Uconn wins 89 straight

[Rondo2287]

Does anybody really care about this?  I keep hearing about it, but I dont find it that surprising.  I don't follow women's basketball really at all, but from the looks of it the league is incredibly top heavy.  It seems like there are 4 good teams and everybody else is terrible.

If the number 1 guys team beat the number 15 guys team by 30 like the Uconn Women did last night to FSU, it would be a huge deal, but its not in Women's bball because the talent pool is such less extensive.

I also just want to say that this in no way compares to what UCLA did way back when.  This record is very impressive but it does not surpass the UCLA record.  This Uconn record stands alone, comparing it to UCLA is like comparing apples and oranges.

[Roy H.]

Any time you win 89 in a row in any sport, it's pretty impressive, so kudos to the UConn women.  Relative to their piers, they're the most dominant program in their sport.

That said, I tend to agree with Rondo.  Year after year, UConn lands the best recruits and has the best players, to the point where other teams can't compete.  It would be like if UNC signed the two or three best high school players every year, and all of those players played four years.  Even that scenario is flawed, though, because the talent / athleticism gap between the top female players relative to their piers is far greater than the same gap between male players.

Basically, I see this as a big deal for women's basketball, but not something that compares to UCLA's streak.

[thirstyboots18]

Oh, you chauvanist, you!        

It doesn't need to be "compared" with anything.  It is a great accomplishment.

[Bahku]

Incredible accomplishment ... there is no comparison. Awesome job, girls ... keep it up!!

[Rondo2287]

Oh, you chauvanist, you!        

It doesn't need to be "compared" with anything.  It is a great accomplishment.

Trust me, im not trying to be rude or chauvanistic, but I keep hearing how they "Broke" the UCLA record, and I just think they are completely seperate and to say they, "broke," the record is inaccurate.

[RebusRankin]

The University of Winnipeg Woman's program won 94 straight in the 1990s.

[Kwhit10]

Penn St. Womens volleyball I think won 109 straight.

It is still a great accomplishment to win 89 in a row no matter what the sport.

[pearljammer10]

What an impressive streak for these ladies. bravo, bravo.

[bdm860]

For those saying there’s a talent gap, wasn’t there a very large talent gap in the mens game back in the 70’s during UCLA’s streak?  Just don’t compare the current talent gap in today’s mens game to that of the 70’s.  I constantly hear that the players are bigger, faster, stronger, quicker, and just all around better now than they were in the past.  Also basketball wasn’t as popular back then either.  Much bigger talent gap in mens basketball in the 70’s then there is in today’s mens game.

I agree there is a talent gap, but it’s not as big as some of you are making it out to be.  UConn plays everybody and anybody (except Tennessee, but that’s on Tennesee).  They play 30 regular season games, 13 are/were against ranked opponents (including #2, #3, #7, #8, #10).  Compare that to the top mens team, Duke plays 31 regular season games, only two are/were against ranked opponents (#4 and #6).  The thing is UConn plays this type of schedule every year, no mens team comes close to playing this type of schedule.

Maybe the talent is concentrated in the top 50-75 teams for men, where in the womens game the talent gap is spread between the top 25-30 teams.  The drop off after that doesn’t matter as much since UConn consistently plays the best of the best.

Year after year, UConn lands the best recruits and has the best players, to the point where other teams can't compete.  It would be like if UNC signed the two or three best high school players every year, and all of those players played four years.  Even that scenario is flawed, though, because the talent / athleticism gap between the top female players relative to their piers is far greater than the same gap between male players.

Didn’t that happen in UCLA’s day though too?  They signed the best recruits and they all stayed 4 years (but were Freshmen eligible to play then?)  The top teams have been signing all the best recruits probably since the beginning of college athletics.  This isn't something that's unique to the UConn women.
 
Not that I know much about the women’s game, but the 2 biggest womens recruits in last few years, Candace Parker (Tennessee) and Brittany Griner (Baylor, she’s the girl who was dunking all throughout high school) didn’t go to UConn.

It's impossible to compare the streaks (different genders, different eras, different rules, etc.), and it is apples and oranges, but that doesn't make UConn's streak less impressive than UCLA's.  It might even be more impressive.

[Fafnir]

The talent gap in the Women's game is still much greater than the Men's in the 70's.

It is still impressive, but I think UCLA's was a tougher accomplishment. They had to pull out a lot more close games against teams closer in overall talent.

[CelticG1]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[bdm860]

The talent gap in the Women's game is still much greater than the Men's in the 70's.

I would disagree with this, but it's all really opinion, and probably all biased, uninformed opinion too.  Not calling you out on that Faf, just speaking in general, cuz I'm just saying, honestly, how much early 70's men's college basketball and current woman's basketball has everybody in this thread actually watched?  (I'll admit, it's basically none and none on my part).

It is still impressive, but I think UCLA's was a tougher accomplishment. They had to pull out a lot more close games against teams closer in overall talent.

Eh, does close games really make it tougher? If UCLA was more dominant and won every game by double digits, you would be less impressed by their streak?  Was the '92 Dream team Olympic run more or less impressive than say the 2000 or the 2008 men's basketball Olympic teams?  Personally I'm more impressed by the '92 team, even if their team was more stacked, there was a much larger type talent gap, and they just simply dominated.  Probably why I'm so impressed with UConn.


Definitely apples and oranges, but I think it's more like comparing Heavyweight boxing with just about any other division.  The heavyweight gets all the love, with no real love for flyweight, welterweight, etc.  Same sport, but still different.

[Assassin70]

As Celtic fans we should all praise excellence and great play...except when the Lakers are involved.

Good job UCONN I hope they run the table going in to next season too to make the record very hard to break.

[hwangjini_1]

Oh, you chauvanist, you!        

It doesn't need to be "compared" with anything.  It is a great accomplishment.

Trust me, im not trying to be rude or chauvanistic, but I keep hearing how they "Broke" the UCLA record, and I just think they are completely seperate and to say they, "broke," the record is inaccurate.

Why do you think this? The longest winning streak was broken by UConn. Many congrats to them.

To win 89 games and counting in any college sport is amazing. If UNC did get recruits, etc as stated above would we not acknowledge that they must have a brilliant coach?

Quite a feat.

[PosImpos]

Oh, you chauvanist, you!        

It doesn't need to be "compared" with anything.  It is a great accomplishment.

Trust me, im not trying to be rude or chauvanistic, but I keep hearing how they "Broke" the UCLA record, and I just think they are completely seperate and to say they, "broke," the record is inaccurate.

Why do you think this? The longest winning streak was broken by UConn. Many congrats to them.

To win 89 games and counting in any college sport is amazing. If UNC did get recruits, etc as stated above would we not acknowledge that they must have a brilliant coach?

Quite a feat.

It's not the same record because Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball are different sports.