Looks like UCONN has the natty sewed up
National Semi-finals Game thread
- Thread starter RUtix4me
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UConn has blown out every out-of-conference opponent it has played, including #1 ranked Alabama by 15. No team outside the Big East has come within 10 points of UConn.
Dan Hurley has won more NCAA games in two weeks than Rutgers has won in 45 years.
Dan Hurley has won more NCAA games in two weeks than Rutgers has won in 45 years.
meh pretty sure a lot of college hoops fans thought they'd be a top program again when they gave up on football to return to the BigEast. No way UCon is where they are now if still slumming it in AAC though.
13-8 vs Big East teams
16-0 vs everyone else
So weird
Hurley took over a program that was 5 years out from winning a national championship. 2 in the 8 years before he took over. He's done a fantastic job, but he was starting from a really good place.
There was tons of negativity around the program after losing to New Mexico State last year. Many were questioning if hurley was the right guy.
He didn't start from a really good place. Previous UConn success notwithstanding, he began with a bunch of mediocre players and a program in steep decline. Many were skeptical about his abilities. Yet in five years, he was able to recruit at a very high level and return UConn to elite status. He is a masterful recruiter who has built incredible depth on this team, and he is a brilliant coach who has outcoached all his tournament opponents by a wide margin. UConn is already being ranked as the #1 team for 2023-2024, and their success will only continue. Hurley may very well be the next Jim Calhoun.
I was shocked when they joined the big east because it truly meant that football would be pretty much abandoned and I thought they would never do that
That said I think they think they did the right thing
Maybe they did
They still get to play a halfway decent schedule in football, and they made it to a bowl game, so they didn't lose that much by going to the Big East.
Never underestimate the self-loathing fan take take a positive about another team and use it to paint Rutgers in a negative light. Ponderous.
Before this year Pike hard won more NCAA games at Rutgers than Hurley had at UConn. The last 2 years UConn lost in the first round as the better seed team. If that was Pike half out of fan base would have wanted him fired. Hurley also still has not won the Big East regular season or tournament. Yes, he’s done a great job THIS YEAR in the NCAA tournament but we have fans now comparing the guy to Jim Calhoun, an all time great coach. It’s one year. Let’s hold off on calling the guy an all time great for, I don’t know, the next 10-15 years.
What makes UConn difficult to defeat is their two terrific centers that stiffle opponent drives to the basket.On offense they get position for layups or put back baskets.UConn also has multiple players that can make 3 pointers as well as shots off the dribble.The revival of the program along with the improvement in other teams makes the Big East a top tier basketball conference .The B1G TEN must change with the times and play a more uptempo game in order to attract difference maker recruits and earn at least 8 NCAA Tournament bids.
Imo there is no way they could sustain a successful program without being in a football league
Yes
The fact their second string center is very good makes them very tough to beat
The Big Ten will be fine. Recruiting is all about NIL now and most Big Ten programs can afford to buy whoever they want.
And so did Kevin Ollie in 2014. As well as the FAU coach this year. Your point is not a compelling one whatsoever.
Of course, we'll see. Storrs is 1.5 hours from Boston and 2.5 from NYC, so it's a fairly attractive location for visiting teams and coaches looking for a nice location for an OOC game. Army is also independent and is not that far away either.
Why couldn"t UConn do the same? They are not that far from NYC and Boston, so there ought to be NIL opportunities.
UConn probably will be forced to play 2 or 3 away for 1 home game, if they want a series versus a top 20 program with an occasional home game
I think we play Buffalo in a similar situation, for instance, having gone there once, versus several games here
UConn can play good teams away for a money payout with no return Also
But dreams of a super season are a lot harder now for the fans now and probably unrealistic
Players will want a combination of NIL and the dream of a national championship, major bowl etc
The championship season at UConn is a tough sell
I also think that a UConn head coach with a couple of decent seasons gets poached much easier, as do some of their better players.
Temple has had that problem even in a league, UConnd problem more so
U. Conn has a great men's basketball tradition. The chance of a championship is as good there as a lot of other places. Maybe their coach will get poached, but Jim Calhoun was there for ages, right? https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nca...tional-championships/hbisgzk7djik8fvjatr5svir
They're not trying to play top 20 programs. My guess is that they're playing football just to have a season. It's not that surprising that a school in the Northeast would care a lot more about basketball than football, especially given U.Conn's history of basketball success. https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/football/schedule/2023
UConn football arguably has an easier chance at a championship than Rutgers does.
They just need to go undefeated and they’ll likely be in the new 12 team playoff.
Hell, Temple can just win the AAC and likely get in (highest G5 champ is automatically in - regardless of ranking).
We would need to win the Big Ten or be the #2 ranked Big Ten team likely (over a collection of OSU, UM, PSU, USC, Wisc)
I w would agree a bit when there are 12 playoff teams, but still highly improbable
For the most part I see it harder to get good players for UConn and retain good coaching with football Imo
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I was talking football program here
The basketball is a completely different story with a bright future
I didn't say that can't. I was responding to a comment the was saying the Big Ten needs to change too keep up in recruiting. I'm saying they'll keep up just fine as things are. UConn will too.
My guess is that U.Conn doesn't care about winning a football championship. But it's possible to maintain a respectable program without that. Players want to play and U.Conn is a good school (despite what Rutgers people say about it), so the Huskies will always be able to attract players who, while not Big Ten quality, can play the game with some competence.
Lots of red flags with John Ruiz.
Trial lawyer.
His publicly traded company Lifewallet can't file financial statements on time.
Recently replaced the Lifewallet chief financial officer with young inexperienced CFO.
Most recent investor conference call was incomprehensible. Total nonsense. John did say his NIL deals mean, "everybody in the country that follows college sports knows what LifeWallet is."
He recently purchased this plane.
But what the heck. His NIL payments helped his alma mater make the Elite Eight and Final Four in the past two seasons.
Trial lawyer.
His publicly traded company Lifewallet can't file financial statements on time.
Recently replaced the Lifewallet chief financial officer with young inexperienced CFO.
Most recent investor conference call was incomprehensible. Total nonsense. John did say his NIL deals mean, "everybody in the country that follows college sports knows what LifeWallet is."
He recently purchased this plane.
But what the heck. His NIL payments helped his alma mater make the Elite Eight and Final Four in the past two seasons.
Will just disagree as to their football prospects long term
I don’t see a good future
We are both old enough that we can agree to disagree. I think a lot depends on how one defines "a good future." But we'll see what the future brings, assuming (as we hope) we both live that long.
