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FollowtheCardinalRule
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
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Location: Denver
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 Posted: 01/02/17 1:53 am ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
Hmmmm. FASCINATING day on the Left Coast.
And....what say ye (who know your teams so intimately) about such things as the victories by Wazoo, Utah, and OR-State? Flukes? Oracles of Doom? |
I think that Wazzu can get streaky, and Oregon was playing without Ionescu and Carzola was coming back from an injury, I'm not convinced by Oregon this season though.
Utah is pretty darn good, Potter was her solid self, and the contributions from Nawahine brought them through against Southern Cal--I think that Utah is pretty good, and should be the best of the rest (after ASU, Oregon State, Cal, Stanford, UCLA)
Oregon State has Sydney Weise which counts for a lot--and if her supporting cast shows up for a half, they are tough as nails to bat. I think that Oregon State will challenge for the title; however, they are incredibly young so time will tell.
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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Location: Culver City, CA
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| Posted: 01/02/17 1:56 am ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
| And....what say ye (who know your teams so intimately) about such things as the victories by Wazoo, Utah, and OR-State? Flukes? Oracles of Doom? |
Wazzu: benefitted from playing an Oregon team reeling from the loss of Sabrina Ionescu, who's out with a broken thumb. So: not a giant surprise.
Utah: A decent defensive team who was only a 4-point underdog going into the game against USC (per Massey). USC seems to be struggling a little bit defensively and their rebounding has been iffy this season too, so when the Trojans' shots don't happen to be falling (as they weren't today), they're beatable. So this game was perhaps a mild surprise, but not a humongous one.
Oregon State: I confess, I was genuinely surprised that they got this win, but the Beavs are an elite defensive team, so probably I shouldn't've been. Massey projected the Beavs to be victors by a single point. The final margin was 3. Truthfully, the rest of the conference really needed Washington to lose this game, as the Huskies are currently projected to be underdogs in exactly zero of their remaining conference games. Yup, Massey favors UW in every single game they have left to play between now and tourney time. There are no other Pac-12 teams for which that is the case.
The Huskies came into today's game with the inside track on the conference championship, and given the fact that they're spared the Bay Area trip this season I believe the Huskies still do have that edge, but today's Husky loss at least gives the Stanfords, UCLAs and OSUs of the Pac a fighting chance to keep pace.
Still, though, soooooooooo much ball yet to be played.
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bcdawg04
Joined: 12 Apr 2016
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Location: Seattle
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| Posted: 01/02/17 1:57 pm ::: |
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Utah over USC: These are two teams that have been receiving votes and winning a lot of games. I would've given USC the edge as the home team, but these two are very evenly matched. Neither is expected to have a serious run at the league title, but I wouldn't sleep on them--they are both capable of pulling off some upsets.
OSU over UW: Two ranked teams (9/9 vs 22/15)...you could figure it would come down to execution. One team executed for most of the game and one didn't. The result, a one-basket margin of victory for the home team, was not surprising. I was, however, surprised to see us get clowned for 2.5 quarters. The Beavers were just better prepared mentally, and hopefully the Dawgs can learn from this.
WSU over Oregon: This result was surprising. Aren't the Cougs also still playing without their best player? I really thought the Ducks would take this one, mostly because Graves is the significantly better coach in this matchup.
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Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012
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| Posted: 01/02/17 2:09 pm ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
Hmmmm. FASCINATING day on the Left Coast.
And....what say ye (who know your teams so intimately) about such things as the victories by Wazoo, Utah, and OR-State? Flukes? Oracles of Doom? |
And the hyped come down to earth, i.e. players like Plum and Anigwe. Just goes to show what good scout defense does as opposed to playing cupcakes or no scouting teams.
I agree that the AZ games in the desert are always tough, glad to see my Card come out with 2 wins.
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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| Posted: 01/03/17 1:12 pm ::: |
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Congrats to Monique Billings, who was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, after her performance in this weekend's games... she averaged 18.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.5 assists and a steal.
Mo is also averaging a double-double on the season thusfar: 17.2 pts (5th in the conference) and 11 rebs (7th in conference), to go with 1.92 blocks (T3rd in conference). Keep it rolling, Monique!
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Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012
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| Posted: 01/04/17 1:13 pm ::: |
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| She is playing very well.
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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| Posted: 01/04/17 10:02 pm ::: |
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| (Pat, check your PM box)
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Oregon: Go Ducks!
"Inévitablement, les canards voleront"
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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| Posted: 01/06/17 5:26 pm ::: |
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Weekend #2 of the Pac-12 season is just about upon us, and by Sunday night the conference race should truly have shaken into its early shape.
I'm very, very curious to see what the Beavs can (or can't) pull off at Cal (tonight) and at Stanford (on Sunday). The Oregon and Bay schools *will* face each other again later (on the very last week of the season) when Stanford/Cal head north, so this weekend's games aren't necessarily a "must-win" for any of the 3 contending teams here. Still, if OSU can steal at least a split, they'll probably feel pretty good about their position in the conference race thusfar. Cal-- with one L already to its name, and the Washington and Oregon trips still ahead, along with 2 matchups against Stanford-- would appear to be the team of the three least able to absorb a loss without it inflicting serious damage to its conference hopes.
This weekend's ASU swing through the mountain schools (tonight at Utah, Sunday at Colorado) is also of note. It can be hard to deal with the elevation change on that trip, although the women from Tempe do have a 1,100+ ft. head-start on most of the rest of the conference. Still, elevation or no, if the Devils want to legitimately contend for the crown, these are two games they honestly can't afford to lose.
Finally, my Bruins will be in Seattle on Sunday to face the Huskies. I've had this particular game circled in my mind's eye for about a year now. I honestly can't wait. By season's end, there's a quite decent chance that the result of this January 8th game will end up being retroactively key in the outcome of the conference title race, and the battle for the overall top seed in the P12 tournament (and perhaps even in the choices the NCAA tournament committee will ultimately make regarding which Pac-12 teams get shipped where and on what seed-lines). So... it's huge. It honestly is.
Of course, it *won't* be huge if the Bruins get caught looking past Wazzu tonight and take an L in Pullman, which now that I've jinxed the team by writing all of the above, is by far the most likely scenario, so eff me, Pat. Eff me right in the ay.
Best of luck to all my Pac-12 colleagues!
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bcdawg04
Joined: 12 Apr 2016
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| Posted: 01/06/17 8:32 pm ::: |
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Yep, can't look past those pesky Cougs. Just as we can't look past the Trojans.
It will be another interesting 48 hours for the conference. Every weekend is an opportunity. You are going to face off against one or two ranked teams, except with the mountain schools--and even then, both are receiving votes. Last weekend, UCLA and OSU held serve, and Stanford stole one on the road. So for now we're all chasing them.
BackthePac and Go Dawgs!
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PickledGinger
Joined: 04 Oct 2013
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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fancy_daniel
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
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Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: 01/07/17 12:54 am ::: |
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| patsweetpat wrote: |
| PickledGinger wrote: |
Can someone please explain what just happened in Pullman? 
What a performance by the freshman, Chanelle Molina. Bigtime. |
The Bruins may or may not have been looking past Wazzu toward this Sunday's matchup against the Dawgs. I've got no idea. But focused or no, the Bruins were shooting super-cold tonight, and WSU was hitting it's shotes, and Molina was on fire, and that was the ballgame.
In a very competitive conference with an incredibly difficult schedule still lying ahead, this loss represents a major, major hit to UCLA's conference title hopes.
Bummer for us Bruin fans. But great night for everyone involved in the Coug program. Congrats to them. |
Who knows if they were looking past Wazzu but they definitely have not shot well in Pullman as they also had a close one last year.
I think there were some defensive adjustments that could've been made, such as getting in front of Molina, which is easier said than done as she was faster than expected.
I think the team definitely rushed it's shots and make some poor choices, but i think that was cause in large part because of the defense. And Wazzu played very physically. They were constantly holding Billings most of the game and few calls were made.
I think it'll be a positive as the team will have to come together. Some of the role players will have to step up and provide some scoring support.
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cattekin
Joined: 26 Apr 2007
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Location: San Mateo, Calif.
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| Posted: 01/07/17 1:46 pm ::: |
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| patsweetpat wrote: |
In a very competitive conference ... |
One losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "Teams in this conference will expose your weaknesses and teach you lessons".
Another losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "This league will expose any and all weaknesses a team has".
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fancy_daniel
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
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| Posted: 01/07/17 3:10 pm ::: |
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| cattekin wrote: |
| patsweetpat wrote: |
In a very competitive conference ... |
One losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "Teams in this conference will expose your weaknesses and teach you lessons".
Another losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "This league will expose any and all weaknesses a team has". |
I hope it'll be a positive such as when the former Big East used to beat each other up but then did well in the tourney.
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FollowtheCardinalRule
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
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Location: Denver
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| Posted: 01/08/17 12:18 am ::: |
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| fancy_daniel wrote: |
| cattekin wrote: |
| patsweetpat wrote: |
In a very competitive conference ... |
One losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "Teams in this conference will expose your weaknesses and teach you lessons".
Another losing Pac-12 coach said Friday: "This league will expose any and all weaknesses a team has". |
I hope it'll be a positive such as when the former Big East used to beat each other up but then did well in the tourney. |
It paid dividends last season, I think that there was a lot of talent that departed after last year, so it remains to be seen--I was disappointed in the non conference performance by the conference as a whole, but we'll see what happens as the year progresses.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 01/14/17 4:44 pm ::: |
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Washington Women Paint a Target on Those Other Huskies
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/sports/ncaabasketball/washington-huskies-kelsey-plum-chantel-osahor.html
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Less heralded than their counterparts in Connecticut, Washington’s Huskies were 16-2 and ranked No. 8 entering Friday’s game against Arizona. Coming off the first Final Four trip in the program’s history, Washington now is setting its sights even higher.
“We’re riding a lot of confidence from last year; no one expected us to get that far,” the senior Chantel Osahor said. “Now we know we’re good.” |
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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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FollowtheCardinalRule
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
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| Posted: 01/16/17 11:03 am ::: |
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Cal can't shoot (at least consistently) and since who wins is determined by the team that puts the ball through the metal ring more often, that puts them at a significant disadvantage.
Athletes are great, but skill matters too ...
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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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| Posted: 01/17/17 10:21 am ::: |
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3 weeks into the season (as I write this on 1/17), the P12 stands thusly:
UW 6-1
OSU 5-1
Stanford: 5-1
ASU: 4-2
UCLA: 4-2
WSU: 3-4
Cal: 2-4
Utah: 2-4
Oregon: 2-4
'Zona: 2-4
Colorado: 1-5
USC: 1-5
The Husky, Beav and Cardinal triumvirate seem to've grabbed the collective pole position on the conference title chase. And it's currently a 5-team race (the above 3 teams plus ASU and UCLA) to get one of the 4 top P12 tourney berths (each of which come with an all-important bye). One of those 5 teams will be left on the outside and have to play tourney ball from Day 1.
Given the 5 above-mentioned Pac-leading teams, the place to watch most closely this weekend is the ASU trip to the Bay. ASU plays at Cal on Friday, and at Stanford on Sunday. Those games'll have obvious implications. OSU is unlikely to face much challenge this weekend, and ditto the Huskies. UCLA may have trouble in Galen against the Trojans, though. That tends to happen.
Good luck to all.
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bcdawg04
Joined: 12 Apr 2016
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Location: Seattle
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| Posted: 01/17/17 2:18 pm ::: |
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| patsweetpat wrote: |
| OSU is unlikely to face much challenge this weekend, and ditto the Huskies. UCLA may have trouble in Galen against the Trojans, though. That tends to happen. |
Just as the Bruins can't overlook the Trojans, the Huskies can't overlook the Cougs. This game means way more to WSU than it does to UW. And nobody is forgetting that they already have a victory over a Top 10 opponent in Pullman. The Cougs may be short-handed, but the Huskies didn't come out of the trip to the desert unscathed either.
The Beavs are likely too disciplined to overlook their next opponents.
ASU looks to rebound from their last game...but so does Cal. That one should be a battle.
Still lots of games left to play. I don't expect things to go to script each weekend.
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IM in OC
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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Location: Orange County, CA
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| Posted: 01/17/17 5:33 pm ::: |
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| patsweetpat wrote: |
| OSU is unlikely to face much challenge this weekend, and ditto the Huskies. UCLA may have trouble in Galen against the Trojans, though. That tends to happen. |
If Simon is still out, for USC, then UCLA will win easy. If she is back then it might be closer, but UCLA still wins. The USC coach has done nothing since she took her "inherited" team to a win in the Pac 12 tournament, which is almost 3 years ago.
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
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| Posted: 01/17/17 7:30 pm ::: |
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| IM in OC wrote: |
| patsweetpat wrote: |
| OSU is unlikely to face much challenge this weekend, and ditto the Huskies. UCLA may have trouble in Galen against the Trojans, though. That tends to happen. |
If Simon is still out, for USC, then UCLA will win easy. If she is back then it might be closer, but UCLA still wins. The USC coach has done nothing since she took her "inherited" team to a win in the Pac 12 tournament, which is almost 3 years ago. |
Thing is, USC does have talent (especially if Simon's playing), and is angry, coming off a 5-game losing streak. And now their ranked cross-town rival comes into their building, giving the Trojans a chance to (at least partially) redeem their entire season in one single night. The WoT are gonna want this W soooooooo bad. And I fear that's gonna count for something.
Also, USC did win this very game against UCLA last season. Were the 2015-16 Trojans really so much better? Were the 2015-16 Bruins really so much worse?
So, yeah, I do believe that USC has a legitimate chance tomorrow.
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IM in OC
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: 01/18/17 7:51 am ::: |
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| patsweetpat wrote: |
| IM in OC wrote: |
| patsweetpat wrote: |
| OSU is unlikely to face much challenge this weekend, and ditto the Huskies. UCLA may have trouble in Galen against the Trojans, though. That tends to happen. |
If Simon is still out, for USC, then UCLA will win easy. If she is back then it might be closer, but UCLA still wins. The USC coach has done nothing since she took her "inherited" team to a win in the Pac 12 tournament, which is almost 3 years ago. |
Thing is, USC does have talent (especially if Simon's playing), and is angry, coming off a 5-game losing streak. And now their ranked cross-town rival comes into their building, giving the Trojans a chance to (at least partially) redeem their entire season in one single night. The WoT are gonna want this W soooooooo bad. And I fear that's gonna count for something.
Also, USC did win this very game against UCLA last season. Were the 2015-16 Trojans really so much better? Were the 2015-16 Bruins really so much worse?
So, yeah, I do believe that USC has a legitimate chance tomorrow. |
Last year the Trojans had Fembengle who played very well, thus making Simon and her a tough duo inside. This year they dont.
The coaches record vs Pac 12 teams is 1-7 this year, 7-13 the year before and 7-12 the year before that. The team she inherited had Harberts, Crook, Vaioletama, Alofaituli, Adams, Kate Oliver, Barratt, and Jaco as a freshmen. Those players were light years better.
Note, they also had Keneisha Horn and Des Bradley.
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: 01/18/17 1:31 pm ::: |
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| ClayK wrote: |
Cal can't shoot (at least consistently) and since who wins is determined by the team that puts the ball through the metal ring more often, that puts them at a significant disadvantage.
Athletes are great, but skill matters too ... |
That seems to be the way Cal way has been for years. Better athleticism versus their opponents, but worse shooting. Which is the opposite of what I would expect from a school with a stellar academic reputation.
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