahead of them in the seeding. If UCONN was in the ACC this year, not any other year because every year is different, I'm not sure they wouldn't have stumbled at least once with a more rigorous schedule. The ACC was better then most years, too. Playing a few very good opponents every few weeks while in a weak conference is very different from playing top 25-50 opponents weekly. Now during the Stewie years, I don't think anyone in the ACC other than ND would have troubled them and most of the time UCONN would win.

 

[Roger G]

I just think that our chances of winning a National Championship this year are great. For the first time in a long time, UConn is underrated. Of course, we got shafted; those who are pretending we didn't are kidding themselves. But I'm glad it happened. This will be glorious if it succeeds. I love the tension. Katie Lou is serious. Napheesa seconds that. This could be just what the doctor ordered.

 

[Jim R]

"This could be just what the doctor ordered."...you may be right...as Jim Croce said, "Don't tug on Superman's cape...."

 

[DefenseBB]

I didn't know that we were considered a mid-major when we won 4 of the last 6 NCs.

Basically you and @CTBballfan243 are saying all the metrics and design for the tournament is driven by the P5 and the rest are essential mid majors. After rewarding the conference champion a slot in the tournament the committees intention is to invite the next BEST 30 teams. They have a predescribed set of formulas, metrics and logics to use for selecting and placing teams in regions.

The other thing to consider is this tournament does not make money for the NCAA. That is why the top 16 schools host. This generates larger fan attendance, cuts down on travel and hotel fees. Other than Albany/Bridgeport, all the other Regional sites are not well attended.

But hey who am I to disagree with a conspiracy theory...

 

[nwhoopfan]

Other than Albany/Bridgeport, all the other Regional sites are not well attended.

I bet there will be quite a few fans at the Regional in Portland if the Ducks are playing.