UConn and Geno Auriemma (sp?) have made NCAA womens basketball basically unwatchable. There is absolutely no parity in the sport. When you win it 4 straight years and 10 of the last 20 and you're beating teams, even the really good ones, by an average of 25 ppg consistently, the product gets a little watered down. People need those upset losses, those multiple OT games, and those cinderella buzzer beaters to make the tournament interesting.
UCONN Women
- Thread starter MrLair
- Start date
I just notice that UCONN seems to execute their stuff so much better than other women's teams. Makes you wonder if UCONN is somehow practicing a ton more than other teams.
Everybody else's players would be staying 4 years also. Take Dukes class 2 years ago, or Dukes class this year. Why would our class be that much better over a 4 year period? Not buying your logic here.
To each their own I guess. We always talk about how the best team doesn't always win in March because of the one game format. It has rang true in men's bball. There are always upsets. Yes, Uconn id usually the best team ever year, but there have been other very good teams like ND and Baylor who can't seem to beat them. They have done it consistently without being upset once. That is pretty remarkable to me no matter if the comp. level isn't the same as the men's game. Andddddddddddddddddd... I just wrote about 100 words on women's bball. You can tell it is a slow sports season now that our season is over. Waiting for NBA playoffs and the Masters.
How is it in men's basketball, a completely overmatched team can play the game of their lives and hang with or even beat a superior team, but never in women's basketball?
Not a rhetorical question. The women's game features more 30 point blow outs than the men's game, and I want an explanation.
Not a rhetorical question. The women's game features more 30 point blow outs than the men's game, and I want an explanation.
Athleticism would be my answer. You can have the occasional men's team that has enough to compete for 1 game. I don't know that you have enough quality athletes in the women's game that the talent/athleticism can be spread out to lower level teams.
The biggest comeback in women's tournament is history is 16 points. That tells me a lot.
1. Women have 15 scholarships compared to 13 for men. Once the men had their numbers reduced, that took 50 players off of Top 25 teams and filtered them to mid-major programs. It's no coincidence that we've seen the rise of programs like Butler, Gonzaga, Wichita State, VCU, etc. as consistent year-in, year-out threats since the scholarship reduction took effect. To keep Title IX compliant, the women will always stay at 15 and there will be potential impact players at that second-tier level who will willingly ride the bench at the elite schools for that shot at Final Four or national titles.
2. You're still allowed to play home games in the women's tournament. You think people ***** about Duke and UNC staying in-state in the early rounds...if teams could stay at Rupp, Cameron, Allen, the Deandome, etc. for the men's tournament there'd be far fewer upsets as well.
3. Women's basketball today on the evolutionary scale is roughly where men's basketball was in the 1970's. Back then, who did you see on television? UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, DePaul, North Carolina and not much else. And where did players go to play? The schools where they could be seen. Today, with FoxSports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, CBS not to mention on-demand options, you can go anywhere and still be seen by family halfway across the country (or scouts). You don't have to settle for just one of 8-10 options. The women? Still back in the 70's equivalent. 95% of the time, it's going to be UConn, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina, Tennessee and Stanford that you'll see if your randomly turn on one of the games.
2. You're still allowed to play home games in the women's tournament. You think people ***** about Duke and UNC staying in-state in the early rounds...if teams could stay at Rupp, Cameron, Allen, the Deandome, etc. for the men's tournament there'd be far fewer upsets as well.
3. Women's basketball today on the evolutionary scale is roughly where men's basketball was in the 1970's. Back then, who did you see on television? UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, DePaul, North Carolina and not much else. And where did players go to play? The schools where they could be seen. Today, with FoxSports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, CBS not to mention on-demand options, you can go anywhere and still be seen by family halfway across the country (or scouts). You don't have to settle for just one of 8-10 options. The women? Still back in the 70's equivalent. 95% of the time, it's going to be UConn, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina, Tennessee and Stanford that you'll see if your randomly turn on one of the games.
A
anon_013cn8yrfncx2
Guest
Couple of points: Rarely have there been upsets of the best teams because the women's refs control things much more than the men's game. No one will watch the women's finals if
the best teams aren't there. Now this year there were some upsets and there is a lot of complaining about UCONN running away from everyone so the pendulum may have swung away from that at this point. For sure, UCONN has reached their zenith and will never duplicate the last 4 years. There's speculation that the 3 UCONN seniors will be the top 3 picks in the WNBA draft.
Cal can't even do that.
Re the recruiting post and the comparison between UCONN and ND. ND has been the only serious competitor the last 4 years and they did have a girl leave early last year who was a 1st team AA. They might have been more a threat this year if she had returned. In one other title game, either last year or the year before, ND's best big tore her ACL in the tourney and couldn't play.
One other thing I want to say. Doris Burke is the most unprofessional announcer on TV. IF you tuned in to watch the final game last night it was almost unwatchable because of the Brianna Stewart slurpfest. They didn't talk about the game the last 12/13 minutes but talked totally about her. It was like watching the McDonald's game except all the commentary was about one person.
the best teams aren't there. Now this year there were some upsets and there is a lot of complaining about UCONN running away from everyone so the pendulum may have swung away from that at this point. For sure, UCONN has reached their zenith and will never duplicate the last 4 years. There's speculation that the 3 UCONN seniors will be the top 3 picks in the WNBA draft.
Cal can't even do that.
Re the recruiting post and the comparison between UCONN and ND. ND has been the only serious competitor the last 4 years and they did have a girl leave early last year who was a 1st team AA. They might have been more a threat this year if she had returned. In one other title game, either last year or the year before, ND's best big tore her ACL in the tourney and couldn't play.
One other thing I want to say. Doris Burke is the most unprofessional announcer on TV. IF you tuned in to watch the final game last night it was almost unwatchable because of the Brianna Stewart slurpfest. They didn't talk about the game the last 12/13 minutes but talked totally about her. It was like watching the McDonald's game except all the commentary was about one person.