[BillBradley]

Someone posted that the conference seems down.  I agree.  I think the bottom is better, but the teams that were supposed to be top three or four have not been consistently good.  Anyone can beat anyone, which is not really great for anybody.  UA probably just played themselves out of hosting the NCAAs.  Conference may have only Stanford as a host.  Why?  UA at first seemed like they may have improved even after losing McDonald but then they started struggling and losing, even before Reese got hurt.  Oregon looked terrible but then got all their stars back from injury and looked great for a few games, but then began to struggle more than expected.  WSU as high as they are is a great story, but I just don't think they are all that good.  

There COULD be another explanation. It is possible that the top of the conference is actually very strong. Consider:
- Arizona didn't lose until P12 play, and beat Louisville, Vanderbilt, and DePaul along the way
- Colorado didn't lose until P12 play
- Oregon (who I think could be this year's Arizona of last year) has been riddled with injuries and have been inconsistent finding their way back, but remember they smacked UConn (sure with some injuries but still - all those 5-stars :).

I think each of these teams could be Final Four teams. Arizona is particularly dangerous if they get Reese back.

As for the eye test, a lot of it is style of play. Arizona and Colorado play a very physical style of basketball, they are well coached, and they take away the other teams strengths. That's just what they do. When you get into the post season and the refs allow even more physicality, it turns the games even uglier and the flow of the game is even more to their advantage.

The middle teams - and I agree with you I don't think WSU is top tier so I'm putting them here - look to me to be "better than the typical middle". I think WSU, OSU, and Utah are all dangerous to advance a few rounds in the tourney (if they all make it).

It might just be these 6 teams are all beating up on each other. Defeating a pretty good P12 team at their court is not easy. Mix in some pandemic protocol issues and you end up with a bunch of losses. Except for the one team that has the depth to withstand all of it. The P12 could have at least 3 and as many as 5 in the S16 this year. Compared to 2 last year. I would not want to be a 3 or 4 seed and have to face any of these teams. I'd love to see WSU play Iowa. Or Utah play Michigan. Or OSU play LSU. 

Which leaves us to these "struggling wins" for the Card. Could it be they are all just solid wins against good teams? Is this whole line of thinking a stretch?

---

I have to take a moment to note how the officials didn't call a bunch of ridiculous fouls in the OSU game (and many of the other games in the tourney so far). In the middle of the season, Cam would have been on the bench for the same defense she played yesterday. And there WAS a lot of reaching, contact on the dribble and on contested shots, etc. by both teams. It makes no sense to me why they can't consistently call games during the season like they did yesterday. And very few complaints from the players (at least that's what I saw). I very much hope it continues, even though it means the Colorado game will be really physical. If we are going to repeat, our team has to adjust to this style of post-season officiating.

[BillBradley]

Someone posted that the conference seems down.  I agree.  I think the bottom is better, but the teams that were supposed to be top three or four have not been consistently good.  Anyone can beat anyone, which is not really great for anybody.  UA probably just played themselves out of hosting the NCAAs.  Conference may have only Stanford as a host.  Why?  UA at first seemed like they may have improved even after losing McDonald but then they started struggling and losing, even before Reese got hurt.  Oregon looked terrible but then got all their stars back from injury and looked great for a few games, but then began to struggle more than expected.  WSU as high as they are is a great story, but I just don't think they are all that good.  

There COULD be another explanation. It is possible that the top of the conference is actually very strong. Consider:
- Arizona didn't lose until P12 play, and beat Louisville, Vanderbilt, and DePaul along the way
- Colorado didn't lose until P12 play
- Oregon (who I think could be this year's Arizona of last year) has been riddled with injuries and have been inconsistent finding their way back, but remember they smacked UConn (sure with some injuries but still - all those 5-stars :).

I think each of these teams could be Final Four teams. Arizona is particularly dangerous if they get Reese back.

As for the eye test, a lot of it is style of play. Arizona and Colorado play a very physical style of basketball, they are well coached, and they take away the other teams strengths. That's just what they do. When you get into the post season and the refs allow even more physicality, it turns the games even uglier and the flow of the game is even more to their advantage.

The middle teams - and I agree with you I don't think WSU is top tier so I'm putting them here - look to me to be "better than the typical middle". I think WSU, OSU, and Utah are all dangerous to advance a few rounds in the tourney (if they all make it).

It might just be these 6 teams are all beating up on each other. Defeating a pretty good P12 team at their court is not easy. Mix in some pandemic protocol issues and you end up with a bunch of losses. Except for the one team that has the depth to withstand all of it. The P12 could have at least 3 and as many as 5 in the S16 this year. Compared to 2 last year. I would not want to be a 3 or 4 seed and have to face any of these teams. I'd love to see WSU play Iowa. Or Utah play Michigan. Or OSU play LSU. 

Which leaves us to these "struggling wins" for the Card. Could it be they are all just solid wins against good teams? Is this whole line of thinking a stretch?

---

I have to take a moment to note how the officials didn't call a bunch of ridiculous fouls in the OSU game (and many of the other games in the tourney so far). In the middle of the season, Cam would have been on the bench for the same defense she played yesterday. And there WAS a lot of reaching, contact on the dribble and on contested shots, etc. by both teams. It makes no sense to me why they can't consistently call games during the season like they did yesterday. And very few complaints from the players (at least that's what I saw). I very much hope it continues, even though it means the Colorado game will be really physical. If we are going to repeat, our team has to adjust to this style of post-season officiating.