Embarrassment of Riches

[Tornado man]

You can also argue that these McD AAs actually want to compete instead of just riding on a bench. You can choose whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond or try to move to the bigger pond and see whether they can still be a big fish.

Plus, Stanford and UConn are good schools, especially Stanford. You have to fight hard to compete with the prestige and location.

UConn is NOT a highly-rated school academically. It's ranked well below ISU.

[jaretac]

They had an analyst on before the game (or was it at halftime?) trying to argue that UCONN was good for the game. She said that people who don't watch WBB are tuning in to watch them. I don't know if she was towing the company line or what, but I can't see it. Who tunes in to watch a team blow everyone out by 40? I like to watch good, competitive games. The only time I actually enjoy a blowout in any sport is if ISU is doing the blowing out or if it is a team I really despise getting blown out. No way I waste my time watching any of UCONN's remaining games. I'm sure UCONN fans have a blast watching that team, but most everyone else doesn't care to see it. I'd bet that the ratings for their championship game will be pretty low.

Tiger Woods argument?

I don't think it is good for the sport. I have to admit that I almost didn't even listen today because I had other things going on and I knew there was no way. Do people who otherwise care nothing for the sport actually turn on the TV to watch one team dismantle the other? I thought the close games usually got the best ratings.

[cyclone13]

UConn is NOT a highly-rated school academically. It's ranked well below ISU.

But not a bad school.

This is from wikipedia:

According to the U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges listings, the University of Connecticut is a "more selective" national university, placing it in the second out of five tiers of competitiveness when it comes to admissions standards.[27] The university's undergraduate programs are ranked 64 among all national universities tying with the University of Iowa and Purdue University, and placing it well ahead of the other public national universities in New England.[28] Reflecting the university's national status, more than 10,500 out-of-state students apply for admission each year.[29]

[deadeyededric]

UConn is NOT a highly-rated school academically. It's ranked well below ISU.

That is a fact. I was accepted to UCONN and chose ISU, and i was far from a good student. I have family in the New Haven area is why I was thinking of moving out east.

[Clonefan32]

I get the feeling this UCONN dynasty is not going anywhere. I could see them going all next year without losing again.

Some people will point to the run UCLA went on, and then show that their program has been good, but not nearly as dominant. I think men's basketball is a completely different story. Most every D1 school will invest heavily in men's basketball because the university, and the fans and donors take an high interest in the sport. The same cannot be said for women's basketball. There are maybe a total of 20 schools that really care about the sport, and maybe only 10 that really, really care about the sport. Lack of support leads to lack of success, and a general lack of success leads to a lack of competitive teams.

[deadeyededric]

I get the feeling this UCONN dynasty is not going anywhere. I could see them going all next year without losing again.

Some people will point to the run UCLA went on, and then show that their program has been good, but not nearly as dominant. I think men's basketball is a completely different story. Most every D1 school will invest heavily in men's basketball because the university, and the fans and donors take an high interest in the sport. The same cannot be said for women's basketball. There are maybe a total of 20 schools that really care about the sport, and maybe only 10 that really, really care about the sport. Lack of support leads to lack of success, and a general lack of success leads to a lack of competitive teams.

Maybe if Geno leaves. He has said that the only place he would ever go is to coach the Providence men.

[alarson]

Tiger Woods argument?

I don't think it is good for the sport. I have to admit that I almost didn't even listen today because I had other things going on and I knew there was no way. Do people who otherwise care nothing for the sport actually turn on the TV to watch one team dismantle the other? I thought the close games usually got the best ratings.

Agreed. If you're flipping through channels, and see a blowout in progress a few minutes into the game, and you're a casual fan, are you going to stay on that channel? Absolutely not. If the tournament is a foregone conclusion to just about *everyone*, including the commentators and most coaches, are casual fans really gonna watch?

One commentator said 'were people complaining about the patriots going undefeated' (obviously trying to say people would look past this if it were a male sport)... well no, but they werent THIS dominant while doing it. There were several games they could have lost that year but they pulled them out. Id say theres a big difference between the two.

[Tornado man]

But not a bad school.

Yes, I stand corrected, cyclone13 - in addition to the info you sited, I see that US News ranks them in a tie for 66th overall among national universities, while ISU is tied for 88th.
UConn is not a Stanford or a Duke, but a fine school. I was in error.

[alarson]

Maybe if Geno leaves. He has said that the only place he would ever go is to coach the Providence men.

I think he said today Duke or North Carolina.

Not that either is gonna happen. When the day comes that either are looking for new coaches, they'll take their pick of the best mens coaches, not take a risk on someone with no experience in the mens game, no matter how good he's been in the women's game.

[deadeyededric]

I think he said today Duke or North Carolina.

Not that either is gonna happen. When the day comes that either are looking for new coaches, they'll take their pick of the best mens coaches, not take a risk on someone with no experience in the mens game, no matter how good he's been in the women's game.

I saw an interview about five years ago with him. They asked him if there was any mens job he would take. He said Providence. When asked why. He said Providence should have an Italian basketball coach.

[theshadow]

Honestly, I wouldn't even watch UCONN's games if I was a UCONN fan.

"Best team ever", and their home attendance is DOWN 10%.

[deadeyededric]

Having lived out there a few winters ago I would say there is not a huge interest in UCONN like you would think. I think most of there fanbase is alumni.

[cyclone13]

Yes, I stand corrected, cyclone13 - in addition to the info you sited, I see that US News ranks them in a tie for 66th overall among national universities, while ISU is tied for 88th.
UConn is not a Stanford or a Duke, but a fine school. I was in error.

No problem, my friend.

[cyclones500]

I think the total dominance of UConn, Stanford, et al is truly bad for the sport.

I haven't read all the responses to your post yet ... and I don't mean to quote only part of it ... I wanted to comment exclusively on the parity/dominance issue.

About 10 years ago I realized women's CBB was about 20 years behind MBB as far as "level playing field" and national exposure. In the early '90s, there were fewer than 10 WBB programs that had any realistic shot at even a Final Four run in any given year (much like the UCLA-dominated world of the early '70s is MBB). A tournament with as many upsets round-by-round as we've seen in the women's field this season would be unthinkable even in the mid-90s.

Maybe that's what makes UConn's dominance so perplexing — it wouldn't have been a shock to see a 75-game streak (of 10 points or more each time) in the Old Dominion/La.Tech era. Think back to 1989-90 -- how many MBB teams could have run off even two near-perfect seasons at that time and streamrolled every opponent along the way?

I think there's more parity in WBB than ever — UConn is just an outlier.

[CTAClone]

They had an analyst on before the game (or was it at halftime?) trying to argue that UCONN was good for the game. She said that people who don't watch WBB are tuning in to watch them. I don't know if she was towing the company line or what, but I can't see it. Who tunes in to watch a team blow everyone out by 40? I like to watch good, competitive games. The only time I actually enjoy a blowout in any sport is if ISU is doing the blowing out or if it is a team I really despise getting blown out. No way I waste my time watching any of UCONN's remaining games. I'm sure UCONN fans have a blast watching that team, but most everyone else doesn't care to see it. I'd bet that the ratings for their championship game will be pretty low.

Was the analyst a former UCONN player? I know they had a former UCONN player as an analyst.