UConn-UCF thread without complaints

[Wilderness]

So many other teams (including recent past versions of UConn) would have wilted.

Huh? I read that and respond to defend Napheesa, Crystal and all our past gamers. I've never seen a UConn WBB team "wilt". Belongs in the other game thread.

 

[ShmiCO]

On second watch (thanks @MJL243), what stood out to me most was the team's tenacity and heart. The bigs fighting like lions to defend our end of the court was a highlight. The team whole working purposefully to keep moving forward though a lot of disruption (getting knocked down, unexpected ref calls, even running out of shot clock). They soldiered on. Respect!

It was a much more enjoyable watch knowing the outcome (a win and no injuries).

 

[RedStickHusky]

Has this been talked about yet? On what planet is UCF a 7 seed? I've watched a lot of WCBB this season and especially in the last 3 weeks. That's a top 16 seed.

On this, I agree with coach Abe.

 

[Boreifs]

I'm totally unfamiliar with Indiana... more like this please.

Their two bigs, Holmes and Gulbe, are both 6’3”. Holmes has great post moves, while Gulbe faces the basket and can shoot the three. Their two, Ali Patberg (ND transfer), is in her seventh year of college basketball, courtesy of an injury, one year sit out and a Covid year. She is their biggest threat from the arc. They are only six deep, but their sub is an energizer bunny who can play both the post and the wing. They are extremely well coached and have been together as a unit for three years. If you saw South Dakota play against Baylor, that might as well have been IU. A challenge, to be sure, but we are taller, more athletic, and have more fire power.

 

[CL82]

Has this been talked about yet? On what planet is UCF a 7 seed? I've watched a lot of WCBB this season and especially in the last 3 weeks. That's a top 16 seed.

One of the knocks against the American is that in woman’s basketball there are not a lot of good teams. I think that hurt UCF’s seeding. To their credit they did play a decent amount of tournament teams out of conference.

Were they under seated? I don’t know. Don’t go solely by the final score of this game. If we make our open layups, we win comfortably. I will also note that this is the highest that UCF has ever been seeded, and the highest that any coach Abe team has ever been seeded. I think a pretty good argument can be made that they were appropriately placed in slightly exceeded their seeding.

 

[Plebe]

On this, I agree with coach Abe.

I never heard her say they should've been seeded higher. Her chief complaints were having to play another Florida team in the 1st round and being sent to UConn as opposed to another place.

UCF's best wins were over South Florida and Arkansas, and they had a very bad loss to Cincinnati. They really didn't have the resume for anything higher than a 7.

 

[HopJim]

While the UCF game has been well documented, a nit to comment on:
-This was the first time all season that I saw CD holding Geno back from the refs after a controversial call late in the game. Brought back many memories of a younger Geno.

 

[Performance]

Thank you Nan - this is a breath of fresh air and sorely needed. The team took a gut punch, survived and advanced. If anything a game like this makes them stronger.

I too would like to thank you. This was a tough gritty win should help to build confidence going forward. Go UCONN!!!

 

[DEpup]

While I was watching the game in between yelling at the screen I was just really thankful for Azzi and Dorka. Azzi so gave me the comfort of the KML days when her 3 ball would just get us out of trouble and Azzi did that last night. Everyone talks about Stewie aka Paige today but KML really put the nail in proverbial coffin many nights. Azzi played that role perfectly last night. I was also super thankful for a third big Dorka. Let's be honest, last year this could have been a loss with both Liv and Edwards fouled out.

Depth matters and we have it.

I also thought that other top teams at full strength have lost late this season when pushed by an energized team but we didn't join that club.

I also think UCF was under seated. Should have been about a 5 or 6 seed.

 

[Performance]

I think people are going to miss Williams and regret they gave her so much criticism. Her stepback jumper was stuff that I doubt some Nba players could do. I was watching the game on stream and another person commented who didn't even know her name or follow closely the team saying that was a nice shot.

Totally agree!!

 

[darkstar1]

Defense wins championships…and UConn’s was better, against a very tough defense! Onward and upward Huskies. And not all opinions are complaining or whining. Usually observations and after the fact analysis. I don’t like whining or complaining posts, but I really enjoy reading the observations and analyses of those highly educated and passionate Boneyarders.

 

[CL82]

Jackson Pollack

Jackson Pollock: 100 Famous Paintings Analysis and Biography

www.jackson-pollock.org

Jackson Pollack? The tax return preparation guy? I didn’t know he could paint too! He’s really quite a renaissance man.

 

[Carnac]

WARNING: If you complain or criticize in this thread, your post will be deleted. This thread is for the people who are happy the team survived to play another game and don’t care about field goal %, free throws, substitution patterns or anything else.

The games can’t all be Monets, sometimes the Huskies draw a Jackson Pollack. Some say it’s ugly, but any post-season game that ends with a win is still beautiful to me. So, for my fellow fans that are just happy and relieved that the Huskies survived and advanced, this thread is for you.

P.S. On edit - just because people are happy to have survived doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happy with the way UConn played. They saw it; they just don’t want to keep reliving it. On to the next round.

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Thanks Nan. I've pretty much stopped reading the post game threads because of all of the pissing, moaning and complaining that is posted there, especially after a loss.

 

[fomalhaut]

I think people are going to miss Williams and regret they gave her so much criticism. Her stepback jumper was stuff that I doubt some Nba players could do. I was watching the game on stream and another person commented who didn't even know her name or follow closely the team saying that was a nice shot.

When she hit that shot, I immediately thought of Sue Bird's 60 Minutes interview last Sunday, where she talked about how valuable midrange shots can be.

 

[caramel]

Amazing that your steals assassin and shooting assassin sat on the bench as long as they did and still the team came thru to victory. This is an amazing team, and I will be surprised if the team doesn't go a lot farther in the tournament. This team is truly on a mission!!

 

[Boreifs]

While I was watching the game in between yelling at the screen I was just really thankful for Azzi and Dorka. Azzi so gave me the comfort of the KML days when her 3 ball would just get us out of trouble and Azzi did that last night. Everyone talks about Stewie aka Paige today but KML really put the nail in proverbial coffin many nights. Azzi played that role perfectly last night. I was also super thankful for a third big Dorka. Let's be honest, last year this could have been a loss with both Liv and Edwards fouled out.

Depth matters and we have it.

I also thought that other top teams at full strength have lost late this season when pushed by an energized team but we didn't join that club.

I also think UCF was under seated. Should have been about a 5 or 6 seed.

If they were under seeded, how about South Dakota? In what world does a 10 seed handily beat a two seed with the potential top pick in the next WNBA draft? It isn’t an exact science, but 11 of the top 16 won their first two games.

 

[OviedoFLHusky]

Huh? I read that and respond to defend Napheesa, Crystal and all our past gamers. I've never seen a UConn WBB team "wilt". Belongs in the other game thread.

I disagree with this, and I'll tell you why: as much as I loved the post-Stewie teams, no other UConn team went through the adversity that this one has. None of them fought through obstacles like covid and having multiple teammates out, including their leader. That's a fact. It's also a fact that anything can happen in March - we've seen that in this tournament, and in years past. I would hope that no UConn team would "wilt" - but we'll never know for sure. To their credit, this team, we now know, will not. I think that's a positive, don't you?

 

[Blakeon18]

Our foul shooting was a highlight....and a needed one...18-23...with Azzi 's clutch 4-4 down the stretch.
Similar situation down the road...Azzi at the line...opponents call a TO to freeze her...think Geno/CD might remind her
of what she did last night?

BTW: UCF was 10-20 on free throws. Great D by the good guys!

 

[RedStickHusky]

I never heard her say they should've been seeded higher. Her chief complaints were having to play another Florida team in the 1st round and being sent to UConn as opposed to another place.

UCF's best wins were over South Florida and Arkansas, and they had a very bad loss to Cincinnati. They really didn't have the resume for anything higher than a 7.

She bit her tongue in the presser as she was complaining about being "sent north". Clearly unhappy with their seed. Wouldn't have bothered me had they been a six somewhere else.

 

[Plebe]

She bit her tongue in the presser as she was complaining about being "sent north". Clearly unhappy with their seed. Wouldn't have bothered me had they been a six somewhere else.

I didn't hear her comments this way at all. She very clearly stated that she'd rather have been sent to face a different team other than UConn. She said something along the lines of "I spent five years coming here! Send us somewhere else."

She even boasted about the fact that a 7 seed is the highest that any of her teams has been seeded in her career. She also didn't like being paired against a fellow Florida team in the first round. But at no time did she even insinuate that her seed was too low.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I didn't hear her comments this way at all. She very clearly stated that she'd rather have been sent to face a different team other than UConn. She said something along the lines of "I spent five years coming here! Send us somewhere else."

She even boasted about the fact that a 7 seed is the highest that any of her teams has been seeded in her career. She also didn't like being paired against a fellow Florida team in the first round. But at no time did she even insinuate that her seed was too low.

Fair enough. That's how I heard her saying "we're as good as they are" but it's certainly open to interpretation.

 

[Superhuskies]

Great win and just loved the poise of the UConn program. Also...what a crowd, especially the student section!! OMG!! Made me wish that I could attend the game. Holy smokes. That energy was EPIC!!

Great win and just loved the poise of the UConn program. Also...what a crowd, especially the student section!! OMG!! Made me wish that I could attend the game. Holy smokes. That energy was EPIC!!

 

[EricLA]

WE had so much trouble with UCF - but they "only" had 3 losses this season. They did lose to both Tennessee and Iowa early - both games by 9. They did beat Belmont earlier in the year by 12. Aside from a brain fart against Cincy, they won every game but that the rest of the season. Hard to really get a feel for how "good" they were nationally.

I'd love to have seen them against another really good team - SC, Stanford, L'ville, NC state, etc. I think maybe it's hard for some folks to look at the final score and say "why?? They were "only" a 7 seed". I think they are better than that.

Looking at this game, they "feel" like a top 10 or top 15 team. Too bad we can't "order" games like take out and say "I'd like to see UCF play _____". Whilst not thrilled with the MOV, hats off to Christyn and Azzi - both of them had big moments and solid play.

BTW the announcers said NUMEROUS times that the atmosphere was incredible. So loud that the whistles could not be heard. The student section must have been going bananas, but kudos to the old fogies (my parents were there) who turned off their hearing aids and yelled super loud!!

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

WARNING: If you complain or criticize in this thread, your post will be deleted. This thread is for the people who are happy the team survived to play another game and don’t care about field goal %, free throws, substitution patterns or anything else.

The games can’t all be Monets, sometimes the Huskies draw a Jackson Pollack. Some say it’s ugly, but any post-season game that ends with a win is still beautiful to me. So, for my fellow fans that are just happy and relieved that the Huskies survived and advanced, this thread is for you.

P.S. On edit - just because people are happy to have survived doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happy with the way UConn played. They saw it; they just don’t want to keep reliving it. On to the next round.

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I actually prefer the expectation of seeing UConn teams draw a Rembrandt on the basketball court, illuminating the game in masterful shades of light and contrasts seldom seen among their contemporaries. While that is a goal achieved many a time by UConn teams, it is less often than the spoiled fandom wishes. The images from the game last night was far removed from from that goal but it doesn't deserved to be in company of the likes of that Jackson Pollock canvas. Whatever the impression it may have left anyone or everyone, it retained at least an element of beauty that prevented it from a total descent to the opposition's morass. It is best illustrated by Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror: in ensuring their response to the exigencies of the game was steadfastly moored to the safe harbor of their season's gains in mental fortitude, that beauty was a beacon that brought that game home for them - the beauty of knowing, deep down, who they really are at the end.

 

[Blueballer]

What a joy it was to see that glorious crowd last night. Such a welcome thing to have the sights and sounds of the post season back at Gampel in full force. And to have the team gut out a tough game and advance. I wish I were there!