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GO UCONN!!!!!
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UConn women’s basketball’s game at Providence on Sunday has been pushed back from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and will be played at Alumni Hall instead of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center https://t.co/yuBytc88O0 pic.twitter.com/s9RgEbLD8o
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) January 27, 2022
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Remember when the games mattered? Not the renewal of the rivalry the last two season. UConn was ranked No. 3 and Tennessee was ranked No. 23 and No. 25. It would have been a big win either season for the Lady Vols, but in regards to UConn's seeding, it really had no impact.
Before that? Every time they met it had the feeling of real battle that meant something.
From 2000-2007 UConn was ranked No. 1 seven times, Tennessee was ranked No. 2 five times.
The lowest ranking matchup was No. 10 vs No. 15 in 2005.
Coming into the game on February 6th, UConn is ranked No. 10 and Tennessee is No. 4. The Huskies have a lot on the line in this game. UConn very well could be Top 10 if they can beat Providence, Creighton and Butler before playing Tennessee. And Tennessee should fall lower after their horrible loss to Auburn with Arkansas and Florida on the horizan.
No matter the ranking, UConn is seeded No. 4 in Spokane at the moment. To get to Bridgeport instean of Spokane, they will need to be a No. 2 seed.
Beating Tennessee will go a long way in getting them there.
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UConn's 2023 Verbal Ashlynn Shade
21 points (9-17 FG, 1-7 3-PT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Shade is No. 12 in black
Shade is No. 12 in black
UConn's Incoming 2022 freshman Ayanna Patterson
31 points (13-18 FG, 5-9 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks on Senior night
31 points (13-18 FG, 5-9 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks on Senior night
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GAMES
MOST SCORES HAVE CLICKABLE LINKS TO A GAME STORY
UPSETS IN RED
No. 2 Stanford 78 Arizona State 50
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Straight from the Dog
It was a late night with our neighbor over for dinner so I'm going to let Phil and David carry the load of the blog. Thanks guys!!!
I pity the selection committee who had the unfortunate timing of releasing their top 16 seeds a couple hours before Tennessee laid an egg. I don't always agree with Charlie Creme, but I think he's right that this moves Tennessee out of their brief stay as a number one seed, and restores Louisville to that position. Anyone who has ever try to do bracketology seriously knows that it is not always as simple as swapping two spots as there are all kinds of special rules and considerations but for the purpose of this discussion, I'm going to simply assume that Tennessee and Louisville swap seeding lines.
I'm sure there will be an LV fan who insist they still deserve our number one seed. I looked at this in some detail but I'll just summarize in one thought — my guess is that there has never been a number one seed in the history of NCAA women's basketball with a loss to an under 500 team. This isn't the time to start.
So now let's examine whether UConn deserves to be a number three seed, which might mean they get shipped out West, or if they deserve to be a 2 seed.
The existing two seeds after the adjustment just discussed are the following:
Arizona
Texas
Indiana
Tennessee
Arizona is a fine team, and while I can make a case that Connecticut is comparable in strength (for example virtually identical Massey ratings) I'm hard-pressed to argue that Connecticut should get Arizona's spot and move Arizona down. (Not yet, anyway)
Arguably, there should be a similar argument for Texas who has a slightly better Massey rating. However, while Texas has a very impressive signature win over Stanford let's not forget that occurred in November, and since then they lost to Kansas and Texas Tech. While the Kansas loss is only a minor demerit, after all it was overtime and Kansas is a fairly decent team, Texas Tech is ranked number 64 and won by 13 points. Connecticut doesn't have a loss anybody comparable to Texas Tech. I think Connecticut deserves to be seeded ahead of Texas, although I'm not yet prepared to argue they deserve to be moved down to a three seed.
So now let's examine whether UConn deserves to be a number three seed, which might mean they get shipped out West, or if they deserve to be a 2 seed.
The existing two seeds after the adjustment just discussed are the following:
Arizona
Texas
Indiana
Tennessee
Arizona is a fine team, and while I can make a case that Connecticut is comparable in strength (for example virtually identical Massey ratings) I'm hard-pressed to argue that Connecticut should get Arizona's spot and move Arizona down. (Not yet, anyway)
Arguably, there should be a similar argument for Texas who has a slightly better Massey rating. However, while Texas has a very impressive signature win over Stanford let's not forget that occurred in November, and since then they lost to Kansas and Texas Tech. While the Kansas loss is only a minor demerit, after all it was overtime and Kansas is a fairly decent team, Texas Tech is ranked number 64 and won by 13 points. Connecticut doesn't have a loss anybody comparable to Texas Tech. I think Connecticut deserves to be seeded ahead of Texas, although I'm not yet prepared to argue they deserve to be moved down to a three seed.
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Indiana is another story. I'm not arguing that any of these teams are terrible, but a 2 seed means you're one of the top eight teams in the country. They only have two losses, and an Indiana fan will correctly point out that both of them are to 1 seeds. They are likely to quickly add that the loss to Stanford was by only three points. Fair enough, but it was back in November and it was in the Bahamas. That doesn't mean it's not a quality loss, but it carries a little less weight than a more recent game. However, one shouldn't get a high seed based on losses, you should get it based on wins.
What are the signature wins? Ohio State? Please!
The best one appears to be over Maryland, a typically overhyped team with six losses who couldn't even beat Ohio State.
I get that quality wins for UConn are thin on the ground, but while one contributor suggested USF, Arkansas and DePaul leaving the impression there was no one of consequence other than that, let's not forget Creighton, UCLA and the ranked Notre Dame team. Arguably none of those six are quite as good as Maryland (although I'd bet money that Maryland couldn't run the table against those six), but there are a few more decent wins than detractors would suggest.
So yes, I would pick Connecticut over Indiana for a two seed.
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Detractors will point out that Connecticut has lost to two unranked teams, but honest fans will note that Oregon had some losses because several players were missing (we can sympathize) and is now ranked 19th. Georgia Tech is an example of a team that was underappreciated early on but is now ranked 14th.
However, it's probably not going to matter.
Connecticut faces Tennessee soon. If Connecticut wins, say goodbye to Tennessee's claim for a 2 seed (unless they managed to knock off South Carolina) And if Tennessee wins, it obviously won't be possible to argue for Connecticut is a two over Tennessee and it will be very difficult to make the case of a two seed over Indiana. If Tennessee beats Connecticut, it's going to take an unexpected loss by Indiana or Texas to knock them down. It would probably take two or more losses by Arizona to knock them off the two seed line. Arizona's likely to lose to Stanford but has several other challenges.
I’m not arguing that a two seed is a given for UConn, but if we get Paige back, I think it’s a realistic expectation.
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By David in Naples
The victory over DePaul was by everyone's measure a very competitive game, with a last second ending. So the distribution of minutes by Geno should be telling. WHo played the most and who played the least? Consider:
1. Nika Muhl played the most, 33:33 minutes.
2. Nika was closely followed by Caroline at 32:30 and Christyn at 33:03.
3. Olivia was next with 26:04 total time on the court. Her minutes were impacted with foul trouble.
4. Evina did not start or have foul trouble, but played "only" 22:29 minutes. ("Only" because she was logging 40 per game)
5. Dorka started, but had foul trouble in the 1st half. SHe played 22:06 minutes.
6. Azzi was the big surprise with 22:27 minutes.
7. Aaliyah played only 7:48 minutes.
Conclusions:
1. Evina is no longer a starter. Minutes will go down.
2. Azzi was on the court in the last 8 seconds and CFD was given the last shot. Freshman rule.
3. Edwards is behind Liv and Dorka for minutes. Given the return of the injured guards, 3 bigs at the same the seems less likely.
4. Caroline at 30 minutes and Azzi at 20+ minutes seems the pattern for the next 4-5 games.
5. Geno loves him some Nika, especially is she can score 10+ points.
Not earth shattering conclusions, but an interesting view of Geno's opinion about the team.
Go Huskies..!!
1. Nika Muhl played the most, 33:33 minutes.
2. Nika was closely followed by Caroline at 32:30 and Christyn at 33:03.
3. Olivia was next with 26:04 total time on the court. Her minutes were impacted with foul trouble.
4. Evina did not start or have foul trouble, but played "only" 22:29 minutes. ("Only" because she was logging 40 per game)
5. Dorka started, but had foul trouble in the 1st half. SHe played 22:06 minutes.
6. Azzi was the big surprise with 22:27 minutes.
7. Aaliyah played only 7:48 minutes.
Conclusions:
1. Evina is no longer a starter. Minutes will go down.
2. Azzi was on the court in the last 8 seconds and CFD was given the last shot. Freshman rule.
3. Edwards is behind Liv and Dorka for minutes. Given the return of the injured guards, 3 bigs at the same the seems less likely.
4. Caroline at 30 minutes and Azzi at 20+ minutes seems the pattern for the next 4-5 games.
5. Geno loves him some Nika, especially is she can score 10+ points.
Not earth shattering conclusions, but an interesting view of Geno's opinion about the team.
Go Huskies..!!
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UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
Fudd Flashes Tantalizing Potential UConn Blog
The Caroline Ducharme Show UConn Blog
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Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
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