Former Bear Waiata Jennings played 4 minutes for Alabama, went 0-2, 1 TO, vs Kennesaw State.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
2025-26 Season (Misc thread)
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Last: 3 hrs ago by Wbbfan29
WVU really lost to Villanova 81-59 in Morgantown.
ScottyB_The_Baylor_King said:
WVU really lost to Villanova 81-59 in Morgantown.
A bad-looking loss, no doubt unless there are mitigating circumstances, i.e., player(s) out sick or new injuries.
I haven't watched a lot of games this year, but the ones I have watched and the scores I have seen lead me to believe that this year there are about 5 or 6 teams that are at one level that are really good candidates to get to the FF. I don't include OU and Maryland at that level as I have not seen them play, so perhaps they fall there as well, but I don't feel confident about that. Most of the top group have played either themselves or respected teams and have demonstrated their strength. Kim has played her usual crappy non-conference schedule, so LSU has not shown anything other than they can wipe the floor with the sisters of the poor, but her history says LSU is in that mix as well.
I think there is a good amount of space between those top ones and the next 20 - 25 or so, perhaps a few more that are in a mushy group where a few could break above their "peers" a bit on occasion, but in general are capable of beating any of the others. And not so good that a team like Villanova or someone else couldn't beat one of those teams and it not be too much of a head-scratcher if a team has a poor night, which all in this group can have.
I think parity coming up from the lower levels has affected those below the top handful or so, but because of their status (perceived or real), reputation, coach, and almost unlimited access to NIL those top teams just have the ability to draw the top recruits and portal movers, and are pretty much untouchable this year in my mind. I would be surprised if anyone in the second grouping gets any closer than the Elite 8 this year. Those in the second group are just not getting the same kind of talent in enough quantity to be considered at that level. And they will vary from year to year as good players move on (Clark, for example at Iowa) and the replacement is just not as good. Heck, Tennessee and Notre Dame find themselves in this second group, as well.
I think if you take the top four right now in the rankings, I don't think you will find much difference when you read the names that make it to the FF, barring one or two of those teams getting in the same bracket due to seeding or impactful injuries.
Anyway, that is the way I see it right now. I think it is going to take some time for those in the second tier to break out and a lot will depend on how NIL progresses over the next few years. Some leveling may also happen over time as coaches such as Geno and Kim retire (either planned or because of health reasons) in the next few years.
I think parity was going full bore, but changes because of NIL and essentially free agency in the last couple of years has given a platform for the rich to stay rich....for now.
blackie said:ScottyB_The_Baylor_King said:
WVU really lost to Villanova 81-59 in Morgantown.
A bad-looking loss, no doubt unless there are mitigating circumstances, i.e., player(s) out sick or new injuries.
I haven't watched a lot of games this year, but the ones I have watched and the scores I have seen lead me to believe that this year there are about 5 or 6 teams that are at one level that are really good candidates to get to the FF. I don't include OU and Maryland at that level as I have not seen them play, so perhaps they fall there as well, but I don't feel confident about that. Most of the top group have played either themselves or respected teams and have demonstrated their strength. Kim has played her usual crappy non-conference schedule, so LSU has not shown anything other than they can wipe the floor with the sisters of the poor, but her history says LSU is in that mix as well.
I think there is a good amount of space between those top ones and the next 20 - 25 or so, perhaps a few more that are in a mushy group where a few could break above their "peers" a bit on occasion, but in general are capable of beating any of the others. And not so good that a team like Villanova or someone else couldn't beat one of those teams and it not be too much of a head-scratcher if a team has a poor night, which all in this group can have.
I think parity coming up from the lower levels has affected those below the top handful or so, but because of their status (perceived or real), reputation, coach, and almost unlimited access to NIL those top teams just have the ability to draw the top recruits and portal movers, and are pretty much untouchable this year in my mind. I would be surprised if anyone in the second grouping gets any closer than the Elite 8 this year. Those in the second group are just not getting the same kind of talent in enough quantity to be considered at that level. And they will vary from year to year as good players move on (Clark, for example at Iowa) and the replacement is just not as good. Heck, Tennessee and Notre Dame find themselves in this second group, as well.
I think if you take the top four right now in the rankings, I don't think you will find much difference when you read the names that make it to the FF, barring one or two of those teams getting in the same bracket due to seeding or impactful injuries.
Anyway, that is the way I see it right now. I think it is going to take some time for those in the second tier to break out and a lot will depend on how NIL progresses over the next few years. Some leveling may also happen over time as coaches such as Geno and Kim retire (either planned or because of health reasons) in the next few years.
I think parity was going full bore, but changes because of NIL and essentially free agency in the last couple of years has given a platform for the rich to stay rich....for now.
Very spot on, although I don't really trust any Cory Close coached UCLA team in a high stakes battle against any of the other 4 top coaches. I saw Maryland in person a few weeks ago and they reminded me a lot of BU: talented, but prone to occasional lapses in focus. MD may have been down a couple of key players in the game I attended, however.
BUVA said:
Former Bear Waiata Jennings played 4 minutes for Alabama, went 0-2, 1 TO, vs Kennesaw State.
Her first game this season I think. Injured to start the year, though I think she played in an exhibition.
Unranked NC State goes to OT against #8 OU, soonerettes win 103-98
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
Arizona lost to southern in Tucson 63-57.
Texas is blowing out UNC. So they'll be undefeated when we play them. Then a week later we play Texas Tech, very likely to be undefeated as well.
#13 Ole Miss beat #18 Notre Dame 69-62. Hannah Hidalgo was ejected for taunting
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
Think the SEC/ACC challenge ended up 13 to 3. The gap between that league and everyone else is as big as I can remember.
#5 LSU defeated unranked Duke 93-77. I didn't watch the game, but a LSU fan friend said Duke lead by 14 in Q1. They also said LSU "milked" the clock in Q4 and kept under 100. KM said this is the deepest bench she's had since the 2012 BU Natty.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
Duke came out en fuego. 14-1 when Mulkey called timeout. That was the end of the fun for Duke. Switches over to the ND game at half
BUVA said:
#5 LSU defeated unranked Duke 93-77. I didn't watch the game, but a LSU fan friend said Duke lead by 14 in Q1. They also said LSU "milked" the clock in Q4 and kept under 100. KM said this is the deepest bench she's had since the 2012 BU Natty.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see, since they haven't played anyone outside of Duke. And this is a Duke squad that's been thrashed by 5 other teams so far (us included).
UCLA beat Duke by 30 just the game before this one.
So if she's using this game as a measuring stick of sorts, she might want to hold off on such high praise until they're a little bit further along into the season.
They've started releasing the NET rankings:
https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/season_divisions/18704/nitty_gritties
Relevant teams:
3. Texas
9. TCU
12. Iowa
18. Iowa State
20. Baylor
22. Texas Tech
27. Oklahoma State
30. West Virginia
44. Davidson
47. Duke
51. Utah
58. Colorado
60. BYU
63. Arizona State
67. Kansas State
73. Kansas
78. Lindenwood
84. UNLV
118. UCF
132. Louisiana Tech
142. Cincinnati
147. Houston
169. UTSA
183. Arizona
https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/season_divisions/18704/nitty_gritties
Relevant teams:
3. Texas
9. TCU
12. Iowa
18. Iowa State
20. Baylor
22. Texas Tech
27. Oklahoma State
30. West Virginia
44. Davidson
47. Duke
51. Utah
58. Colorado
60. BYU
63. Arizona State
67. Kansas State
73. Kansas
78. Lindenwood
84. UNLV
118. UCF
132. Louisiana Tech
142. Cincinnati
147. Houston
169. UTSA
183. Arizona
Not sure how they figure this, but Texas should be 2. And BU seems better placed at 13 or 14. Time well tell the truth.
And how is OU at 24. Come on. The computer knows secrets or it is kaput?
!
!
NET rankings (men or women) are basically nonsense until mid-January. Simply not enough data to offset "one off" results. Need at least 15ish games per school to smooth out the data.
#11 Iowa playing #10 Iowa State now on ESPN.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
How tall would you guess Crooks is?
IowaBear said:
How tall would you guess Crooks is?
Bio says 6'3". I didn't think she was that tall.
BTW, I had forgotten about Addy Brown.
Definitely some ISU home cooking. An ISU player just poked an Iowa player in the face right in front of ref, no call.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
Benefit of an elite home court, it's what Foster hopefully will be someday.
Ran into her in May at U-Haul before we moved. She's 6'1 at best. I'm 6ft and we're basically the same height
Ran into her in May at U-Haul before we moved. She's 6'1 at best. I'm 6ft and we're basically the same height
That was a nice interview with Coach Nicki at halftime.
I have noticed Teya Sidberry hasn't played for Texas in their easy win.
I've never seen a basketball roster that lists the actual heights of their players, everybody is always an inch or two taller on paper.
They listed me at 6' 1", and I'm every bit of 6' 0.5" in my bare feet. Back in my day, they gave us the benefit of what our high-tops added in height, but that was it.
ScottyB_The_Baylor_King said:
I have noticed Teya Sidberry hasn't played for Texas in their easy win.
To add,,,DMN stated in this morning's paper that "Texas has been without rotation players Aaliyah Crump, Bryanna Preston and Ashton Judd for its last six games"
History says they will have everybody back on the 14th.
They beat UCLA, SC without all of those players. Don't think it'll matter regardless. This game realistically isn't winnable. However, playing them close and being competitive would go along way in showing that this squad is ready to take that next step.
605Bear said:
That was a nice interview with Coach Nicki at halftime.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17FXA3dKNG/?mibextid=wwXIfr
IowaBear said:
They beat UCLA, SC without all of those players. Don't think it'll matter regardless. This game realistically isn't winnable. However, playing them close and being competitive would go along way in showing that this squad is ready to take that next step.
Eggzactly how I see it
IowaBear said:
They beat UCLA, SC without all of those players. Don't think it'll matter regardless. This game realistically isn't winnable. However, playing them close and being competitive would go along way in showing that this squad is ready to take that next step.
I think this year's Baylor team is better than the last two. However, as I have stated in other posts, from what I see the top handful have raked in most of the upper tier recruits and transfers leaving the gap below those handful and everybody else to actually be greater than it was prior to the ropes that had some limitations on NIL being cut.
I don't know what to expect. It could be a game like we had against USC and earlier with UConn. Or it could be a 15+ point loss. We are better, but those at the top are better better.
I don't think we will beat Texas but I think it will be a competitive game unless Darianna, Bella or Taliah get in foul trouble. Bella unfortunately has been in foul trouble quite a bit this season. I really hope she can avoid that on Sunday……
Bear3 said:
I don't think we will beat Texas but I think it will be a competitive game unless Darianna, Bella or Taliah get in foul trouble. Bella unfortunately has been in foul trouble quite a bit this season. I really hope she can avoid that on Sunday……
Vic will focus on getting Taliah in foul trouble.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. ~ Mark Twain
Dont see us winning this game at all. But I hope we give them a good. If they want to stay competitive we need buggs and bella to show up. Bella has got to stay out of foul trouble. See tends to be a non factor in big games Due to foul trouble. She got to control her self sunday.
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