A brief hiatus.....but it's nearly March.
UCONN will win in San Antonio in the same fashion they did 8 years ago. Destroying anything in its path like Godzilla did to Tokyo. There is no question in my mind that UCONN will be Champions again. However, should Hawaii become the 50th state this winter to get snow, there is a chance they may stumble. Chances of either happening...no chance.
In research for this blog I decided to look at the stats for the team that I think could beat UCONN, the one that already has been beaten by them but played a good game against them, until the second half. That team is Duke.
We all know Duke is really good this year and we all know how good UCONN is this season. But then I looked at the stats and UCONN is in a class by itself, like the 2002 team. Here are some numbers I pulled:
Points Scored
1,812-Duke
2, 162-UCONN
Points Allowed
1,345-Duke
1,194-UCONN
Points per game
72.6-Duke
83.2-UCONN
Points Allowed per game
53.8-Duke
45.9-UCONN
Field Goal %
42.7%-Duke
52.0%-UCONN
3-Point FG %
30.1%-Duke
33.5%-UCONN
Free Throw %
67.6%-Duke
74.6%-UCONN
Score by Periods
852, 964-Duke
1200, 962-UCONN
Final Stat of interest....and just a side note...
All 5 starters (all 5!) are shooting over 40% in field goals (not 3-pointers) for UCONN. Let's break it down further: Maya Moore-52.8%, Tina Charles-62.6%, Kalana Green-59.1%, Tiffany Hayes-45.2%, Caroline Doty-41.8%. Most top caliber teams, including Duke would be lucky to have 2 hitting over 45% from the floor, UCONN has 4!
Bottom line, UCONN is a power and the National Championship will stay in Storrs for one more year. Player of the year will also stay in Storrs, but not a repeat for Moore as her teammate Tina Charles will walk away with POY and Wade trophy. If she doesn't, it's a travesty!
Showing posts with label UCONN women's basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UCONN women's basketball. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, September 10, 2009
There can only be 1
It should be no surprise to anyone which team is considered #1 in the "nearly-a-decade" list (my comparison to Stanford Basketball Examiner writer Jake Curtis' top 10 teams). If you are surprised, did you live under a rock for most of the decade?
Jake-UCONN
Jenn-UCONN
-4 National Titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2009)
-2 additional Final Fours (2001, 2008)
-Failed to make the NCAA Elite Eight only one time (2005)
-39 victories in both 2002, 2009 (I would argue with anyone that the 2002 UCONN team is the best ever to be put on a floor)
-Won fewer then 30 games only once in the 9 years
-2 Undefeated seasons (2002, 2009)
-Finished in the top 10 final standings all 9 years (#1 in 5 of those seasons)
-7 Regular Season Big East Champions (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009)
-6 Big East Tournament Championships (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)
-7 (yes 7) 1st Team All Americans: Svetlana Abrosimova 2001, Swin Cash 2002, Sue Bird 2002, Diana Taurasi 2002-2004, Tina Charles 2009, Renee Montgomery 2008, 2009, Maya Moore 2008, 2009.
-3 Wade Trophy National Player of the Year Awards: Sue Bird, 2002; Diana Taurasi, 2003; Maya Moore, 2009
Enough said....
WNBA
Minnesota Lynx picked up a very important win over the Detroit Shock last night. If the Shock had won they would've clinched a playoff spot but now they have to wait another game. The Lynx scored 9 straight points to pull out the 3 point victory. The win puts the Lynx tied with San Antonio Silver Stars for 4th place in the West. San Antonio holds the tie-breaker head to head and they both have 2 games remaining.
I think it's time, with the talent so diversified in the WNBA, that if teams tie for a playoff position they play 1 game to determine the standings. None of this recreational league head to head stuff. A good example would be the Sparks. Say it was between the Sparks and a team they played twice early on in the season. The Sparks were without Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie for a good portion of the beginning of the season. Now they are on fire. Is it fair and right to not have them in the playoffs when they are playing better ball then a lot of teams just because they didn't win their head-to-head? Go to a 1 game playoff, let the ladies lay it on the floor, let the PLAYERS decide who gets into the playoffs not a statistician.
Games Tonight:
New York Liberty @ Detroit Shock (7:30 pm, NBA TV)
Indiana Fever @ Chicago Sky (8:00 pm)
San Antonio Silver Stars @ Sacramento Monarchs (10:00 pm)
Phoenix Mercury @ Seattle Storm (10:00 pm)
Big games for Detroit and Chicago. If Detroit wins, they clinch a playoff spot. Liberty are playing pretty well now, if Katie Smith is out again for Detroit (back) then look for the Liberty to delay the Shock their playoff berth.
Chicago is 11-4 @ home and as we've seen, the Fever just are not playing well on the road. Look for the Sky to win and gain sole possession of that 4th place playoff spot.
Jake-UCONN
Jenn-UCONN
-4 National Titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2009)
-2 additional Final Fours (2001, 2008)
-Failed to make the NCAA Elite Eight only one time (2005)
-39 victories in both 2002, 2009 (I would argue with anyone that the 2002 UCONN team is the best ever to be put on a floor)
-Won fewer then 30 games only once in the 9 years
-2 Undefeated seasons (2002, 2009)
-Finished in the top 10 final standings all 9 years (#1 in 5 of those seasons)
-7 Regular Season Big East Champions (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009)
-6 Big East Tournament Championships (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)
-7 (yes 7) 1st Team All Americans: Svetlana Abrosimova 2001, Swin Cash 2002, Sue Bird 2002, Diana Taurasi 2002-2004, Tina Charles 2009, Renee Montgomery 2008, 2009, Maya Moore 2008, 2009.
-3 Wade Trophy National Player of the Year Awards: Sue Bird, 2002; Diana Taurasi, 2003; Maya Moore, 2009
Enough said....
WNBA
Minnesota Lynx picked up a very important win over the Detroit Shock last night. If the Shock had won they would've clinched a playoff spot but now they have to wait another game. The Lynx scored 9 straight points to pull out the 3 point victory. The win puts the Lynx tied with San Antonio Silver Stars for 4th place in the West. San Antonio holds the tie-breaker head to head and they both have 2 games remaining.
I think it's time, with the talent so diversified in the WNBA, that if teams tie for a playoff position they play 1 game to determine the standings. None of this recreational league head to head stuff. A good example would be the Sparks. Say it was between the Sparks and a team they played twice early on in the season. The Sparks were without Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie for a good portion of the beginning of the season. Now they are on fire. Is it fair and right to not have them in the playoffs when they are playing better ball then a lot of teams just because they didn't win their head-to-head? Go to a 1 game playoff, let the ladies lay it on the floor, let the PLAYERS decide who gets into the playoffs not a statistician.
Games Tonight:
New York Liberty @ Detroit Shock (7:30 pm, NBA TV)
Indiana Fever @ Chicago Sky (8:00 pm)
San Antonio Silver Stars @ Sacramento Monarchs (10:00 pm)
Phoenix Mercury @ Seattle Storm (10:00 pm)
Big games for Detroit and Chicago. If Detroit wins, they clinch a playoff spot. Liberty are playing pretty well now, if Katie Smith is out again for Detroit (back) then look for the Liberty to delay the Shock their playoff berth.
Chicago is 11-4 @ home and as we've seen, the Fever just are not playing well on the road. Look for the Sky to win and gain sole possession of that 4th place playoff spot.
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