Absolutely Crazy Final Four

[divots]

Unbelievable! No other words needed!

 

[Kaizen]

UConn is the real and only #1 seed

 

[BigBird]

If ever there was a time to respect the opponent and work your tail off, this is it. Go Huskies!

 

[2Husky]

i like it. UConn's record of 9 straight final fours will stand for another 8 years at a minimum.

 

[Checkmate]

UConn is the real and only #1 seed

True, the committee gives very little consideration to schedules. The PAC 12 teams beat each other up and got mediocre seeds. The teams in weak conferences, with weak OOC schedules got high seeds and home court advantage. They still lost.

 

[Sonny44]

Like it was said: There's UCONN and there's everybody else.

 

[Blakeon18]

Anyone know the last year where only one 1 seed got to the final four?

 

[Biff]

i like it. UConn's record of 9 straight final fours will stand for another 8 years at a minimum.

Well don't forget that there's a chance that the record can be broken next year.

 

[cordarone]

Anyone know the last year where only one 1 seed got to the final four?

2004, when Tn was the only #1 seed to get to New Orleans.
As ESPN helpfully pointed out, that was the last time UConn would get to the Final Four until 2009.

 

[meyers7]

Anyone know the last year where only one 1 seed got to the final four?

Looks like 2004.

#1 - Penn State, Duke, Tenn, Texas

FF - LSU, Minnesota, Tenn, UCONN. (UCONN was a #2 that year)

Also happened in 1999.

Just a moment too late. I shouldn't have supplied all the details.

 

[NoelAustin]

Nine consecutive Final Fours - one could argue that that is a more impressive accomplishment than four consecutive national championships. It means that UConn produced an unbroken chain of excellence with at least three entirely different rosters of players. No other team has been in more than five FFs in a row.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Looks like 2004.

#1 - Penn State, Duke, Tenn, Texas

FF - LSU, Minnesota, Tenn, UCONN. (UCONN was a #2 that year)

Also happened in 1999.

Just a moment too late. I shouldn't have supplied all the details.

Yeah, Penn State had a good record and we had 4 losses, but we also had her:

 

[Carnac]

Like it was said: There's UCONN and there's everybody else.

Kara Lawson (ESPN WCBB studio analyst, and current WNBA player) said it last year last year in a post game show on ESPN after UConn won the championship game. She said: "There's UConn, a big gap, then there's everybody else". A classic quote.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

How in the world did Notre Dame, South Carolina, AND Baylor all manage to lose?! Those teams were so dominant throughout the season that it is absolutely shocking that they all lost.

Perhaps we should call this the Junk Yard Dog Final Four. Except for Connecticut, the other entrants are unheralded, oft-defeated, and were generally overlooked. But just like junkyard dogs, they are very mean, and oh-so-dangerous.

Oregon State's Hamblin impressed me a long time ago. Big, strong, and capable. They are the least of the surprises at the FF. Will be a tough game.

Or, perhaps, we should all hail the Old Big East. Once again the OBE is well represented, with Connecticut and Syracuse. Could even be an all Old Big East Championship game.

 

[UcMiami]

Fairfield - it is really hard being the hunted and all three of those teams are the 'hunted' and have been for a number of years. It makes what Uconn has done even more impressive. They all ran into very good teams playing their best basketball, and none of them played their A game in a one and done situation. It happens, it happened to Uconn last night too, but Uconn this year and for most of the last three years has had a wider margin of error than those three teams, so they had a relatively 'easy' win. It wasn't easy, they have the bruises and tired legs today to show that it wasn't easy.

 

[meyers7]

Yeah, Penn State had a good record and we had 4 losses, but we also had her:

IIRC, Penn State was not happy about being the #1 and playing #2 UCONN in Hartford. (I wouldn't have been happy either.)

 

[meyers7]

How in the world did Notre Dame, South Carolina, AND Baylor all manage to lose?! Those teams were so dominant throughout the season that it is absolutely shocking that they all lost.

Parity baby. Parity.

Maybe even a little parody.

 

[Orangutan]

I'll tell you how ND got beat...

Stanford shooting numbers for season - 42.6 FG%, 36.8 3FG%, 69.2 FT%

in the tournament:

vs. San Francisco - 51.7/42.1/78.9
vs. South Dakota State - 44.6/33.3/45.5
vs. Notre Dame - 55.9/55.0/72.2
vs. Washington - 34.2/42.4/92.3

Yes, ND didn't play well defensively. But I doubt they were so much worse than the average team Stanford plays that it accounts for +13 FG% or +18 3FG%. On an average shooting night for Stanford, they still win, suspect defense and all. But Stanford shot tremendously, which is in line with their M.O. They are a total wildcard.

The Cardinal did the same thing to Oregon State (#1 nationally in FG% defense) when they beat them by 22 in the regular season. Stanford shot 57.7 FG%, 57.1 3FG%. In January, they lost to UCLA by 20 and shot 20.4 FG%, 11.1 3FG%.

Variance is a cruel mistress. (Can you tell I'm still bitter that ND is at home while two teams the Irish beat in the regular season are in the Final Four?)

 

[VA Huskie]

Totally understand your bitterness. It hurts big time, I'm sure. But they'll come back tougher next year and probably win it all!

 

[Carnac]

How in the world did Notre Dame, South Carolina, AND Baylor all manage to lose?! Those teams were so dominant throughout the season that it is absolutely shocking that they all lost.

Perhaps we should call this the Junk Yard Dog Final Four. Except for Connecticut, the other entrants are unheralded, oft-defeated, and were generally overlooked. But just like junkyard dogs, they are very mean, and oh-so-dangerous.

Oregon State's Hamblin impressed me a long time ago. Big, strong, and capable. They are the least of the surprises at the FF. Will be a tough game.

Or, perhaps, we should all hail the Old Big East. Once again the OBE is well represented, with Connecticut and Syracuse. Could even be an all Old Big East Championship game.

How nice would it be for Stewie, Moriah, and Tuck, to finish their UConn career, while winning their 4th NC against none other than Syracuse?. Somebody 's got to play them in the championship game. It might as well be them. Even if they lose, what a recruiting boon (along with the national attention they would receive) playing in the championship game would be for Quentin Hillsman and his program.

 

[bleeckerhusky]

I'll tell you how ND got beat...

Stanford shooting numbers for season - 42.6 FG%, 36.8 3FG%, 69.2 FT%

in the tournament:

vs. San Francisco - 51.7/42.1/78.9
vs. South Dakota State - 44.6/33.3/45.5
vs. Notre Dame - 55.9/55.0/72.2
vs. Washington - 34.2/42.4/92.3

Yes, ND didn't play well defensively. But I doubt they were so much worse than the average team Stanford plays that it accounts for +13 FG% or +18 3FG%. On an average shooting night for Stanford, they still win, suspect defense and all. But Stanford shot tremendously, which is in line with their M.O. They are a total wildcard.

The Cardinal did the same thing to Oregon State (#1 nationally in FG% defense) when they beat them by 22 in the regular season. Stanford shot 57.7 FG%, 57.1 3FG%. In January, they lost to UCLA by 20 and shot 20.4 FG%, 11.1 3FG%.

Variance is a cruel mistress. (Can you tell I'm still bitter that ND is at home while two teams the Irish beat in the regular season are in the Final Four?)

A curious thing is how unperturbed Muffet seemed in the post-game press conference. It often appears that the fans care more deeply than the coaches. She seemed quite willing to accept that "it was not our year".

 

[HoopsFan21]

How nice would it be for Stewie, Moriah, and Tuck, to finish their UConn career, while winning their 4th NC against none other than Syracuse?. Somebody 's got to play them in the championship game. It might as well be them. Even if they lose, what a recruiting boon (along with the national attention they would receive) playing in the championship game would be for Quentin Hillsman and his program.

As much as ND is disliked, Syracuse is a whole other level of hatred. Would love nothing more than to kick their butts on national TV just for old time's sake. The only thing that would be better would be if the men were still in it so we could have dual UConn-Syracuse finals.

 

[HoopsFan21]

A curious thing is how unperturbed Muffet seemed in the post-game press conference. It often appears that the fans care more deeply than the coaches. She seemed quite willing to accept that "it was not our year".

After 15 years of it not being their year, I'm sure she is used to giving this type of press conference.

 

[AdamOwe]

IIRC, Penn State was not happy about being the #1 and playing #2 UCONN in Hartford. (I wouldn't have been happy either.)

I looked up the game and found this in the box:
Attendance: 14,855
One thing leads to another, the game is available via the Uconn video jump site.

 

[bballnut90]

A curious thing is how unperturbed Muffet seemed in the post-game press conference. It often appears that the fans care more deeply than the coaches. She seemed quite willing to accept that "it was not our year".

I didn't see the presser, but she had to know that ND had very little chance to win a title this year with UCONN being so dominant this year.

They had much better shots in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and things were projected for an epic showdown in 2016 but Loyd transferred and Taya left mid season. Going 33-2, while not the ideal end result, was still an amazingly successful season for Notre Dame, and they return all but two contributors and will have 3 top rate freshmen next year in the fold.

Even in their ten point loss to UCONN, sure they didn't have Turner but they also had an outstanding shooting night that would be hard to replicate, and they'd need to play their best game of the season to have a chance. I'm sure she's bummed they don't get that chance, but compared to 2013 where they beat UCONN three times, 2014 where they were undefeated with a monster lineup with a healthy Achonwa, and 2015 where they could have won the title if a few more shots went down for Loyd and Allen, this one probably doesn't hurt as much as. They should be the #1 or #2 preseason team next year, so there's a lot to look forward to and while Cable has been outstanding this year, replacing her will be easier than any of the seniors they've lost the previous 4 seasons.