Geno says he doesn’t “anticipate” Ayanna Patterson playing this season due to knee issues.
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) December 8, 2023
“We’ve tried everything with her” and the knee just isn’t responding. A more significant operation could be on the horizon if nothing changes.Also, Geno said about Caroline - "there's a chance" that she'll be "out for quite some time."
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My advice to everyone is to realize that the players we've had the last several games are the players we will have for the rest of the season. And Geno will have to work with those players to get them to play better and better as the season progresses.
It was easy to be hopeful that Ayanna and Caroline would be back to add some size and some shooting to the rotation. In every pregame report I wrote I had them as "day to day". It's not happening.
The upper classmen have to bring their A games and the freshmen have to play with confidence. There is still enough talent on this team to win plenty of games and every win will be a blessing.
Personally, I have been avoiding all the negative talk in the social media world of X and Facebook. I've stopped posting on message boards. I'm sure there will still be "fans" that feel the need to armchair coach and criticize the players. I kinda feel sorry for them. They have no way to enjoy the season and I will enjoy every minute. I win...lol.
That all being said, I'm now really excited to see what Geno can do with this team and to see how the freshmen progress game after game. No, I'm not blue-skying. Just saying how I look at it.
So starting Sunday, I have a feeling the team will coalesce and show us all what UConn basketball is like. If not this game it will be the next game.
Here is my UConn/North Carolina Pregame Report with the updated roster situation.
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UConn commit Allie Ziebell put up 39 points last night for Neenah! @allieziebell @UConnWBB
— Fresh Coast Hoops (@FreshCoastHoops) December 6, 2023
Full highlights: https://t.co/aiGGxNxqte pic.twitter.com/u9Lq8dlCaF
Kelli Harper is 1-4 vs Top 25 in 2023 and has zero Final Fours in 5 years for the Lady Vols…
— World Exposure Report Women’s Basketball (@WorldExposureWB) December 8, 2023
Who should Danny White take a look at? 💭 Thoughts??
That’s too many.
When I saw how many teams were still undefeated that was my knee-jerk, no analysis reaction. Which in itself is probably a good argument for avoiding knee-jerk reactions without analysis. How many should there be? Why on earth is being undefeated a bad thing? Admittedly, being a fan of the team that is decidedly not undefeated may generate a bit of bias.
19 is too many to list. (Which is an equally silly comment – space is cheap, why not simply copy and paste the list?) Mainly because some of these terms deserve kudos some not so much.
Let’s mention a few.
There are two teams that are 10 – 0. Both of the Big 12. Texas Tech and Texas.
I’ll also mention Cal Baptist which is 7 – 0, but they brought a three-game winning streak into this season so that completes the list of teams tied for the current active winning streak. Both of the Texas teams next play on 13 December, with Cal Baptist playing on 9 December, so Cal Baptist has a chance to briefly take over the coveted crown.
With some exceptions, the undefeated aren’t rolling through the best of the best. The obvious exception is South Carolina, not only undefeated but playing the third toughest strength of schedule in the country.
Texas has a strength of schedule ranked 72. Not exactly murderer’s row. But they outshine the other Texas team, Texas Tech who has a strength of schedule at 258. Texas Tech is in the big twelve and their schedule will get tougher, but their toughest opponent to date is Santa Clara ranked 89.
Colorado State is undefeated, but they don’t have a win against a team with a winning record. The two closest are Alabama A & M at 243 and New Hampshire (gulp, alma mater) ranked 307, both of whom are .500.
Southern Mississippi is an odd situation. They are ranked in Massey at 93, but they just managed to beat Mississippi, a game in which Mississippi was favored by 16 points.
The ranks of the undefeated will clear out fairly soon. 14 of the nineteen undefeated teams are in power 5+ Big East conferences, and with the exception of South Carolina, will soon run into much stronger teams. Having said that, Texas is favored to win every one of their remaining games, but Massey expects 3 to 4 of those games to be losses. Even South Carolina is projected by Massey to lose a game or two, but any such loss will be an upset. They are favored by nine or more points in every remaining game.
• Nika Mühl had 460 assists after the Ball State game. She is in sole possession of 18th place. She needs 15 to tie Svetlana Abrosimova.
• Paige Bueckers has 981 career points, so needs 19 to reach the 1000 point milestone.
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