UT hosts UTSA Saturday night

[Dr. D]

Texas won't be at the highest level (ie, beating Baylor and Tennesee, being competitive with UConn) unless and until Atkins comes back in the lineup as a scoring force and Lashann Higgs quits taking threes she can't make. If that happens, and Atkins and Higgs are the scorers they were touted to be, Texas can be hell on wheels. Otherwise, we'll still be a better version of last year---which is pretty good, actually, but not in top elite.

 

[overseasbbfan1]

Texas won't be at the highest level (ie, beating Baylor and Tennessee...

Remind me again what team beat Tennessee last season, one of three wins vs. top 5 opponents, and four ranked teams overall in a span of 13 games? As far as Baylor goes, that topic was just covered in the '2016' thread. Need a refresher?

 

[rattfatt]

Remind me again what team beat Tennessee last season, one of three wins vs. top 5 opponents, aind four ranked teams overall in a span of 13 games? As far as Baylor goes, that topic was just covered in the '2016' thread. Need a refresher?

I'm okay with losing to teams that might be just as good or better than us like baylor or ou. But we have to start beating the teams that we should beat, and do it convincingly on a consistent basis. Five of our 8 or 9 conference loses came against teams that we should beat. That's what good programs do, they beat the teams that they should beat.

 

[DFW_Horn]

It's hard to draw a conclusion from last season - winning big against good teams at home, on the road and at neutral sites only to follow it up with a terrible start in conference play, then the runs in the Big 12/NCAA tournaments. Elite teams find ways to win games against inferior opponents even when they have the inevitable 'off' night. That's something UT has to prove they can do consistently.

 

[overseasbbfan1]

It's hard to draw a conclusion frim last season -

Also because of the injury to Nneka. Saying her loss had a big impact on the team, considering she was our top scorer, rebounder and clear floor leader, isn't making excuses. You still have to find a way to overcome the loss, if that's possible, and most would say we did that very well. To come back and make both the Big12 championship game, and Sweet 16 in NCAA play, and end the season ranked after losing our star player, was a pretty terrific response. I do think we should be better able to withstand any injuries this season, considering our depth.

 

[rattfatt]

Also because of the injury to Nneka. Saying her loss had a big impact on the team, considering she was our top scorer, rebounder and clear floor leader, isn't making excuses. You still have to find a way to overcome the loss, if that's possible, and most would say we did that very well. To come back and make both the Big12 championship game, and Sweet 16 in NCAA play, and end the season ranked after losing our star player, was a pretty terrific response. I do think we should be better able to withstand any injuries this season, considering our depth.

Losing Nneka certainly hurt the team. But I actually thought the team at least offensively became a better team. Because we were so reliant on her that we became predictable and one dimensional. And it forced coach Aston into doing different things offensively other than just having Nneka post up hard on evey single possession and giving her the ball. Because that was basically what the offense had become when she was playing.

 

[overseasbbfan1]

I don't think you can say we were better offensively without Nneka. But certainly we had to do some things differently, and in the long run (and hopefully this season) those adjustments will prove beneficial. There were players who gained experience, and developed in ways that might have taken longer otherwise.