UConn discussion (merged)

#26
#26
Oh this is one with a simple answer.... Pat sent a bevy of complaints to the NCAA regarding UConn. UConn says without an apology for this sending, there cannot be any talk of resumption of series. Tennessee says are you crazy? In chess they call this a stalemate. There is simply no way these schools are going to play each other, except in the tournament. Here are some random thoughts on the series as it was.

I have never witnessed a rivalry so instant and so fierce as the Tenn/UConn series. It brought a huge audience.... and actually introduced many males to WCBB. Guys who wouldn't watch a Rutgers/UNC game would tune in to see UT and UC go at it. It was marvelous for the sport.

The status now being what it is, it still elicits strong emotions on both sides. Our fan base and fan base up north are just that.... fanatics! And while it would be nostalgic for the series to resume, it will not, because neither side is going to budge on its position.

2 reasons to support NOT playing each other......

1. a large part of the draw for the series was Pat vs. Geno..... definitely 2 mercurial coaches and you knew it was going to be a dogfight when the game was played. No matter if one team or the other was better on paper, you always expected a tough, close, hard fought game. And also, this helped to elevate the sport..... young women could be fierce competitors, just like the boys.

2. The 2 teams do not need each other. Even if an Iran-like treaty could be sought, what is the end game? It is far beneath what it was 20 years ago in its heyday. UConn has Notre Dame and Stanford, Tennessee has Kentucky and South Carolina. It is time to focus on a different tack.

I enjoy looking at the old videos of the rivalry..... they are as fresh now as they were then. It is too bad the series is no more...... but I am happy with SEC ball.
 
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#27
#27
Yes they can be beaten..... not buy Maryland but by either of the other two coming out of the other game......

The #1 key to victory is guard play specifically Loyd or Mitchell.... and related to that ... penetration, and selective transitional offense. Pick your spots, and attack.

The #2 key to victory is the freshman bigs..... Turner and Wilson..... they would have to grow up fast and not play like freshmen. Basketball is a team game, yet under pressure, individual talent is paramount. When the going gets tough, the tough take the ball to the hole.
 
#29
#29
"It all started going down hill when Geno called UTs women's basketball program a lesbo factory"

Just curious. Do you have a link for that statement? I have never read that anywhere.
 
#31
#31
Undercovervol said:
One thing that has really struck me about the Lady Vol program is our arguably relative decline from 2009-present. Not bashing the program/coaches/players, just saying that from a results standpoint, we have not made the final four since 2008.

What directly corresponds to this? We haven't played UCONN since 2007 after having terminated the series for various reasons.

During the UCONN/TN series, TN arguably had its best or second best run as a program. The series began in 1995. Sure, we lost the title to them that year, but at least we were in the title game. 1996, 1997, 1998--national champions. 1999, elite 8.
2000, runner up. 2001, sweet sixteen. 2002-2005, final fours and runner ups. 2006, elite 8. 2007, national championship.

There was always a lot of rhetoric surrounding the matchup, involving pitting CPS against CGA, program against program, and legacies against legacies. It can be argued whether this was good for the coaches and players to endure. But for the programs, the extreme competition between the programs, and the resulting national attention it brought to both, benefited them. UT and UCONN were first class, receiving the most attention, and everyone else was in their shadows.

It isn't arguable that the rivalry certainly benefited UCONN and probably was a huge contributor to their rise in the basketball world because of the attention playing TN brought them.

We could turn that on its head now. If we started to play UCONN again, we would be the program that would rise to meet the new evil empire. Like it or not, UCONN is the program to beat, and the attention it would bring us would help us rise to the level we once were at. The TV broadcast of the game would stress the history of the rivalry, the history of the Lady Vols, and their historical successes. Every recruit would watch this game. There is no such thing as bad publicity, so there would be no harm in losing compared to the gains of playing the game.

UCONN playing Stanford/Notre Dame/Duke/South Carolina/Baylor is still not the ideal, premiere matchup in WCBB. Those programs have a combined five national championships. The premiere matchup is still UT vs. UCONN until other programs can catch up to UT. We have everything to gain from this game.

We missed out on Maya Moore in 2008, and this obviously affected Pat badly for her to react in such a way. But we must move on from this. The NCAA did not confirm her suspicions. We must make amends.

I would encourage Holly to swallow her pride and schedule this game. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Geno can GTH.
 
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#32
#32
For this series to have a CHANCE to start up again two things have to happen.

1. We meet in the tournament
2. We win that game.

Geno is a great coach, but even worse, he is a sore loser. He won't stand for it. He would 'consider' the idea of playing again if we win against him. I'm glad we don't play them because he is right, their are MORE options in today's game to play competition. My mind is made up about him by this simple statement.
"He said he would if I apologized to his fans, former players, Maya Moore, her mother."
UCONN was not found innocent in the Moore case, so why would someone apologize for something that actually had merit?
That would be like congress apologizing to Bill Clinton because they impeached him even though he...
 
#33
#33
I don't know if we should play them or not, but I firmly believe Tennessee lost the public perception battle regarding whose fault it was for ending the series. Unfortunately, I think that goes back to the decision by Pat to make public accusations regarding UConn, but not back it up with specific reasons. Maybe there is a justifiable reason for not going forward with those reasons, but once you made the accusation it sort of follows you have to provide the explanation or you've got egg on your face.
 
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#35
#35
I wish someone with a lot of money would hire a private investigator check Pat story out on Maya Moore, her mother was able to move to Connecticut in a gated community just by selling pocketbook. Just don't add up, would love to know the truth.
 
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#36
#36
Dayton stats against UCONN: FG% - 45.2%, 3PT% - 52.6%, FT% - 80%. Excellent stats against most teams. The were only the third team to score 70 points against UCONN and they still lost by 21 points. They already beat N.D. and SC by 20+ points. Maryland doesn't stand a chance. Everyone is playing for second place.
 
#37
#37
I think it was Kara Lawson who said it best, we all just need to move on. Basketball rivalries change and TENN-UCONN is no more. The people that are clamoring for the series to resume are living in the past.
 
#38
#38
And1 said:
I think it was Kara Lawson who said it best, we all just need to move on. Basketball rivalries change and TENN-UCONN is no more. The people that are clamoring for the series to resume are living in the past.
Click to expand...

ESPN wants this more than anyone.
 
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#39
#39
Attendance continues to dwindle and UConn is the only team that puts 25,000 butts in seats at TBA.

But attendance isn't that important anyway....
 
#40
#40
Interesting OP, and it is an issue that gets debated by Uconn fans as well. That series was great for the game of women's basketball and great for both teams for 12 years. The problem was that it became Geno v. Pat and while that made lots of headlines and became media fodder, it took attention away from the actual players and the incredible skills both teams possessed. And it was the ONLY game each year - the one that was hyped and anticipated. If one team lost in the NCAAs before they met the other, interest waned for the tournament.
The media tried to create the same kind of Geno v. Muffet story last year at the final four, which disrespected the players and the other two teams at the FF. I sort of hope that was a 'one off' and this FF is about 4 teams of great players aiming for the prize and not the personalities of the coaches.
Geno was asked after the win over Dayton if he wanted TN to win - he said the nice thing about this time of year is you have no choice about who you play except by losing. And then he said his one fear was if it was TN, then the next week would be a circus atmosphere with 99% of the time spent on TN and Pat/Geno and Uconn and the players on both teams, the players and coaches for ND and SC would be disrespected. I think that is true so to that extent I am happy that MD won.

But ... I think Doris brought up an interesting point of the teams that play Uconn for the first time in the last 15 or 20 years, there are only 2 that have won that first meeting. That familiarity with what Uconn brings is a huge advantage if you want to be competitive. You have to see the mountaintop before you can scale it. TX coach said something similar after the blow out - that now her players had first hand experience of what elite basketball was, and that this summer and next preseason would be different than last summer for them.

And along those lines ... the coach and players with the most experience of playing Uconn over the last eight years is also the coach and team that has had the most success - ND.

Somehow, I don't think TN/Uconn will happen again until an NCAA tournament and if it happens in a tournament, I would hope it would be in a regional and not a FF just so the hype is a little watered down. Neither team actual needs the other - there are plenty of really good teams out there now - something that wasn't true during the height of the series.
 
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#42
#42
This season, three teams have scored 70 points against Uconn - Stanford (win in OT), USF (lost by 14), and Dayton (lost by 21.)
In the last 5 years plus this year only 2 teams have scored 70 against Uconn in regulation in the NCAA tournament - 32 games in total. ND scored 72 and won, Dayton scored 70 and lost by 21. NDs other win they scored 67 points in regulation and won in OT. During those 32 games Uconn has failed to score 70 points in regulation 6 times - the two ND losses, a 15 point win against TxA&M last year, a 24 point win against Purdue and a 5 point win against Georgetown in 2011 and that dreadful NC 6 point win against Stanford.

Basically what the above suggests is that you need to be able to score a lot of points to have a chance against a very good defense, and you have to bring a really good defense to keep Uconn under 70 points. MD and SC have pretty good defenses, but I don't think they are good enough offensively to win. ND has a good defense and they have a good offense which gives them the best chance of beating Uconn. If all teams bring their A game, it will be Uconn winning. If Uconn brings their B game, NDs A game will prevail, but MD or SC would still need an A++ game to win.
 
#44
#44
Interesting how we keep winding up on the same side of the barackets and still can't meet up with them though. Do wenthriw games to avoid them now. Because that Maryland game sure looked that way. Never seen such horrible play from our girls with so much at stake.
 
#45
#45
cwbytruckers said:
Interesting how we keep winding up on the same side of the barackets and still can't meet up with them though. Do wenthriw games to avoid them now. Because that Maryland game sure looked that way. Never seen such horrible play from our girls with so much at stake.
Click to expand...

Watch the press conference with Ariel and Cierra after the game and give your opinion as to whether or not they threw the game.
 
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#46
#46
It would have to be a miracle, an Irish miracle, and miracles do happen, Louisville versus Griner's Baylor Bears.
 
#47
#47
Amb3096 said:
Watch the press conference with Ariel and Cierra after the game and give your opinion as to whether or not they threw the game.
Click to expand...

I know we don't. Realistically. I know that. It was a sarcastic statement. But boy it sure looked like they were not trying to win. They played their butts off in Spokane. But the offense from game 1 to 2 was night and day. Gonzaga should have never been a close game in some peoples eyes. Maryland was a knockdown drag out fight. But all the missed close ranged shots. And good grief the forced shots with two bigs guarding us. There must have been 20 of those. Lack of common basketball sense went out the window in that game. They looked panicked and scared. The taste of getting to the final four was to pressurized for this team.
 
#49
#49
cwbytruckers said:
I know we don't. Realistically. I know that. It was a sarcastic statement. But boy it sure looked like they were not trying to win. They played their butts off in Spokane. But the offense from game 1 to 2 was night and day. Gonzaga should have never been a close game in some peoples eyes. Maryland was a knockdown drag out fight. But all the missed close ranged shots. And good grief the forced shots with two bigs guarding us. There must have been 20 of those. Lack of common basketball sense went out the window in that game. They looked panicked and scared. The taste of getting to the final four was to pressurized for this team.
Click to expand...

There were two things that caused us to lose that game, Lexi Brown got hot and we just did not have an answer on offense. A third thing we started looking like Dow Deers looking into head lights.
 
#50
#50
I remember in pickup games. Never played college. But its all fundamentally the same. When someone gets hot. You pick up that one player. Get in their grill. Don't let them touch the ball without them working their azz off to get it. Then they are tired. Their shot doesn't come so easy. But obviously Holly doesn't know this one thing about defense.
 
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