Women's Hoops off to Best Start—Ever
As the men's basketball team approaches the program's best-ever start, the women's squad got to that point yesterday with an impressive road win over Iowa, 68-64 (highlights below). The team is now 13-2 overall—which is the program's best start through 15 games—and they're off to a 2-0 start in Big Ten play.
So kudos to the new coaching staff and obviously the players for what they've accomplished so far.
It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes. The team didn't play a particularly tough nonconference schedule, and the first half of their Big Ten schedule looks much easier than the second half. So depending on how they do down the stretch, the team could end up anywhere from being on the NCAA bubble to securing a fairly lofty tourney seed. This seemed a bit on the high side to me, but ESPN's women's bracketologist had Michigan as a 5 seed heading into Big Ten play.
January 7th, 2013 at 9:51 AM ^
It would be nice, though unlikely, to challenge Stanford for the Director's Cup this year. We finished the fall season ranked #1 (Stanford was #3). With how well both basketball teams are doing that should help maintain our standing toward the top of the rankings. If only hockey could turn things around.....
http://www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html
January 7th, 2013 at 10:23 AM ^
Looks like we're a few points ahead of number 2 UNC now.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:00 AM ^
Yet another outstanding Brandon move that flies under the radar. KBA was a fantastic hire.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:28 AM ^
You should know the drill by now. Anything good done by him goes unnoticed here. He's just a mean business man who wants to make money.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:53 AM ^
and recognize that Brandon does things that are both good and bad for the school, rather than refusing to notice any of the good things he does and declaring that he is "just a mean business man who wants to make money."
Unless yours is a strawman argument, in which case you should get some perspective and recognize that strawman arguments make you look like a troll.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:05 AM ^
Maybe your sarcasm meter will kick in after you reach 100 points.
Go look at some of my posts. I've been harpooned on here more times than not because I support almost everything he has done. Yes, that includes the alternate unis. Only thing I didn't care for was the Road Legacies last year and even then, they could've looked better with Maize pants.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^
Do you want a pat on the back?
January 7th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
pat......pat. There's two.
January 7th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
...a cookie.
January 7th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^
Everyone - please stop ruining great threads like this with Dave Brandon narratives. We get it. Brandon made good hires.
January 7th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^
...the mod gets a cookie too.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:08 AM ^
I don't follow the ladies too closely, but from what I have seen, it's nice to have a coach that wants to be here instead of longing for his glory days in Green Bay of all places.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:42 AM ^
...senior talent which accounts for much of the success, but it's hard to underestimate the value that Coach Barnes-Arico brings to the program. She's hit every note perfectly since her arrival.
Early returns suggest she was an inspired hire.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:48 AM ^
Yes, I'll be the first to admit that this is about where I expected the team to be given the strong senior class and the weak early schedule. Had Borseth stuck around, the team's record might well be the same.
If there's one place I give Barnes Arico a ton of credit is letting the team's players play to their strengths. She'll eventually implement more of her style—which is more up-tempo offensively—but for this season she has largely retained the more deliberate style that the seniors are most comfortable with.
January 7th, 2013 at 2:41 PM ^
Improved basketball facilities attract top high school basketball talent of all genders. We should've renovated Crisler 10 years ago, but man does the future ever look bright.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:42 AM ^
Never been to a women's bball game at Crisler...anyone know if it's better to get GA or Reserved seats? I might check out a game.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^
I mean this in the nicest way but, it wouldn't matter much. There will be ample space to stretch out.
January 7th, 2013 at 10:56 AM ^
Thought that might be the case, thanks.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:13 AM ^
They look pretty good, I saw them in that double header over winter break. We've got some shooters!
If you're in the area - go support the ladies! If anything, you'll get more time/space to see the new arena.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^
January 7th, 2013 at 11:27 AM ^
Let's hope she can build on the success in the future!
January 7th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^
This is hard to control for -- but it's consistent with data from other universities in the B1G. When you open a new arena for hoops and hockey, your team's performance (M & W) spikes up niceaably. Kohl, Breslin, VCA... happened at all those places.
Some were easy to control for -- at Sparty, they had the same Men's hoop coach before and after Breslin opened, and you could see the annual performance got way better after they opened the new arena. I think that was the same case with Sconie and Kohl.
So you can't make exactly the same argument with the Women's team here as we have a new coach; and half a season is way too early to determine if the new arena had an impact on the team's performance. You need a few years' performance to know.
But clearly, the renovations to Crisler (and the PDC) were being sold to recruits, which is in no doubt at least a part of the reason GR3 and McGary are here. And I'm sure it's having an effect on recruiting for the Women's team too.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:59 AM ^
Think of it as a return on the escalating price of football tickets. To me, it's worth it.
January 7th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
I remember reading earlier that she pulled in a great recruiting class too. Hopefully this means good things for the future.
I'd like to see some more back-to-back women's and men's basketball games, where a ticket to the men's game gets you into the women's. Especially if they're tournament good and have a good B1G game or something.
January 7th, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^
It is great that this team is doing so well. I am actually excited about women's basketball, for the first time ever. I started following them in the tournament last year, but this team is good. and Kim Barnes Arico is a great coach. Continue the great work. And it would be nice for some more doubleheaders. I remember them playing UDM when the men played Slippery Rock. Thta was fun. Go Blue!
January 7th, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^
It is great that this team is doing so well. I am actually excited about women's basketball, for the first time ever. I started following them in the tournament last year, but this team is good. and Kim Barnes Arico is a great coach. Continue the great work. And it would be nice for some more doubleheaders. I remember them playing UDM when the men played Slippery Rock. Thta was fun. Go Blue!
January 8th, 2013 at 3:33 PM ^
What a great coaching pickup! Lets hope that both basketball teams can do some serious damage this year.