Your Bridgeport, CT Predictions

#1

Rickster

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#1
Mine are:

Ct over Albany (big)
Iowa St over Syracuse (could go either way but Syracuse does not appear to be playing that well right now)
Texas A&M over Penn (Blair will have TAMU ready)
UCLA over Boise St.
West Virginia over Elon
Maryland over Bucknell
Oregon over Temple (first upset pick in this region)
Duke over Hampton
 
#4
#4
By the looks of that region I probably will not watch any of those games until the sweet 16
 
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#7
#7
Mine are:

Ct over Albany (big)
Iowa St over Syracuse (could go either way but Syracuse does not appear to be playing that well right now)
Texas A&M over Penn (Blair will have TAMU ready)
UCLA over Boise St.
West Virginia over Elon
Maryland over Bucknell
Oregon over Temple (first upset pick in this region)
Duke over Hampton

ISU vs. Syracuse should be filled with raining 3's. Syracuse kind of got screwed but I agree that they could just as easily drop out in the first round with as streaky as they are. But I see them coming out fired up after dropping to an 8 seed and pulling out the first round win.

I also agree with Oregon over Temple. Oregon could give Duke a good game, too, and Duke's no stranger to losing at home in the second round.

UConn's earned its right to be the heavy favorite here but a potential matchup with UCLA is intriguing, as of course is the potential rematch with Maryland. Maryland just might have the right mix of senior leadership, freshmen fearlessness, and a chip on their shoulder to get to the Final Four.
 
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#8
#8
UConn and Maryland to the E8. Maryland shocks the Huskies and advances to the FF. Fantasy? Perhaps. But I will continue to pray.

I don't think UCLA will be much more than a speedbump for UConn. Outside Billings and Canada, they have nothing to hurt UConn with. I wouldn't be surprised to see TAMU upset UCLA in the 2nd round.

The Syracuse-UConn game intrigues me. If Syracuse gets going...yeah, I know. It's a lot to hope for at Storrs, but I can dream.
 
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#10
#10
Tired of Uconn having HC advantage every yr. I guess I'm just tired of Uconn.

It does kind of suck, but at the same time, I think they've earned it with their results.

Someone really needs to beat them in this tournament. Maryland seems most primed to do it, so I'm crossing all of my digits.
 
#11
#11
Maryland can score a lot of points and rebounds well, and that gives them a chance. But their success against UConn (losing by less than 10 is success, I guess) is a bit misleading.

Collier fouled out of that game and Williams was playing with four fouls. UConn was up 15 and then just gutted it out in the fourth quarter. It was also a home game for MD, and if they meet in the Tourney it will be in CT.

But Tourney games can be unpredictable and unusual ref pairings can result in a lot of foul calls. Foul trouble could be an issue. And Samuelson can be streaky. Still, if I had to bet either UConn or the field, I'd probably still have to bet UConn.
 
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#12
#12
Maryland can score but to win they are going to need to play better defense. No way UConn should have put up 87 on them @ home. Of the ranked teams UConn has played Maryland was one of the few who never lead vs UConn (along with USF & DePaul) all the others got anywhere from a 4 to 6 point lead at some point in the game and Texas I believe lead twice by 6 in Uncaseville.

Although the final score was a 6 point win, Maryland never really had a chance. If you are down 19 in the 3rd vs UConn coming back to win is nearly impossible. It was basically over after the first few minutes of 3rd quarter. Slocum hitting those 3s in the second half is what made it interesting and those were some looooooooooooooong 3s. I actually thought the game last year between UConn & Maryland was much more competitive UConn never lead by more than 8 until the final minutes. That was a great game.

Ironically, both years Chong hit a dagger 3. Anyway I think both teams are up for the challenge should they meet but this one will come down to defense.
 
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#13
#13
Don't overlook Syracuse they made it to the final four last year & only lost one player from that team. They could beat uconn.
 
#14
#14
Don't overlook Syracuse they made it to the final four last year & only lost one player from that team. They could beat uconn.

They also only had to play 1 ranked team last year to get to the FF.... and it was the most offensively deficient number 1 seed @ that in South Carolina. Path is a little different this year.

I am certainly not counting them out but the picture isn't exactly the same. Their press could either give UConn a world of trouble or a ridiculous number of points. Even still they gotta get past Temple and when Temple is on they are no slouch either.
 
#15
#15
Maryland can score but to win they are going to need to play better defense. No way UConn should have put up 87 on them @ home. Of the ranked teams UConn has played Maryland was one of the few who never lead vs UConn (along with USF & DePaul) all the others got anywhere from a 4 to 6 point lead at some point in the game and Texas I believe lead twice by 6 in Uncaseville.

Although the final score was a 6 point win, Maryland never really had a chance. If you are down 19 in the 3rd vs UConn coming back to win is nearly impossible. It was basically over after the first few minutes of 3rd quarter. Slocum hitting those 3s in the second half is what made it interesting and those were some looooooooooooooong 3s. I actually thought the game last year between UConn & Maryland was much more competitive UConn never lead by more than 8 until the final minutes. That was a great game.

Ironically, both years Chong hit a danger 3. Anyway I think both teams are up for the challenge should they meet but this one will come down to defense.

It normally does come down to defense in these types of games. UCONN has the defensive edge on just about everyone. ND has the discipline to beat UCONN, but they may not get out of their bracket to the final 4.
 
#16
#16
Tired of Uconn having HC advantage every yr. I guess I'm just tired of Uconn.

From 1982 through and including 2015, with the exception of 2009, Tennessee entered the NCAAT seeded fourth or higher, and as a result, hosted opening games far more often than not since during that time frame, the higher seeds always hosted except for 8 years when they tried using predetermined sites.

That was the Lady Vols reward for 33 years of excellence. They earned the right to host, just as Amb3096 points out, UConn has earned the right in more recent history.
 
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#17
#17
From 1982 through and including 2015, with the exception of 2009, Tennessee entered the NCAAT seeded fourth or higher, and as a result, hosted opening games far more often than not since during that time frame, the higher seeds always hosted except for 8 years when they tried using predetermined sites.

That was the Lady Vols reward for 33 years of excellence. They earned the right to host, just as Amb3096 points out, UConn has earned the right in more recent history.

I think we're talking less about true home court advantage vs. regionals being held in Bridgeport. I can see how that's unfair that UConn doesn't have to leave the state of CT to get to the FF, but given their history of success and the fact that the women's tournament can't really support truly neutral sites like the men's game can, it's an unfortunate reality. For the sake of the game, it's probably better to schedule a regional in Bridgeport where you know the UConn fans will fill the place as opposed to a neutral site that looks like a black hole with all the empty space.
 
#18
#18
I think we're talking less about true home court advantage vs. regionals being held in Bridgeport. I can see how that's unfair that UConn doesn't have to leave the state of CT to get to the FF, but given their history of success and the fact that the women's tournament can't really support truly neutral sites like the men's game can, it's an unfortunate reality. For the sake of the game, it's probably better to schedule a regional in Bridgeport where you know the UConn fans will fill the place as opposed to a neutral site that looks like a black hole with all the empty space.

I agree with you about the reality factor. Here's hoping that at some point in the future, the women's tourney has as much excitement and support as the men's.
 
#19
#19
I agree with you about the reality factor. Here's hoping that at some point in the future, the women's tourney has as much excitement and support as the men's.

Truthfully, I doubt that happens. Otherwise, it would have happened in the early 2000s when there was a bit more parity in the game. Not to take anything away from UConn's success, but it will be hard to build excitement for an inevitable event. Until another team (teams) steps up to the challenge and starts beating UConn, winning championships, and there's a constant reshuffling of the top 6 teams in the polls on a weekly basis, then the fanbase will probably mostly stay at the school-level instead of the sport-level. It's too predictable and too many blowouts when the top teams meet.
 
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#21
#21
I think Maryland better take West Virginia seriously or they might not make it to Bridgeport - they ran the table against OK, TX and then Baylor and they are healthy finally and with a good coach and a young star guard. They are probably a little better than a typical six seed.
 
#22
#22
Truthfully, I doubt that happens. Otherwise, it would have happened in the early 2000s when there was a bit more parity in the game. Not to take anything away from UConn's success, but it will be hard to build excitement for an inevitable event. Until another team (teams) steps up to the challenge and starts beating UConn, winning championships, and there's a constant reshuffling of the top 6 teams in the polls on a weekly basis, then the fanbase will probably mostly stay at the school-level instead of the sport-level. It's too predictable and too many blowouts when the top teams meet.

I agree with you on this as well. Remember that at some point, UConn's dominance will end. The good thing is that during the past ten years or so, despite the Huskies dominance, the overall caliber of WBB has improved. The teams that are behind UConn are generally stronger, IMO, then the teams that were behind Tennessee when the Lady Vols were dominant.
 
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#24
#24
Truthfully, I doubt that happens. Otherwise, it would have happened in the early 2000s when there was a bit more parity in the game. Not to take anything away from UConn's success, but it will be hard to build excitement for an inevitable event. Until another team (teams) steps up to the challenge and starts beating UConn, winning championships, and there's a constant reshuffling of the top 6 teams in the polls on a weekly basis, then the fanbase will probably mostly stay at the school-level instead of the sport-level. It's too predictable and too many blowouts when the top teams meet.

I agree. To ask someone if they think UCONN will win the NC is comparable to asking someone it they think it will snow in Minneapolis during wintertime.
 
#25
#25
Sorry caught the comments late but yeah I guess I'm just salty about Uconn getting to play in there home state every yr. Bridgeport,Hartford, Storrs, ESPN arena lol. When was the last time they played in another Region not in Conn? We was the last time they were something other than the over all 1 seed? Just curious.
 

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