I think we're the odds on favorite, seeing as how this team is better than the one that won 35 games last year. Let's stop being so tentative.
2024-2025 WBB Team (2022-present)
- Thread starter TN-Gamecock
- Start date
That's my point when they argue that LSU scores more. It's actually only .9 pts more per game in SEC play but we empty the bench whenever possible in the 4th qtr.
I prefer reasoned optimism . not interested in dealing in absolutes like some others on this board
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Also add to that the talent level of the teams we have played versus that of the teams LSU has played!
Either we absolutely win it or we absolutely don't. That's the level where we are.
yesterday. Tessa turned her ankle when she stepped on an A&M player underneath the basket. I believe it was precautionary and the boot helps to ensure that there is no pressure put on the anke. If it had swollen, she would have been on crutches but she was not and she walked through the handshake line. I believe it is precautionary as they normally have Mondays off and when you want to ensure that a tweak does not morph into something worse, you put the boot on. Judging by Dawn's comments after the game about seeing if she is ready to "rock and roll" I would suggest that if she feels fine by Tuesday without any additional pain, she will be able to have her normal prep and be available for Thursday night. just mine opinion.
Part 2
Point Guard
Neither HVL or Poa are PGs as their primary position. LSU’s talent covers that up for the most part. HVL is trying to make herself WNBA ready by her transfer. She is a very good player but small 5’7” for a shooting guard. Brea Beal stole her lunch money and worse in the final four.
To be fair, HVL has been pretty good at point on the offensive end. However take a look at the 2 losses and 3 other most competitive games(Aub, Colo., UVA, OM, and Va. tech)
Her offensive stat line for those 5
9.9 ppg on 17-50 shooting 34%
4.2 assists (a good number) but 4 TOs per game a very bad number.
I think she will have Trouble initiating the offense especially against Raven or Fulwiley. I would not be surprised to see Williams initiating a lot of s
On defense she is just awful. She does not fight over picks or even tightly trail very well. She is almost always calling for a switch.
Her primary guards Amoore Va Tech 25 points. In one sequence Amoore scored 5 straight times against HVL and Mulkey pulled her
OM M. Davis 24 points
Colo Sherrod 19 points
Auburn Mingo-Young 13
There is a reason L’ville played zone the previous 3 seasons, to hid HVL’s deficiencies.
Poa is bigger and stronger. a pretty good defender but not a real threat on the offensive side. Very steady but again not a true PG.
Point Guard
Neither HVL or Poa are PGs as their primary position. LSU’s talent covers that up for the most part. HVL is trying to make herself WNBA ready by her transfer. She is a very good player but small 5’7” for a shooting guard. Brea Beal stole her lunch money and worse in the final four.
To be fair, HVL has been pretty good at point on the offensive end. However take a look at the 2 losses and 3 other most competitive games(Aub, Colo., UVA, OM, and Va. tech)
Her offensive stat line for those 5
9.9 ppg on 17-50 shooting 34%
4.2 assists (a good number) but 4 TOs per game a very bad number.
I think she will have Trouble initiating the offense especially against Raven or Fulwiley. I would not be surprised to see Williams initiating a lot of s
On defense she is just awful. She does not fight over picks or even tightly trail very well. She is almost always calling for a switch.
Her primary guards Amoore Va Tech 25 points. In one sequence Amoore scored 5 straight times against HVL and Mulkey pulled her
OM M. Davis 24 points
Colo Sherrod 19 points
Auburn Mingo-Young 13
There is a reason L’ville played zone the previous 3 seasons, to hid HVL’s deficiencies.
Poa is bigger and stronger. a pretty good defender but not a real threat on the offensive side. Very steady but again not a true PG.
So, do we pull Reese away from the basket or have Cardoso screening her out and have Raven and Fulwiley driving the lane?
Seeing as how Massey had us ranked the 36th best team in the history of NCAA women's bb before the season even started, I bet a substantial amount on this team before the first tip-off and I rarely bet on anything. The 4-1 odds were too much for me to pass up. They currently have us ranked as the 21st best team EVER. This along with what I have seen so far from this team gives me the confidence to pencil them in as national champs. Is that what you mean about not being tentative?
According to Massey we have a 76% chance of winning this game. They predict a 77-67 final score. I think we will score more points than that. We are good as long as the refs are competent and don't try to make the game about themselves.
Why I Love this thread. I posted part two on the TIF and it side tracked over how could I even say PaoPao was not much of an offensive threat. They didn’t know the difference between our Paopao and LSU’s Poa
Raven, Paopao, Fulwiley don’t even need screens to get layups against HVL. She can’t stay in front of anyone she guards.
What you might see is Kitts setting a pick at the elbow for a pick and pop or to initiate the High-Low post game. OR Cardoso opposite side of the lane that Raven drives for a dump if Reese comes on help D
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I enjoy your belief and positivity in this year’s team
Remember I never predict us or any team as National Champions, I just say we will make the Final Four.
One new interesting fact for you fans of all of college basketball, not just women's but men's to:
"Pete Maravich's men's record of 3,667 points is also within striking distance for Caitlin Clark this year."
I would love to see her break his record too as she has been called the Pete Maravich of women's basketball.
She will have broken the ceiling for both men's and women's.
"Pete Maravich's men's record of 3,667 points is also within striking distance for Caitlin Clark this year."
I would love to see her break his record too as she has been called the Pete Maravich of women's basketball.
She will have broken the ceiling for both men's and women's.
I think we need a separate Caitlyn Clark thread exclusively for TN Gamecock
In the SEC, fans storming the court or field results in a fine to the university. Been that way for years now.
We think we are the best; we think our coach is the best. We've gone almost four consecutive years ranked #1 more weeks than anyone else. I don't see any reason to be mealy-mouthed about it. It's past time for another crown. This is how legacies are made. I think injuries are the only joker in the deck.I enjoy your belief and positivity in this year’s team
Remember I never predict us or any team as National Champions, I just say we will make the Final Four.
Plus PaoPao can handle the point better than Fletcher did, imo. The other big difference - not as big as Paopao, but still big -- is Bree Hall's shooting. We have two sharpshooters that open up the rest of the floor. And Tessa Johnson is only going to get better as she matures.
Minor correction -- PaoPao is not leading three point scoring, but she does have the best 3 point shooting percentage. Clark leads comfortably in 3 point scoring. This link is good because you can sort the info on 3 pointers. https://www.espn.com/womens-college...ive/sort/avgThreePointFieldGoalsMade/dir/desc
Not soooo fast there. Let's not crown ourselves just yet. Let's at least see how we play in a conference, road game, hostile environment against a hall of fame coach of whom it was said had the best team in the country pre-season. Then play the next 15-20 games on top of that with our 11 lady roster. I like our chances so far, but lots of ball to play.
Do you think Raven guards Williams and PaoPao guards HVL? Thinking Raven is a better defender than PaoPao and HVL is not just their weakest defender, but she is LSU's weakest starter on offense. At the same time, don't want to wear Raven out. Very concerned that if Tessa J is out/ineffective that our only guard player off the bench is Fulwiley unless Jah could play a few minutes.
The dance is a couple months away. Then, it's survive and advice. Anyone that watches NCAA tournament games know that the best team does not always win and one slip up has you going home. Let's just say for now that we have a very good team and that gives us a chance. Can't win a NCAA Championship in January.
We were the presumptive champs the year Covid shut everything down. Historically unkind vicissitude. We are at least two and as many as three championships behind where we realistically could be. I don't see our coach continuing for as long as Vanderveer. She needs to grab the brass ring NOW.Past time? We have only skipped 2022.
I saw that and laughed . Novice fans only look for perceived errors instead of contentWhy I Love this thread. I posted part two on the TIF and it side tracked over how could I even say PaoPao was not much of an offensive threat. They didn’t know the difference between our Paopao and LSU’s Poa
I have by placing him on ignore. He diminishes what has been a great thread.
I actually have it Johnson v Johnson and PaoPao V HVL. Johnson maybe too quick for PaoPao.
Feagin played the 3 some yesterday in Tessa's place. That's when she hit a rare 3. Morrow is more physical than a typical 3. I expect they will try and get her the ball in the low post against Bree. Feagin might be a nice change up against Morrow. Depends on how much foul trouble our other bigs are in, I think.
UCLA trails Utah 35-32 at the half and Pili has not scored. I would think that bodes well for Utah in the second half. Refs are letting them play and it is a very good game to watch.
LSU PART 3
obviously I like our matchups with Cardoso and with Raven, now for one I don’t like, Mikaylah Williams!!
Williams is a future top 3 pick. She may eventually play point but for now is the 2 guard. She is a great jump shooter with range. She is 6’0” or 6’1” explosive and powerful.
I just don’t think Raven, Paopao, or Fulwiley can handle her. That leaves Bree Hall. Hall’s height and length will be something she has not seen all season. Williams will still be strong enough to get where she wants to get on the floor but she won’t be shoot OVER Hall. Williams will probably get her points but Hall will make her really earn them.
Who guards her when Hall is not in the game? Good question. Depending on the situation you may even see Watkins defending her. Watkins may be the most important player for us Thursday. She can guard Reese, Morrow, Johnson and Williams!!! That means that if Cardoso, Kitts or Hall have a tough night or foul trouble, we have an ace in the hole. We just can’t have 2 of them having a bad night.
obviously I like our matchups with Cardoso and with Raven, now for one I don’t like, Mikaylah Williams!!
Williams is a future top 3 pick. She may eventually play point but for now is the 2 guard. She is a great jump shooter with range. She is 6’0” or 6’1” explosive and powerful.
I just don’t think Raven, Paopao, or Fulwiley can handle her. That leaves Bree Hall. Hall’s height and length will be something she has not seen all season. Williams will still be strong enough to get where she wants to get on the floor but she won’t be shoot OVER Hall. Williams will probably get her points but Hall will make her really earn them.
Who guards her when Hall is not in the game? Good question. Depending on the situation you may even see Watkins defending her. Watkins may be the most important player for us Thursday. She can guard Reese, Morrow, Johnson and Williams!!! That means that if Cardoso, Kitts or Hall have a tough night or foul trouble, we have an ace in the hole. We just can’t have 2 of them having a bad night.
Bree will not be playing Morrow, Bree will play Williams. Kitts will be on Morrow
I see Jah as a good fit for guarding Williams. She is long and agile and can pose problems for Williams with her size and length. As long as she doesn’t get too busy with her hands or try to block everything.
I think we're going to see Del Rosario more than some might expect, which will push Reese to the 4 and Morrow to the 3. Del Rosario only played 4 minutes against Auburn; since then her minutes have increased to 14 and 12 minutes in their last two games. If nothing else, she has 5 fouls. Mulkey has to protect Reese. They really miss Smith, but Del Rosario will have to do.
You can only argue one since it never happened. That is it.
Mikayla Blakes announced for Vanderbilt....I thought she would be Rutgers bound. Nice pick-up for the Vandy Squad.
And then there was one: Sarah Strong. Still hoping Joyce is working on her!!!
@DarkCock or @winloseortie if we beat LSU do we hold the record for most consecutive SEC regular season wins at 37?
The Utes had 5 in double figures, and believe it or not, Pili wasn't the leading scorer.