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Uconn back in the top 25

the Blades

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Jan 20, 2003
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...FWIW..... not really a big bump up.....since they were outside at #27 last week...



 
Not bad considering they haven't really beaten anyone good, although they have consistently covered the spread against these weaker teams. We will see much bigger movement if they can win PK1 or at least get to the finals.
 
Great quote by Kelvin Sampson on Houston ascending to #1 for the 1st time since Phi Slamma Jamma in the early 1980s:

“It’s not like we went online and applied for it and waited for a response back. We’ve been working for this,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team is coming off a Final Four and Elite Eight trip the past two seasons. “But remember, it’s a rental. You don’t own it. You’re just renting it because someday somebody else is going to be No. 1.”

Sampson and Houston have earned that ranking the same way as Danny Hurley: slowly building that program up (over around 8 years), not getting one and done players like Duke and Kentucky, but next tier talent, and then developing and coaching his kids.

Houston and UConn have one common opponent which is Oregon, which Houston beat by 10 and UConn beat by 24.
 
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"The No. 8 spot in the AP Poll is the highest ranking for UConn since it was No. 8 on Jan. 2, 2012. To find the last time the Huskies had a higher ranking, you would have to go back to earlier that season -- Nov. 21, 2011, when UConn was ranked No. 4."
That was the team that had Oriakhi, Drummond, Shabazz, Jeremy Lamb and Ryan Boatright. They went 2-1 in the inaugural Battle of Atlantis and I was there for all 3 games as they beat UNC Asheville, lost to UCF and beat Florida State. The UCF loss was disheartening as they blew a 17 point second half lead and lost pretty handily. That team never lived up to its hype and flamed out in a first round NCAA loss to Iowa State.
 
Samson is who I coveted in the Follie years. But we’ve got our guy.

Houston plays great D. They beat Oregon by 10. We beat oregon by 50. 😊
 
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Houston has been stunned 71-65 by Alabama at home. There will be a new number one next week and it will not be Houston or Texas.
 
UConn has ascended to #1 in the ESPN power rankings
Besides Sanogo's improved shooting on FT's and added 3 pt range, this is probably the biggest addition to the team of the returnees and with AJ's game so far......" Since moving back into UConn's starting lineup three games ago, Jackson is averaging 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists -- and hasn't committed a single turnover " Overall nearly a 4-1 assists to TO ratio.
 
AJ has matured, calmed down and learned to not play so fast all the time. He has developed the cerebral part of his game. He is experiencing something similar to the development of Kemba Walker sophomore to junior year as far as cutting down on TOs and constantly forcing the action.

Sanogo has improved his FTs to 81% and his 3 FG% to 36.8%, but he really shouldn't be taking more than 1 or 2 3s a game and only when wide open.
 
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Huskies are #2 in the AP and USA/Coaches Polls


PS ...Uconn still #1 in the more important NET Rankings which is the only one used and run by the NCAA, similar to the CFP rankings for CFB.

 
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Also .....it sucks to have to play Patrick Ewing's disaster of a program tomorrow since nothing but bad things can result vs. them and their #244 NET ranking....SMH ! ( I guess I shouldn't complain since half of the AAC was like G-town and it could get alot worse with more CR for them next year)

( now I know why Geno is forced to play good teams OOC for years whether it's been in the ACC or BE....since way to many WBB teams he has to play are just like Patrick's crew....though the Women's BE seems to be better this year )
 
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I saw the Hoyas play Xavier Friday night and I think they have more talent than last year but they are a classic case of a team that the whole is way less than the sum of the parts. Their main problem is they lack guys who can shoot, and that is compounded by taking way too many bad shots. They are cooked as soon as they are made to run offense in the halfcourt- it breaks down and bad shots get hoisted.

Ewing has some kind of dirt on the Georgetown AD that is preventing him from being fired. My best guess is he has hinted to the AD that the dirt will be dropped if he gets canned. I often wonder about how many quid pro quo arrangements like this happen in sports where higher ups get forced to keep a coach beyond his expiration date due to bombs that the coach can drop on the higher ups. That has to be what's going on here.
 
They are cooked as soon as they are made to run offense in the halfcourt- it breaks down and bad shots get hoisted.

Ewing has some kind of dirt on the Georgetown AD that is preventing him from being fired. My best guess is he has hinted to the AD that the dirt will be dropped if he gets canned. I often wonder about how many quid pro quo arrangements like this happen in sports where higher ups get forced to keep a coach beyond his expiration date due to bombs that the coach can drop on the higher ups. That has to be what's going on here.
You wrote a mystery tale about nothing ! Ewing is a garbage coach just like Ollie. He already lost his team again 5-6 games into the season..... I have it from a very reliable BB source. ...and his fluke BE championship during the covid year was the only thing that gave him this much time. Doesn't mean they won't get lucky or hot once in a while, with all the gunners and ball hogs he's assembled. I just feel sorry for Akok..... he's the only one on that team who plays the game the right way.
 
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Georgetown lost their last 21 games last season. I do not know any coach in basketball who survives that. Somehow Ewing did! Including winless in Big East play. On top of that heavy player turnover the past couple seasons, losing Wahab (who came back after sucking at Maryland), McClung and Akinjo (who were actually a very talented albeit undisciplined backcourt), among others. How do you do all of that to compile a suckfest resume and still keep your job? It's pretty amazing if you ask me!
 
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Georgetown lost their last 21 games last season. I do not know any coach in basketball who survives that. Somehow Ewing did! Including winless in Big East play.
I guess the fact that he's in the HOF and created the myth of G-town BB along with JT... ( a small catholic school who should've never been in the national conversation) buys him more time than any coach in CBB, is the reason.

But all you need to know about guys like him and KO is listen to them talk. Both are terrible communicators and a parrot would be more informative.
 
On top of that heavy player turnover the past couple seasons, losing Wahab (who came back after sucking at Maryland), McClung and Akinjo (who were actually a very talented albeit undisciplined backcourt), among others.
Don't forget it didn't even take Patrick until the end of the 1st semester to lose his leading returning scorer this year...SMH! ..what a zero...

 
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That's amazing! How can you lose your top returning scorer to transfer portal in December???? BTW he is transferring across the Potomac River to Virginia.....which ironically got terrible play from its guards Clark and Beekman in a 69-61 home loss to Houston and Kelvin Sampson on Saturday.
 
Also .....it sucks to have to play Patrick Ewing's disaster of a program tomorrow since nothing but bad things can result vs. them and their #244 NET ranking....SMH !
BTW... the good thing for Uconn is a double digit win vs. Georgetown didn't hurt them (still #1) in today's NET rankings.... but it did help Patrick's team move up 23 spots. So I guess that is a "net" plus for the Big East.

(p.s. how about Jalen Gaffney's Florida Atlantic team coming in at #11 with an 8-1 record + 2 DII wins that don't count)


DEC-20-2022-NET-Rankings-BE.jpg
 
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BTW... the good thing for Uconn is a double digit win vs. Georgetown didn't hurt them (still #1) in today's NET rankings.... but it did help Patrick's team move up 23 spots. So I guess that is a "net" plus for the Big East.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and when the boatyard you are playing in is called the Big East, it's a good thing that all the other boats rise up with defeats by UConn. That being said, I believe Georgetown, just off their performance last night, deserves to move up. Much was made of UConn playing uncharacteristically bad defense, but Georgetown made a lot of tough shots last night. I am not sure I like a team that is taking that many tough shots, but when you make a high % of them, sometimes the cap needs to be tipped to the opponent. The main reason Georgetown lost the game was UConn is deeper, Joey C turned in a heroic performance off the bench, and Georgetown ran out of gas and had no legs the last 7 or 8 minutes of the game. Good, deep teams win these kinds of games, because nobody is going to play perfect D every game, even at home. Plus, as you said, when you get ranked #1 or #2, you start to get everyone's best shots thrown at you, and we are starting to see that. Georgetown knew where UConn was ranked.

UConn is 13-0, which is the 2nd best start in program history, against a schedule that has been absolutely stacked with good opponents, and Georgetown certainly looked like a solid high major team last night. This has been, so far, an absolutely incredible season, far better than almost every enthusiastic's fan's wildest expectations. The team 3 point shooting has been consistently good, the team has been outrebounding opponents consistently up until last night, the team has had very high assist totals and good shooting %s, and is playing what looks like a very good, cohesive brand of basketball, especially on the offensive end, which even Calhoun's best teams did not always do. There is nothing we have seen so far that suggests that the #1 NET ranking is undeserved or unwarranted. It's likely UConn will hit other bumps in the road and will take some losses somewhere along the line, but there is a lot to be excited about with this team.
 
I believe Georgetown, just off their performance last night, deserves to move up. ......... but Georgetown made a lot of tough shots last night. I am not sure I like a team that is taking that many tough shots, but when you make a high % of them, sometimes the cap needs to be tipped to the opponent........ Georgetown knew where UConn was ranked.
True as far as UConn's #1 (NET) and getting G-towns best game. As I said about them and Patrick before the game, a few posts up " Doesn't mean they won't get lucky or hot once in a while, with all the gunners and ball hogs he's assembled." So they'll always have a punchers chance and should pull off some wins with that formula. But " ball hog BB" is the exact opposite in terms of sharing the ball and working it for good shots, that this years Uconn and winning teams ( Nova for years with Jay, etc.) use.

Regarding moving up in the NET let's be honest. G-town has done nothing yet to deserve anything, since as you'd say their resume "sucks monkey balls", LOL !....they haven't beat a team with a ranking above 205 (NET) yet and 2 of their worse loses are to P-5 teams who aren't exactly killing it theirselves this year...;)

But I do hope G-town at some point returns to at least the John Thompson III level (maybe they'd like a
re do ?) because it'll be good for the Big East.

5-8-Georgetown-2022-23.jpg
 
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