[Goose]

UConn played South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas in non-conference games. They were supposed to play Baylor as well, but that regular season game was cancelled because of Covid. It's a reasonable schedule. But UConn is not challenged at all in conference. My $0.02 is that their conference schedule does not allow them to develop the mental toughness needed to win 3 consecutive games against strong opponents (regional final, semifinal, final). Perhaps that is why they have lost 4 consecutive semifinal matchups.

It is a better schedule than I realized, although Tennessee and Arkansas didn't turn out to be as strong as perhaps was anticipated when they made up the schedule. That said, I totally agree that their weaker conference schedule doesn't challenge them enough to require them to deal with adversity on a regular basis. ESPN hype non-withstanding, I do not think UConn played to their potential, because they mostly didn't have to. There are many reasons that a team may lose four consecutive semifinal games (including bad luck), but not having tested your skills against good players week after week is certainly a possibility.

[Goose]

UConn played South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas in non-conference games. They were supposed to play Baylor as well, but that regular season game was cancelled because of Covid. It's a reasonable schedule. But UConn is not challenged at all in conference. My $0.02 is that their conference schedule does not allow them to develop the mental toughness needed to win 3 consecutive games against strong opponents (regional final, semifinal, final). Perhaps that is why they have lost 4 consecutive semifinal matchups.

It is a better schedule than I realized, although Tennessee and Arkansas didn't turn out to be as strong as perhaps was anticipated when they made up the schedule. That said, I totally agree that their weaker conference schedule doesn't challenge them enough to require them to deal with adversity on a regular basis. ESPN hype non-withstanding, I do not think UConn played to their potential, because they mostly didn't have to. There are many reasons that a team may lose four consecutive semifinal games (including bad luck), but not having tested your skills against good players week after week is certainly a possibility.