Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2023-24

Wow! What a crazy week in WBB. Powerhouse #1 Oregon falls to #8 Louisville. #5 South Carolina loses to #17 Indiana but then bounces back & knocks off #2 Baylor. & had a bounce or two gone #10 Miss State's way they had a good chance at beating #3 Stanford. The #1, #2 & #3 ranked teams almost lost in the same week! When was the last time that happened?!

I believe most would agree that WBB is even more enjoyable when upsets happen week to week & there's more parity in the game.
 
I'm thinking after all that happened this week Stanford will be number one in the poll and UConn will be number two. Louisville takes a huge jump to number three and then from there it is anybody's guess. I know Indiana should move up some and NC State still undefeated could get into the top ten.
 
Wow! What a crazy week in WBB. Powerhouse #1 Oregon falls to #8 Louisville. #5 South Carolina loses to #17 Indiana but then bounces back & knocks off #2 Baylor. & had a bounce or two gone #10 Miss State's way they had a good chance at beating #3 Stanford. The #1, #2 & #3 ranked teams almost lost in the same week! When was the last time that happened?!

I believe most would agree that WBB is even more enjoyable when upsets happen week to week & there's more parity in the game.

That was a great resume win by SC! I would have loved to see a heathy Lauren Cox play in the post because Boston was having herself a night ! I would have loved to see the freshman go up against the savvy Senior in what could be a Defensive National player of the year battle as well. All in all I guess the SEC will have some surprises along the way. I believe there are some teams at the top but there will be many surprises along the way I am looking forward to the SEC season.
 
I'm thinking after all that happened this week Stanford will be number one in the poll and UConn will be number two. Louisville takes a huge jump to number three and then from there it is anybody's guess. I know Indiana should move up some and NC State still undefeated could get into the top ten.
I agree that will likely be the case, but I don't think UConn deserves the 2 spot as they haven't faced enough quality opponents yet and are already overranked this season as it is. I feel the same way about Tennessee as well, to be honest.
 
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I agree that will likely be the case, but I don't think UConn deserves the 2 spot as they haven't faced enough quality opponents yet and are already overranked this season as it is. I feel the same way about Tennessee as well, to be honest.

Agreed.

I’m really happy that by the time we play Texas, the staff will have had most of two weeks to work with the team (except for off days for the holiday) with only today’s game in-between. That’s huge. I’m hoping that it will have been enough time to add something to the offense and to smooth out some of the sloppiness so that when we do play another ranked team we look like we also deserve to be ranked. The jury is still out on our Lady Vols.
 
I agree that will likely be the case, but I don't think UConn deserves the 2 spot as they haven't faced enough quality opponents yet and are already overranked this season as it is. I feel the same way about Tennessee as well, to be honest.

What do you consider a quality opponent?
 
Have to disagree. Starting 4 and then no more. The polish girl is too many games in to continue to say she is in a slump. She is slow and people blow by her. UConn’s defense this year in the couple games I’ve watched on ESPN3 is no where near as good as usual. Dangerfield is the only potential lock down defender and she plays in pain from her surgery.

Playing 5 against 4 is a huge advantage. I still think this is the time we get UConn. 1/23/20. Mark your calendar. Lady Vols +8
Is Lou Brown Tennessee’s fifth starter? Your description of Makurat on defense is very similar to how Brown is described on this board.

And it appears that senior Kyla Irwin is going t be the 5th starter.
 
What do you consider a quality opponent?
UConn faces Baylor, Oregon, and South Carolina this season (as well as the exhibition against Team USA). DePaul and USF I'd say are also tough opponents, though not quite elite. If they do well, even losing in a close match, I'd say they'd deserve a top 5-8 spot. There's just so many other teams who I feel are better locks for deep tournament runs this season than Connecticut.

With Tennessee, it's not that we aren't improving it's that there are so many other teams that are putting up impressive performances that I'd rank higher than us right now. How we do against Stanford (and I do count a close loss against elite teams as a decent performance) will begin to determine what our true potential is this season.
 
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Is Lou Brown Tennessee’s fifth starter? Your description of Makurat on defense is very similar to how Brown is described on this board.

And it appears that senior Kyla Irwin is going t be the 5th starter.

yes Lou brown may equal Ania Makurat

5 against 4 is tough no matter how good the other 4

Is Kyla Irwin really that much better this year? In prior years it seems she was mop up duty and not always against bad teams (conference play) as Geno plays his starters a lot of minutes. It would be uncharacteristic for a senior to all of a sudden blossom wouldn’t it? I suppose the true Kyla will show herself in your OOC play?
 
parity vs surprises + a sprinkling of luck is now in women's basketball as in men's for decades. When Coach Kellie states "being the best we can be" and "getting back to a former state will take years." I understand her words. Currently in November and now December the objective continues to be better moving forward. As a basketball fan I enjoy watching good games; as a LV follower I watch and support with a positive bias.

For those who want to debate relative rankings go to a football social media site and advocate for your favorites 1-4 now that Alabama has been eliminated
 
Some fans here gonna be real salty when UConn turns out to be the best team this season...
You are contrary just for the sake, I swear. LOL.

Too much competition this season to necessarily say they're a top team. And that's on top of them lacking depth and lacking post play entirely. If UConn earns it, hats off to them. But I think you can admit they aren't a lock for the FF this year. Hell, who is?
 
parity vs surprises + a sprinkling of luck is now in women's basketball as in men's for decades. When Coach Kellie states "being the best we can be" and "getting back to a former state will take years." I understand her words. Currently in November and now December the objective continues to be better moving forward. As a basketball fan I enjoy watching good games; as a LV follower I watch and support with a positive bias.

For those who want to debate relative rankings go to a football social media site and advocate for your favorites 1-4 now that Alabama has been eliminated
I think you can root for the LVs and enjoy watching their progress while being realistic about expectations for a rebuilding season. It's not an insult to Tennessee, imo, to say there are so many great teams this year and that competition is tight.
 
UConn is my #1 team this year. until somebody (please) beats them. They just know how to get things done better than anyone else. imho
 
You are contrary just for the sake, I swear. LOL.

Too much competition this season to necessarily say they're a top team. And that's on top of them lacking depth and lacking post play entirely. If UConn earns it, hats off to them. But I think you can admit they aren't a lock for the FF this year. Hell, who is?

From what I've seen, the tales of UConn's demise have been greatly exaggerated. I don't know if they're a "lock" for the Final Four but if I were a betting man I would probably put my money on the team that's been there 12 years in a row...
 
I agree that will likely be the case, but I don't think UConn deserves the 2 spot as they haven't faced enough quality opponents yet and are already overranked this season as it is. I feel the same way about Tennessee as well, to be honest.
They don't but they will get it just on name alone.
 
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From what I've seen, the tales of UConn's demise have been greatly exaggerated. I don't know if they're a "lock" for the Final Four but if I were a betting man I would probably put my money on the team that's been there 12 years in a row...
I wouldn't call it a demise. They have a down year, but nowhere on the level of Notre Dame. If anyone can have a surprise run in such a deep field like this it'd be Geno, I just think there are at least four teams that are more proven so far and with more dominant post players.
 
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yes Lou brown may equal Ania Makurat

5 against 4 is tough no matter how good the other 4

Is Kyla Irwin really that much better this year? In prior years it seems she was mop up duty and not always against bad teams (conference play) as Geno plays his starters a lot of minutes. It would be uncharacteristic for a senior to all of a sudden blossom wouldn’t it? I suppose the true Kyla will show herself in your OOC play?

UConn has only had OOC games.

You can't be more efficient than Irwin has been all season to date.

I believe she is 11-12 from the field, 6-7 on threes, 12 assists and only 3 turnovers in around 10 minutes per game.

I believe UConn has the 5th ranked SOS according to Realtime RPI .

RealTimeRPI.com Connecticut Huskies Women's College Basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ratings - A leading sports ratings and resources community on the Internet
 
UConn faces Baylor, Oregon, and South Carolina this season (as well as the exhibition against Team USA). DePaul and USF I'd say are also tough opponents, though not quite elite. If they do well, even losing in a close match, I'd say they'd deserve a top 5-8 spot. There's just so many other teams who I feel are better locks for deep tournament runs this season than Connecticut.

With Tennessee, it's not that we aren't improving it's that there are so many other teams that are putting up impressive performances that I'd rank higher than us right now. How we do against Stanford (and I do count a close loss against elite teams as a decent performance) will begin to determine what our true potential is this season.
SO many teams? Other than maybe Oregon (and we saw how that worked out) what teams are locks for a deep tournament run? Locks? I don't think there are many at all.
 
They don't but they will get it just on name alone.
If they are No. 2 after this crazy weekend, it won't be on reputation.

It will depend on how many voters move teams below the undefeated teams like Stanford and UConn that lost this weekend.

Based on what I have seen over the many years of poll watching, this is going to be a tough one to call.

I'm thinking that many voters will only knock Oregon down 2 slots. Baylor will move two slots down too.

That means that Stanford will move up 2 spots and UConn will move up 2 spots.

And Louisville and South Carolina?

The Cards could move up three spots and South Carolina will stay the same as they also lost to Indiana before beating Baylor.

So here is my guess, not how I would vote.

1. Stanford
2. UConn
3. Oregon
4. Baylor
5. Louisville
6. South Carolina
7. Texas A&M
8. Oregon State
9. Maryland
10. UCLA
 
UConn has only had OOC games.

You can't be more efficient than Irwin has been all season to date.

I believe she is 11-12 from the field, 6-7 on threes, 12 assists and only 3 turnovers in around 10 minutes per game.

I believe UConn has the 5th ranked SOS according to Realtime RPI .

RealTimeRPI.com Connecticut Huskies Women's College Basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ratings - A leading sports ratings and resources community on the Internet

Hey first and foremost I admire pure basketball if the wcbb variety. Nobody has done it better for the last dozen or so years. I admire and respect what they have achieved. I
can’t argue with facts regarding their #5 SOS

I can and will be surprised if Kyla Irwin is their consistent 5th starter for the rest of the season. It would be magical given her prior 3 season. If it happens I will be happy for her too in addition to being surprised

Remind me to say so at the end of the season
 
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