Jets taking meetings with free agent QBs
Danes face monumental task vs. Huskies
Josh McCown might be the answer — in the short term, at least — for the quarterbackneedy Jets. The free agent QB is meeting with New York, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
STORRS, C.T. >> Albany brings its six straight America East titles into the NCAA Tournament. UConn brings its 107 straight wins in, spread out over four National Championship seasons.
The Great Danes are pedigree on a smaller scale. And will be a 49-point underdog against the Huskies at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Here are three thoughts on the bout.
Unfair seeding
It’s no secret that the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament favors convenience over fairness. But there are three teams in the Storrs region that are probably feeling a bit miffed, including Albany.
The Great Danes probably deserve a 15 seed. And it’s not to suggest that they’d even have a shot against a No. 2 seed, but it doesn’t deter from the reality that they earned a better spot than they got. As Albany’s best player, Imani Tate, pointed out — their seeding suggests they’re the worst team in the field of 64. Which just isn’t the case.
Albany’s won 12-of-13 games, and their only “bad losses” on the season would be on the road at Dartmouth and UMBC.
The pairing provides some intrigue for Albany. Playing against college basketball royalty. But that intrigue will probably be long gone by the time the first quarter is over.
This isn’t your average perfect Connecticut team
Geno Auriemma addressed this an extent in his pre-tournament press conference on Friday, and it’s a point worth harping on.
In years past, Auriemma would sometimes sit one or two of his starters during practice to help build up other players on the roster. He no longer does that, he says, because the depth isn’t what it was before. Last year, the Huskies had the top three picks go No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the WNBA draft. There are five regulars on this year’s roster without a plethora of NCAA Tournament experience.
Auriemma believes the margin for error is a lot smaller with this UConn team. And while that may not manifest itself against Albany, it might in a rematch of last year’s National Championship game. No. 8 seed Syracuse could be waiting for the Huskies in the round of 32.
Albany doesn’t have to win to actually win
Albany isn’t going to win on Saturday. That’s not an unfair statement in any regard. There are just some things in life that you know will happen. Like, say, the sun rising in the morning. You can hope against hope. You can say, ‘We all put our pants on the same way.’ But at the end of the day. UConn isn’t just a step above the rest, it’s a very long, neverending staircase above the Great Danes’ wildest dreams.
So you have to define what a win looks like. Because a win won’t look like more points. Is a win losing by less than 25? Is a win holding UConn below their season average of 86 points? Is it getting a certain number of rebounds, or staying competitive for one quarter?
We might not know what an Albany win looks like until we see it. It might be a feel thing. Regardless, whatever win Albany gets on Saturday will be solely moral. But that doesn’t mean its any less impressive.