Why the Gamecocks deserve their No. 1 ranking

[Rixon Lane]

Some people have suggested that UConn should replace South Carolina as the No. 1 team in the country. Those people are wrong.

http://www.gamecockcereal.com/home/2015/1/19/why-the-gamecocks-deserve-their-no-1-ranking

 

[cockhornleghorn]

Luckily it will be settled on the court. Go 'Cocks!

 

[Ewecon]

The reason is because a Gamecocker says so? I could show you 10 articles written by Uconn'ers that say they should be #1.

Here's my take as a UConn fan: Personally, I have no issue with SC being ranked #1. You're undefeated and deserve to be there until someone beats you. UConn has a loss....yes, it was a 2-point OT loss in the 2nd game of the year, 3,000 miles away on a court UConn has historically had trouble winning on (1-4)....but, a loss is a loss. We have one, you do not. That said, is there anyone that doesn't think UConn's loss to Stanford was a fluke? How many people would put their money on Stanford in a rematch on a neutral court?

You should retain the #1 spot because you are undefeated, not because you play in a stronger conference than UConn. There was mention in the article about UConn blowing out inferior teams while SC plays difficult games twice a week. That's certainly true, however, UConn blows out the good teams as well....so I'm not sure the conference strength enhances the argument. UConn plays the same way against weak teams as they do strong teams....they don't play to scoreboard, ever. Geno won't allow it.

Do I think UConn is the best team in the country? Yes, I do. They have 5 starters that all average double figures in scoring with a defense to compliment their offense, have won 63 of their last 64 games and are ahead of SC in most statistical catagories.....except for one, 17-0 vs. 16-1....and for that reason, I believe SC should be #1.

Of course, the "who's #1" discussion will go away on Feb 9th, or possibly before if one of us were to lose (more likely SC than UConn based on the schedules). Until then, I for one think you belong where you are.....it only matters who's #1 in the end. Until then, rankings don't really mean much

 

[uscbeckham]

Originally posted by Ewecon:
The reason is because a Gamecocker says so? I could show you 10 articles written by Uconn'ers that say they should be #1.

Here's my take as a UConn fan: Personally, I have no issue with SC being ranked #1. You're undefeated and deserve to be there until someone beats you. UConn has a loss....yes, it was a 2-point OT loss in the 2nd game of the year, 3,000 miles away on a court UConn has historically had trouble winning on (1-4)....but, a loss is a loss. We have one, you do not. That said, is there anyone that doesn't think UConn's loss to Stanford was a fluke? How many people would put their money on Stanford in a rematch on a neutral court?

You should retain the #1 spot because you are undefeated, not because you play in a stronger conference than UConn. There was mention in the article about UConn blowing out inferior teams while SC plays difficult games twice a week. That's certainly true, however, UConn blows out the good teams as well....so I'm not sure the conference strength enhances the argument. UConn plays the same way against weak teams as they do strong teams....they don't play to scoreboard, ever. Geno won't allow it.

Do I think UConn is the best team in the country? Yes, I do. They have 5 starters that all average double figures in scoring with a defense to compliment their offense, have won 63 of their last 64 games and are ahead of SC in most statistical catagories.....except for one, 17-0 vs. 16-1....and for that reason, I believe SC should be #1.

Of course, the "who's #1" discussion will go away on Feb 9th, or possibly before if one of us were to lose (more likely SC than UConn based on the schedules). Until then, I for one think you belong where you are.....it only matters who's #1 in the end. Until then, rankings don't really mean much

FWIW, Gamecock Cereal is a blog meant to entice discussion. I wouldn't take it too seriously.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Uconn is better than we are. But we deserve our ranking. Don't see why that is so hard to understand. We will be underdogs in Storrs even if we are undefeated and number one. If we manage to win it will be a big upset.

This post was edited on 1/19 1:41 PM by ReadR00ster

 

[sanfordcock]

I agree that SC should be No. 1, but that UConn is the best team. If we had solid outside shooting, then we would be a lot tougher. As I said earlier, if we can stay within 10 points to UConn at their place I would be happy. I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat us by a margin somewhere around 20.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Originally posted by sanfordcock:

I agree that SC should be No. 1, but that UConn is the best team. If we had solid outside shooting, then we would be a lot tougher. As I said earlier, if we can stay within 10 points to UConn at their place I would be happy. I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat us by a margin somewhere around 20.

yeah, I don't know how or why the lost to Stanford. I think it had something to do with losing Dolson and who was going to step up and and adjustments had to be made. But Geno immediately addressed that and they are now a machine again. They don't miss very many shots and they don't beat themselves.

 

[Garnet chicken]

You play in the SEC and you are undefeated, enough said. U Conn has played good teams and won, but the level of competition in the conference, not so much. If they play like they did tonight, they can beat any team.

 

[HI Cock]

The major article for UCONN being #1 was written by ESPN, hq'd in Connecticut.

Maybe they're better, maybe not. At least they get to play to determine who is better.

This discussion reminds me of the Clowney shouldn't play discussion.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Originally posted by Garnet chicken:
You play in the SEC and you are undefeated, enough said. U Conn has played good teams and won, but the level of competition in the conference, not so much. If they play like they did tonight, they can beat any team.

No. Florida is terrible. You can't think we because we easily won against a bad team that that performance was good enough to beat the likes of UConn. If we beat UConn somehow it could possibly be the the biggest upset by a #1 team ever.

 

[Garnet chicken]

Their play tonight would have been good against any team. They were making great passes, making the shots and playing great defense. We will see how they play against U Conn. I hope they won't get too jacked up for that game and play to their potential.

This post was edited on 1/20 11:20 AM by Garnet chicken