UCONN - NC State post mortem thread

[pk1234]

Considering that the spread was 9 points & NC Ste wasn't in the top 25, it's hard to blame fans for expecting a convincing UCONN win.
NC State was underrated by EVERYONE!

Many of the predictions had MOV of 25+ which was insane IMO

 

[GaMo]

I'm simply amazed how poorly Azzi has shot. What happened to the high school deadeye?

1. Injuries.
2. D1 athletic defenders 10x better than typical high school players.

 

[Orc]

No powerful post player. Indeed, no post player at all. We are too small to compete with the teams that are big, and strong. South Carolina is either the top team in the nation (my opinion) or second. We will get clobbered by South Carolina.

Time to take off the rose-colored glasses.

Agreed. Once again Uconn only has 1 reliable post player that can score. The guards basically have to shoot lights out to have any shot at winning against good teams. They can still make the final 4 but I think the post is the reason they won’t win the title this year.

 

[Cuango]

Terrible loss, but just one game. But we can’t call out enough the lack of height and size on this team. No amount of effort is going to help lack of height when it comes to straight up rebounding. This is on Geno and his latest recruiting strategy. Understand about El Alfy, but it’s not like she was a top ten prospect and he recruited bigs and posts to have depth of size. He has to be accountable for this.

That’s just silly! Bigs don’t just fall into your lap! Nor are there very many of them! If you can’t see that Jana would likely have been at least top 20 if she were here in the states, then I don’t know what to tell you!

 

[jaydee602]

Many of the predictions had MOV of 25+ which was insane IMO

Yeah, that's a case of thinking NC State was a pushover because of their ranking.
True fans know that Wes Moore always has a disciplined, prepared team, especially at home.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

This thread is cracking me up. Some of these posters i have never seen before . Just jumping on here to stir the pot.

 

[The deacon]

I was very disappointed like everyone else here. I thought we were out hustled, outplayed and perhaps most disturbing to me very outcoached. I saw no second half adjustments on Rivers, no defensive changes of any kind of tangible substance. I don't understand why we did not use a Box and 1 with Aubrey or Nika on Rivers and simply face guard her like Kia used to do and make the rest of the team beat us. If we tried it, I didn't see it. Being outhustled is simply not acceptable for UCONN. I also thought that the early substitutions of Q, KK and Brady hurt the team, because it altered the early flow and fluidity of the starters and Aubrey and was counterproductive. We were up by double figures at that point. Finally, while everyone is praising Q here, who deserves it, her defense is weak but it did not stand out because our entire defense is weak, uncharacteristically disorganized, and fundamentally unsound with regard to boxing out and switching at this point. If it doesn't change and fast, it is going to be a long season with several out of league losses. Final note, referees were awful as they usually are in women's basketball. I don't understand how, after last year's NC embarrassment of an officiated game, it just never changes.

Nika couldn't handle Rivers, and Aubrey was hurting.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

We learned a lot today:
1. Anyone who thought UConn would go undefeated was wrong.
2. If this team can't beat NCState, they certainly cannot beat SC, which is even bigger
3. Saniya Rivers is a wonderful player
4. UConn has rebounding problems, and the front court weakness that so many have discussed on the BY is very real.
5. Not that anyone questioned it, but Wes Moore sure does know how to coach.
6. NC State should bottle and sell the stuff they used to completely befuddle UConn's defense. I don't think I have seen a UConn team schooled like this in years.
7. When Fudd has shooting problems, the team has shooting problems.
8. Brady is still a freshman, ands often plays like it. Arnold did not look out of place, and where would UConn have been without Samuels?
9. Edwards was not the consistent presence we've come to expect. In the middle of the game, she simply lost all focus,. kind of like when she was a sophomore. Sure hope that is not a trend.

We lost because two of our starting guards were awful. Guard #1 is known for her scoring and shot making ability played 35 minutes but scored just 9 points and missed about as many shots. She was also a big liability on defense. Guard #2, known for her defensive prowess, was bad, and scored just 4 points, while playing 33 minutes.

Also, Geno’s buddy Dee Kantner did play a role, she and her crew calling UConn for 22 fouls while calling NC State for just 12.

 

[ABCDFE]

1. Injuries.
2. D1 athletic defenders 10x better than typical high school players.

Yeah but a ton of the shots today were pretty open. She's gotta make more than not, just sayin

 

[HuskyNan]

This thread is cracking me up. Some of these posters i have never seen before . Just jumping on here to stir the pot.

They’ll poof after a win

 

[sdhoops]

I've been teased on here a few times for coming out of the woodworks to post once in a while. I want to say that I think we will be okay. It's nice to get these wake up calls..better now than later. I read many people on here hailing this team national champs already and now the sky is apparently falling for those same fans. Realistically, the ladies just have to gel. I agree with another poster, there were times in crunch time where nobody but Paige wanted the ball. Nika needs to play and quit looking for a foul call. A lot of things to clean up, but like LSU found out, it's no longer the early 2000s where it was the top 2 and everyone else. These squads are hungry and bring their A game every day so the hunted have to be even hungrier

 

[Bone Dog]

Too much doomsaying in this thread. The team came out flat. Geno seems to have suspected this would happen, if not today then soon. He’ll use it to motivate them going forward. But the following structural ‘analyses’ seem mistaken.

1) we are not slow as a team. Aubrey Azzi Paige Nika Qadence Aaliyah Ashlynn and KK are plenty quick.
2) our front court is thin, not small. We got beat by NC St’s guards not their posts. But we can’t afford foul trouble, and Aaliyah seemed to play too cautiously in quarters 2 & 3 because of this. Not having Ayanna hurt us.
3) as things stand, we will be thin on the front line again next season. We’ll get Jana back but likely lose Aaliyah. Even if Geno gets Sarah Strong, this won’t solve the problem at center for us. Fortunately, we can compensate for this the way smaller teams always have, by turning the game into a track meet.
4) Geno didn’t play the freshmen much, except for Qadence. This meant the pressing game we’d seen signs of was not available today. In effect we only played 7 (Ice and KK only got brief minutes) and after Aubrey went down mid 3rd quarter it was 6 for the rest of the way. What did he see that made him forego an obvious strength for a half court game that hadn’t gelled yet this season? I suspect he figured the freshmen might be overwhelmed in that arena.

The problems we saw today are all addressable, not permanent flaws in the structure of the team. I think we are likely to struggle against SC in February and maybe again in March. But I still think Geno can get this team firing on all cylinders in the next few weeks. They will be formidable and capable of beating any opponent — Paige and Aaliyah won’t have it any other way.

 

[uconnfan68]

Watched the SC Maryland before UConn. SC definitely looked like a number1 team. They completely dominated 15 Maryland in every facet of the game.

But MD played them pretty close for much of the first half. SC is really good.

 

[HuskyNan]

We lost because two of our starting guards were awful. Guard #1 is known for her scoring ability played 35 minutes but scored just 9 points and missed about as many shots. She was also a big liability on defense. Guard #2, known for her defensive prowess, was bad, and scored just 4 points, while playing 33 minutes.

Also, Geno’s buddy Dee Kantner did play a role, she and her crew calling UConn for 22 fouls while calling NC State for just 12.

The Huskies weren’t moving their feet on defense, reaching in instead. They seemed really out of it mentally today

 

[uconnfan68]

The Huskies weren’t moving their feet on defense, reaching in instead. They seemed really out of it mentally today

That’s what happens when you face quicker teams. The 3 main guards were terrific for NCSt.

 

[Zonepress]

No doubt North Carolina State was very underrated, played with great emotion ,shot the ball
and ms rivers played like an all american and home court was a factor
That being said UConn’s problems seems structural
In an effort to offset lack of size and to play
Fast the plan was to guard full court and press and trap on occasion
Not sure this team has the quickness or athleticism
To make it work
That style does not play to the strength of azzi,nika
And especially Caroline
Additionally the team seemed confused .when
A double team occurred didn’t see any real rotation
Unfortunately they didn’t defend well in the half court either
To me the 3 straight missed wide open at the beginning of q/2 changed the momentum
Of the game
Long season and I’m sure the team will improve
But don’t see the lack to size and athleticism
Changing

 

[GaMo]

The Huskies weren’t moving their feet on defense, reaching in instead. They seemed really out of it mentally today

When was the last time UConn lost and a BY poster did not bring up refs?

Players and coaches have more effect on the game's outcome than refs do.

Except maybe in MLB when Angel Hernandez is an umpire and in NBA when Scott Foster is a ref.

 

[Rdkid]

Edwards had a rough first half, but got some rotten entry passes. She’s gonna be fine, she has to be - she’s the only tested big we have. She’s on an island on both ends of the floor. And she’s not a bruising 5 by any means. She’s gonna have to stay out of foul trouble in big games.

 

[AmeriConn]

Azzi picked the wrong time to lose her 3 point shot. She went 1 for 7. If she had gone 5 for 7 (which she is entirely capable of doing), the extra 12 points would have been enough to squeak out a win.

I predict "the UConn Effect" will strike NC State. That's when an underdog beats UConn and they lose their very next game. Has happened time and time again. We'll see if I'm right.

I’ll take that bet.

 

[martyn]

What an absolutely embarrassing game today.

We were outrebounded and out hustled. We let Rivers absolutely dominate us. Our offense was stagnant and our defense was non-existent. This looked like one of our games from last year — except this year there’s no excuse of injuries or exhaustion.

Thank goodness Paige was playing or the score would be even worse.

I don’t know what Geno, the coaches, and these players need to do to get it together, but they better get on it or it’s going to be a long season.

I know I probably sound extremely negative but I expected so much more from this team and this game was straight up BAD.

And I know it’s November and all that — still didn’t like what I saw. At all. A LOT of room for improvement ASAP.

Beckers was great, Muhl was fine, Samuels a nice surprise, Fudd big disappointment, so was Caroline, Brady moved like she has weights in her shoes, Edwards was competent, Griffin a non factor, in all a terrible showing...

 

[CTBballfan243]

Terrible loss, but just one game. But we can’t call out enough the lack of height and size on this team. No amount of effort is going to help lack of height when it comes to straight up rebounding. This is on Geno and his latest recruiting strategy. Understand about El Alfy, but it’s not like she was a top ten prospect and he recruited bigs and posts to have depth of size. He has to be accountable for this.

UConn were recruiting bigs. They just couldn’t get any to commit. I think the power conferences pay the players better.

 

[Rb335]

Initial thoughts.
Paige is still ELITE. I thought she could have been more aggressive in Q3 but overall can’t critique her performance.

Samuels is essentially a similar build to Ducharme, but she’s show she is capable of knocking in deep shots more consistently. She’s been a huge surprise, as I had the lowest expectation from her compared to other freshman.

We need Azzi to be aggressive. She needs to remember her midrange game is so effective when she starts missing from the outside. I wished she was more assertive at hunting those shots today.

Edwards needs help inside. The lack of development from Deberry is catching up to us. We should have a junior experienced post and instead we have question marks. Ice is definitely going to be a key, as Geno said. It’s truly only up from here for her.

Overall, a disappointing loss. But worth noting NC State shot incredibly well and played terrific. They’ll be highly ranked in due time.

Clean up some defensive issues, learn our roles, and hit open shots down. Once that happens we’ll be alright.

 

[GaMo]

And last year, NC State was ranked in the top 10. This season, they weren't in the top 40!
That's why rankings are arbirtary & guesswork for the first several weeks.

Absolutely. Just ask #9 Indiana who got crushed by 32 points versus #15 Stanford. Brink 20 points and 17 rebounds.

 

[RadfordRam]

We learned a lot today:
1. Anyone who thought UConn would go undefeated was wrong.
2. If this team can't beat NCState, they certainly cannot beat SC, which is even bigger
3. Saniya Rivers is a wonderful player
4. UConn has rebounding problems, and the front court weakness that so many have discussed on the BY is very real.
5. Not that anyone questioned it, but Wes Moore sure does know how to coach.
6. NC State should bottle and sell the stuff they used to completely befuddle UConn's defense. I don't think I have seen a UConn team schooled like this in years.
7. When Fudd has shooting problems, the team has shooting problems.
8. Brady is still a freshman, ands often plays like it. Arnold did not look out of place, and where would UConn have been without Samuels?
9. Edwards was not the consistent presence we've come to expect. In the middle of the game, she simply lost all focus,. kind of like when she was a sophomore. Sure hope that is not a trend.

Edwards is the best player right now, the offense needs to run thru her. She didn't lose focus at all, they stopped getting her the ball.