We're number 1!

[hard2please]

Tonyc is number 1, the rest dont amount to a hill of beans at this time of year

 

[Cuango]

LSU was as expected. They have a few individual talents but not the glue that holds them all together like they had last year. When Hailey Van Lith was running the point they looked lost and their defense was very lacking. It looked like a team that will be great on some nights but very mediocre on others.

JuJu was as advertised yesterday and Notre Dame without Miles looked like they did at the end of last year. As others have stated UConn makes being good all the time look easy when it absolutely is not. I thought UConn was clearly the best team heading into the season and nothing has changed for me.

I beg to differ on Notre Dame. They looked like they did at the end of last year except for the addition of a very good freshman in Hidalgo! She is a player!

 

[Zarathustra]

This does not surprise me. While Geno the sly old fox was taking his team to Europe - essentially a team building exercise with a lot of new pieces, a number of LSUs high profile players were obviously not on campus this summer working out together but rather involved with individual projects. I was curious how that would work out and now we see. What's the old adage - there's no I in team

I assume LSU will still have a very successful season............let's hope UConn has the chance to play them when it counts....... on April 7th.....

Don't you expect South Carolina to take out LSU in the SEC (regular season / SEC tournament)? I would not expect LSU to
get to the FINAL FOUR this year , IMO> Not that UCONN would
not get into the same bracket as LSU in the NCAA. That was a big wakeup call for Louisiana, not to mention for OSU (i.e. USC
and JuJu Watkins, 32 points, win over the Buckeyes). I would like to see UCONN focus ON THE NEXT GAME!! One at a TIME!

 

[Ozimoto]

Putting to much stock into the first game of the season for predicting the end of the year standings in my opinion. Yes, the Huskies will probably be moved to the number one spot. Will the gamecocks jump over Iowa to the number three spot? The Hawkeyes put up some big numbers in their opener, albeit not against a top ten team.

 

[Charliebball]

Don't you expect South Carolina to take out LSU in the SEC (regular season / SEC tournament)? I would not expect LSU to
get to the FINAL FOUR this year , IMO> Not that UCONN would
not get into the same bracket as LSU in the NCAA. That was a big wakeup call for Louisiana, not to mention for OSU (i.e. USC
and JuJu Watkins, 32 points, win over the Buckeyes). I would like to see UCONN focus ON THE NEXT GAME!! One at a TIME!

That early loss takes some of the shine off but I still think LSU is the team to beat in the SEC until proven otherwise in conference play......SC clearly will be at or near the top too......I know they can defend but want to see how good an offensive team they are.......

 

[meyers7]

Before we declare ourselves #1, let's beat Dayton and NC State first.

 

[EricLA]

That early loss takes some of the shine off but I still think LSU is the team to beat in the SEC until proven otherwise in conference play......SC clearly will be at or near the top too......I know they can defend but want to see how good an offensive team they are.......

Why? That's like saying a team who won the NC last season deserves the #1 ranking to start the new season until they are knocked off.

LSU lost a lot including their PG. Remember how hard it was when UCONN had no PG and relied on Caroline and Tiffany? Neither were PG's and LSU is/will have the same problem.

Team to beat in the SEC? Maybe preseason, and maybe one game is making too much of it, but SC destroyed a top 10 team ND in their first game while LSU lost to a top 20 team who made the sweet 16 last season. I'd say it's pretty clear that SC is the team to beat in the SEC.

A lot of people (this is not directed at you) got sucked into the hype of the transfers to LSU (as well as their recruiting class with Williams) - Van Lith and Morrow were the best players on each of their teams and monster scorers. But they needed to take a ton of shots to get their points. Look at Morrow yesterday. 2-9 shooting. I think that's a lot closer to the kind of player she will be for LSU as opposed to the 25+ PPG performances she had last season. And moving Van Lith to the PG position after playing the 2 pretty much her whole college career is asking too much.

Anyway back to my point - doesn't the fact that SC destroyed #10 ND and LSU lost to #20 Colorado make SC the team to beat in the SEC? Frankly I think (and thought all summer) that LSU has more question marks than SC (or UCONN for that matter)...

 

[Charliebball]

Why? That's like saying a team who won the NC last season deserves the #1 ranking to start the new season until they are knocked off.

LSU lost a lot including their PG. Remember how hard it was when UCONN had no PG and relied on Caroline and Tiffany? Neither were PG's and LSU is/will have the same problem.

Team to beat in the SEC? Maybe preseason, and maybe one game is making too much of it, but SC destroyed a top 10 team ND in their first game while LSU lost to a top 20 team who made the sweet 16 last season. I'd say it's pretty clear that SC is the team to beat in the SEC.

A lot of people (this is not directed at you) got sucked into the hype of the transfers to LSU (as well as their recruiting class with Williams) - Van Lith and Morrow were the best players on each of their teams and monster scorers. But they needed to take a ton of shots to get their points. Look at Morrow yesterday. 2-9 shooting. I think that's a lot closer to the kind of player she will be for LSU as opposed to the 25+ PPG performances she had last season. And moving Van Lith to the PG position after playing the 2 pretty much her whole college career is asking too much.

Anyway back to my point - doesn't the fact that SC destroyed #10 ND and LSU lost to #20 Colorado make SC the team to beat in the SEC? Frankly I think (and thought all summer) that LSU has more question marks than SC (or UCONN for that matter)...

I think Mulkey is too good a coach to allow her team to play selfish undisciplined basketball over the long term..........it's also really difficult to integrate a bunch of new players into a team by the first game of the season..........Williams may need work on her defense, but she is an offensive juggernaut that Geno would have loved to have............ND was a bit overrated in those polls.........they lack offensive punch and their defense is a bit suspect.......given a choice, I'd rather play LSU than South Carolina because you know Dawn's teams play relentless defense while LSU is going to have to score big when playing against tough teams......

 

[tchalla1]

That early loss takes some of the shine off but I still think LSU is the team to beat in the SEC until proven otherwise in conference play......SC clearly will be at or near the top too......I know they can defend but want to see how good an offensive team they are.......

You still believe LSU is a better team than SC? And you have questions about Sc's offense after they hung a hundred on ND? Interesting...

 

[cohenzone]

In case you are being serious, STFU = shut the **** up

Not serious even mistyping “would”.

 

[VA Huskie]

Don't you expect South Carolina to take out LSU in the SEC (regular season / SEC tournament)? I would not expect LSU to
get to the FINAL FOUR this year , IMO> Not that UCONN would
not get into the same bracket as LSU in the NCAA. That was a big wakeup call for Louisiana, not to mention for OSU (i.e. USC
and JuJu Watkins, 32 points, win over the Buckeyes). I would like to see UCONN focus ON THE NEXT GAME!! One at a TIME!

A little early to be “expecting” SC to take out LSU at the end of the year. No doubt both teams will be very good.

 

[CL82]

there's no I in team

But there is a "we" in awesome.

 

[Charliebball]

You still believe LSU is a better team than SC? And you have questions about Sc's offense after they hung a hundred on ND? Interesting...

Didn't say they were definitively better...............remember I'm the one who thought SC was underrated before the season even started....... one game (especially the first game) does not a season make..............let's see how SC's offense fares against other ranked teams during the course of the season.........after all, when was the last time SC had an elite offensive team? Dawn's game is defense and crash the boards.........other than the freshman Fulwily, who I think will be a star, who is going to step up to be a consistent outside shooting threat? Pao Pao runs hot and cold so if it's not her it's basically Cardoso inside and Fulwily outside and that can be slowed by a good defensive team......I would expect that both LSU and SC will end the season with 2-4 losses each on their way to the big tournament.....

 

[HopJim]

With so many new players, LSU needs some time to work together. No reason to think that LSU today will resemble LSU at playoff time. While Coach likely said a few curse words and popped a few buttons on her blinged out jacket, the loss was an absolute gift in terms of motivating her team to work harder.

 

[jaydee602]

LSU's very weak non- conference schedule will make it difficult to overcome this loss in the rankings.

 

[Charliebball]

LSU's very weak non- conference schedule will make it difficult to overcome this loss in the rankings.

besides UConn, who's going undefeated this season?

 

[maple]

Not serious even mistyping “would”.

D’oh!!!

 

[Ozimoto]

LSU is in the same position Tennessee was last year trying to integrate players from the transfer portal into the program As you recall, they got off to a rocky start last season. By the mid season, they were a much better team.

 

[JoePgh]

LSU is in the same position Tennessee was last year trying to integrate players from the transfer portal into the program As you recall, they got off to a rocky start last season. By the mid season, they were a much better team.

No pun intended, of course?

 

[SEbluebood]

Didn't say they were definitively better...............remember I'm the one who thought SC was underrated before the season even started....... one game (especially the first game) does not a season make..............let's see how SC's offense fares against other ranked teams during the course of the season.........after all, when was the last time SC had an elite offensive team? Dawn's game is defense and crash the boards.........other than the freshman Fulwily, who I think will be a star, who is going to step up to be a consistent outside shooting threat? Pao Pao runs hot and cold so if it's not her it's basically Cardoso inside and Fulwily outside and that can be slowed by a good defensive team......I would expect that both LSU and SC will end the season with 2-4 losses each on their way to the big tournament.....

Pao Pao has the same college career 3 point shooting percentage as Azzi Fudd at 38%. Not to shabby! While Staley’s staples are defense and rebounding, they have a number of better offensive
weapons this year so I agree with you they were underrated, but that will change now!

 

[Charliebball]

Pao Pao has the same college career 3 point shooting percentage as Azzi Fudd at 38%. Not to shabby! While Staley’s staples are defense and rebounding, they have a number of better offensive
weapons this year so I agree with you they were underrated, but that will change now!

I'd put SC in the top 3-4 without question...........supposedly Pao Pao perplexed her coaches in Oregon with her streakiness and what some claim was a lack of focus at times............I didn't see her on a game-by-game basis so I'm not sure how legit the criticisms were...........all things being equal, would you rather have her or Azzi on your team? I'll gladly take Fudd and I'm certain so would Dawn......... in a heartbeat........I haven't seen this version of SC yet this season............where is the scoring going to come from other than those three players?

 

[wingsfan055]

Pao Pao has the same college career 3 point shooting percentage as Azzi Fudd at 38%. Not to shabby! While Staley’s staples are defense and rebounding, they have a number of better offensive
weapons this year so I agree with you they were underrated, but that will change now!

Pau Pau is hardly a great shooter as a career 42 FG% implies. She's also undersized, so it will be interesting to see how her game evolves in a more physical, athletic SEC and against longer teams. From the little I've seen of her game, she does appear streaky. Still a great pick-up for Dawn.

 

[SEbluebood]

I'd put SC in the top 3-4 without question...........supposedly Pao Pao perplexed her coaches in Oregon with her streakiness and what some claim was a lack of focus at times............I didn't see her on a game-by-game basis so I'm not sure how legit the criticisms were...........all things being equal, would you rather have her or Azzi on your team? I'll gladly take Fudd and I'm certain so would Dawn......... in a heartbeat........I haven't seen this version of SC yet this season............where is the scoring going to come from other than those three players?

Agree that most sane people, including me, would pick Azzi, but I think Pao Pao will be a key piece of the SC puzzle. Against ND they had eight players with 7 or more points including five in double figures so I think they have many more legitimate scoring possibilities this year. As a UConn fan, they are the team I think will be the biggest challenge to UConn’s championship hopes! They have as deep a possible rotation as UConn and while I think UConn has more skilled players, I think SC’s athleticism is superior to UConn's. I am looking forward to seeing them battle in Columbia.

 

[Next 12]

besides UConn, who's going undefeated this season?

NO-ONE!!!