Baylor loses, but likely means nothing,

[Martin]

The pieces are in place for the Uconn 2019/2020 post season Revenge Tour. The opportunity to play and beat the only teams you lost to in regular season who are now #1 seeds in the Tournament. Isn’t this the perfect setup? It looked bleak. Boston 2004. Cowboy Up. Why Not Us??

 

[ReadR00ster]

I don't know what that particular loss means for UConn but it adds to the evidence that we may do better in the NCAAs that we thought possible a couple of months ago. Correct me if I'm wrong but while the big 3 have been winning they don't consistently win big. By 15 or 25, not as much by 40 or 50. The really good UConn teams won by 30 only on a bad day or against good teams. Average or worse teams lost by 50+. I'm not as sure about Oregon, but my sense is that Baylor and SC are good but not great and are beatable - as today showed.

You have to be "unbeatable" to be a great team now a days? Wow, that's pretty rough. You do understand that that the coaches put in bench players and tell them to slow the game down and run down the clock when its a big lead in the 4th quarter. They could easily win most of these games by 40-50 but there is no point in burning your players out like that. SC beat MSU by 14. It wasn't that close. They should have and could have easily won by about 35.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Two major factors in the outcome of basketball games are " matchups and timing" with timing being made up of several different sub-factors. If a team faces the right combination of one or both they must be vastly superior to be immune to an upset.

The idea that the top three were immune to upsets was an assumption made by UConn fans because of the ease that they beat the Huskys. What was not considered was that UConn did not match up well with any of those teams so that factor was eliminated from the beginning. They also assumed that Uconn was the third-best team in the NAtion. This was purely a best-case scenario rationalization that surmised that if UConn could not beat them then no other team could either.

I stated in another thread that even if UConn ended up in the same bracket as one of the top three, they still had a chance to make it to the final four if some other team upset the top three team that was in their bracket. There are many other teams that because of favorable matchup and with a bit of luck through timing have a better chance of knocking off the top three teams than UConn would.

Or, alternatively, UConn could beat them.

 

[Plebe]

Huh! You’re talking to crazy people then. Two of the three already had by Christmas, and Oregon did again in losing at ASU... I think the consensus this season is that with the possible exception of South Carolina, everyone is vulnerable.

South Carolina is not unbeatable. They lost to Indiana, the 4th best team from the Big Ten, on a neutral court by double digits. They nearly lost to Mississippi State, at best a borderline top 10 team, on their home floor. They played a tight game at Temple. The SEC is soft this year and has made SC look unbeatable at times, but I don't believe that's the case.

Having said all that, I think SC and Oregon are the teams playing the best basketball right now. That would be an amazing matchup in the finals if it happens. But other teams might have a thing to say about that.

 

[jaydee602]

Charlie Creme insists that UCONN will not be a #1 seed regardless of today's games. He also has UCONN locked into the Portland region because NC State (Greensville) & Louisville (Ft. Wayne) are located close to their regions while Stanford can't play in Oregon's region. Again, geography outranks performance.

 

[Kaizen]

Charlie Creme insists that UCONN will not be a #1 seed regardless of today's games. He also has UCONN locked into the Portland region because NC State (Greensville) & Louisville (Ft. Wayne) are located close to their regions while Stanford can't play in Oregon's region. Again, geography outranks performance.

I just ignore this rotten creme ...

 

[jaydee602]

I just ignore this rotten creme ...

Me too! But he is actually trying to follow the irrational logic of the selection committee. He had UCONN going to Dallas until the last reveal was posted. They quote bad losses, good wins, s-curves, etc. But then they place teams based solely on geography.

 

[Wbbfan1]

While I don't think NC State can beat So Carolina, I would like to see them in Greenville. NC State is a slow disciplined team just like Indiana. IF NC State can slow So Carolina down, they can beat them. Plus NC State in Greenville might neutralize the crowd a bit. However, I suspect most So Carolina fans who planned to attend the NCAA Tournament had already bought tickets. Just like UConn fans do when Regionals are in in Bridgeport or Albany.

South Carolina is not unbeatable. They lost to Indiana, the 4th best team from the Big Ten, on a neutral court by double digits. They nearly lost to Mississippi State, at best a borderline top 10 team, on their home floor. They played a tight game at Temple. The SEC is soft this year and has made SC look unbeatable at times, but I don't believe that's the case.

Having said all that, I think SC and Oregon are the teams playing the best basketball right now. That would be an amazing matchup in the finals if it happens. But other teams might have a thing to say about that.

 

[wbball novice]

This wasn't in the B12 conference tourney, was it? If so, I'm less astounded. Even the Bucks are allowed to lose during the regular season.

 

[hoopsfan22]

If we lose a game Charlie Creme says it's off to the NIT for us.

 

[Bama fan]

Huh! You’re talking to crazy people then. Two of the three already had by Christmas, and Oregon did again in losing at ASU... I think the consensus this season is that with the possible exception of South Carolina, everyone is vulnerable.

@HuskyNan is a moderator on the BY. Of course she talks to crazy people!

 

[Plebe]

Baylor's loss today will definitely drop them behind Oregon. If Maryland wins today, it can be argued that Baylor will drop behind the Terps as well.

But in terms of overall body of work, Baylor's win at UConn probably still keeps them on the 1 line. That was a very important game.

 

[Carnac]

Virginia (ACC) Virginia State (CIAA), South Carolina (SEC) South Carolina State (MEAC)

Ohio (Mid-America) & Ohio State (Big 10).

 

[mbr33ct]

I just ignore this rotten creme ...

The Creme does not rise to the top.

 

[mbr33ct]

Baylor's loss today will definitely drop them behind Oregon. If Maryland wins today, it can be argued that Baylor will drop behind the Terps as well.

But in terms of overall body of work, Baylor's win at UConn probably still keeps them on the 1 line. That was a very important game.

Teams not named UConn can lose, move up or down the #1 seed line, or #2 seed line but the one constant Charlie is not wavering on...UConn going to Portland.

 

[Plebe]

Teams not named UConn can lose, move up or down the #1 seed line, or #2 seed line but the one constant Charlie is not wavering on...UConn going to Portland.

Well, I can see why UConn fans don’t like what he’s saying, but unfortunately that’s how the cookies are crumbling. Having Louisville, Stanford and UCLA all on the 2 line leaves UConn nowhere else to go.

Maybe there’s a tiny outside chance the committee will move NC St up to a 2 seed ahead of UCLA, but they would be going to Greenville, so it makes no difference for UConn.

 

[chrissaran]

South Carolina lost to Indiana by 14, 71-57. Everybody played for SC. Yes, I realize Indiana is ranked.

 

[Ralph]

It seems to me in NC State was a 10 in the last reveal they have to move up to a top 8. Right now, assuming Maryland and Oregon win, I see the 5 to 8 as:


5 UConn
6 Stanford
7 NC State
8 Louisville and UCLA fighting it out.

I would see NC State in Greenville, Stanford in Texas, UConn in Ft. Wayne and Louisville in Oregon. I know there is geography, but I can't see making the 2 seed, or maybe the 1 seed play the 5 seed team. That is not fair to Oregon. I don't see them dropping Louisville below UCLA, they both lost in the semi's of their tourney, and Louisville was several spots ahead of UCLA in the last reveal. Or Baylor with today's loss gets UConn, and Stanford goes to Ft. Wayne. I see State higher than Louisville and they get first claim on the local region as a 2.

 

[Centerstream]

Well it doesn't mean nothing to Iowa State. It was fun watching them after the game. Too bad it wasn't on ESPN.

Wasn't it on FS1?

 

[Bama fan]

The Creme does not rise to the top.

Heavy Creme?

 

[Centerstream]

8 Louisville and UCLA fighting it out.

It's a shame that losing in your conference tournament prior to the Championship game carries no weight in Bracketology. Why have tournaments other than to give an "unworthy" team an automatic invite to the Big Dance???

 

[Plebe]

Wasn't it on FS1?

It was on Fox Sports regional networks. FS Southwest for me.

 

[HuskylnSC]

IMHO, The UConn team playing the last 5/6 games is not the same team that lost to Baylor, SCAR, or Oregon. This is a tougher, more resilient, more confident, more integrated offense, more tenacious team that the UConn team of Nov, Dec, and Jan. The games going forward have no connection to any game played prior to February 10, 2020.

 

[Plebe]

It seems to me in NC State was a 10 in the last reveal they have to move up to a top 8. Right now, assuming Maryland and Oregon win, I see the 5 to 8 as:


5 UConn
6 Stanford
7 NC State
8 Louisville and UCLA fighting it out.

I would see NC State in Greenville, Stanford in Texas, UConn in Ft. Wayne and Louisville in Oregon. I know there is geography, but I can't see making the 2 seed, or maybe the 1 seed play the 5 seed team. That is not fair to Oregon. I don't see them dropping Louisville below UCLA, they both lost in the semi's of their tourney, and Louisville was several spots ahead of UCLA in the last reveal. Or Baylor with today's loss gets UConn, and Stanford goes to Ft. Wayne. I see State higher than Louisville and they get first claim on the local region as a 2.

Louisville isn’t dropping behind NC State. Their overall resume is still better.

It’ll be between NC St and UCLA for that last 2 seed imo.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Well, I can see why UConn fans don’t like what he’s saying, but unfortunately that’s how the cookies are crumbling. Having Louisville, Stanford and UCLA all on the 2 line leaves UConn nowhere else to go.

Maybe there’s a tiny outside chance the committee will move NC St up to a 2 seed ahead of UCLA, but they would be going to Greenville, so it makes no difference for UConn.

Yeah, I don't see how the Huskies don't end up in Portland because NC State will go to Greenville, Louisville will go to Fort Wayne, and Stanford can't go to Portland. And assuming Maryland doesn't collapse in the 4th quarter vs. tOSU, they'll likely be the Fort Wayne one seed. For bracket balance, putting UConn in their place would be ideal, but the geography doesn't work. I suspect they'll balance that out by sending UCLA to Fort Wayne as the strongest three seed - a bracket segment of Maryland vs. winner of Louisville and UCLA would be a pretty dang desirable second weekend of games. And even if UCLA somehow squeaks in over Louisville, it'd make sense to make Louisville the three seed in Fort Wayne, so the same rules will apply either way.